Going, going, gone! ‘Haunted’ homes are 30 per cent below market price at Hong Kong property auctions
Homebuyers can turn to auctions for good deals, as the value of certain types of real estate is sometimes below market price
Tsang Kit-chun is a veteran auctioneer and managing director of AA Property Auctioneers. He explains what property auctions are all about.
Apart from bank repossessions, what types of properties are usually sold through auctions?
It could be residential, commercial, retail, industrial and anything else, such as rooftops and advertising space. In addition to repossessed properties, there are the so-called “haunted” homes [where unnatural deaths took place]. Normally, agents are reluctant to market haunted homes, so they would usually refer them to us. As a rule of thumb, a haunted home is usually priced 30 per cent below the market price. But how much potential buyers are willing to pay for it varies from one property to another, depending on such things as the number of people found dead in the house, whether or not someone in the house committed suicide or was murdered, and so on. As a result, an auction is the most efficient way of determining the market value of this kind of property.
How do I know when and where a property auction is going to be held?
We advertise through newspapers, our website, emails to clients, and posters in the neighbourhood about where the property to be auctioned is located. We organise two to three auctions a month, depending on the number of listings we have. Interested buyers may learn from our website about the date, time and venue [usually a hotel] of the upcoming property auction and the properties to go under the hammer. We also find posters an effective marketing channel since a lot of homebuyers travel around the district to view properties.
