It’s an auctioneer’s greatest tool, but body language can also be a buyer’s ultimate secret weapon. While most prospective buyers are riding their own wave of emotion in the heat of an auction, those who take time to read their competition will have the upper hand.
Auctioneer Damien Cooley, director of Cooley Auctions, says watching other buyers is just as important as counting the climbing bids.
“One of the biggest mistakes I think buyers make is that they don’t watch their competition; they’re not looking at the body language of the buyers they’re bidding against,” he says.
“From an auctioneer’s perspective, body language is probably one of the most important things that we concentrate on because there are telltale signs that let us read what a buyer is thinking, and what they may be prepared to pay for a property,” he says.
“It affects our judgment on whether we’re looking for a lower increment bid, a higher increment bid, how bullish we are with a buyer, or how much time we give a buyer to make a decision,” he adds.
Before bidding kicks off, Cooley says a simple handshake can give him enough guidance to get started.
“The first thing I like doing, if I have the chance, is to shake people’s hands before the auction because people who are really quite nervous will be perspiring. And if someone is nervous it means they’re emotionally engaged,” he says.
But the non-verbal clues don’t stop there, according to Cooley there is a wealth of information if bidders know what to look for.
It’s literally in the cards
In NSW, bidders have to register prior to an auction so an auctioneer, and any savvy buyer scoping the crowd, know exactly who is a serious player and who is just a spectator.
“Some buyers have their cards in a prominent position because they want to be ready to hold it up and bid. While other buyers have their cards in handbags, or hidden away in folders. One thing I’ll say at the beginning of my auction is ‘If you are intending on bidding you need to hold a registration card, I need to see that card every single time you bid’. That’s when we can see those buyers who get their cards ready, we know straight away that they are fair dinkum because they’re prepared,” he says.
“Another sign during the bidding might be that one of the party shakes their head, or they might put their card away in their handbag.”
Couples can be very revealing
Cooley says couples, who are busy communicating with each other during an auction, are firing off lots of signals that their competition should be picking up on.
“Whether it’s two guys, two girls, a husband and wife, or whatever, usually there is one party in a relationship who is more emotional. That’s the person who is looking for guidance more from the other party and that differs; it’s not always the female or the male in the relationship but usually it’s the person who’s not doing the bidding,” he explains.
“Usually the person who’s bidding is the more confident one, but it’s the less confident one who’s giving off more telltale signs,” Cooley says.
He says while he can’t lip read, there are common turning points during a couple’s bidding process when the tables can turn and other bidders should pay attention.
“That moment when someone looks to their partner to ask ‘What do you think?’ and then come back in with a bid – that’s the moment their competition needs to bid immediately and with a more confident bid. The couple has basically said to the crowd ‘should we? shouldn’t we?’ but went one more bid. That’s when the other buyer needs to come in straight away with a bid like a dagger in the chest saying ‘I’m going to buy this property, why are you wasting your time?’”
Study the poker face of professionals
“Getting a professional buyer to bid for you is definitely an advantage. I also think it’s intimidating for an estate agent to have a professional bidder at auction,” Cooley says.
“Even subconsciously the agent treats that bidder differently. More often than not the agent feels they need to be a bit more frank with a professional buyer than they do with an unseasoned buyer,” he says.
Cooley says it’s common knowledge a buyer’s agent comes to an auction with clear instructions on how much they can spend, but that doesn’t mean the professional can’t be read.
“If they hold the highest bid and won’t increase that bid, or say they’re not going to pay anymore I can tell that they have more because they haven’t had to make a phone call to their buyer, or they haven’t reached their agreed limit.”
And selling agents also give off their own hidden messages.
“As a bidder I’d be watching the agent when they’re going into ask the owner for instructions, because usually that’s a sign that they’re nearing the reserve, or at a point where the agent thinks it’s time to sell,” Cooley says.
“If the vendor is not present, but is on the phone, then watch how the agent is talking to the vendor,” Cooley says.
Beware of the bullish buyer
“When it becomes more of a buyer’s market some bidders will become a little arrogant. But a telltale sign might be that they say ‘Go on, pass it in, we might negotiate after the auction’ and that’s straight away telling me they’re willing to pay more. They just don’t want to do it in front of the competition,” Cooley explains.
“When a buyer is bidding really confidently they can give you the impression that they’ve got an endless budget, but it’s interesting that they can get to a point that they just stop and I might not even pick it. That’s a buyer who has bid really, really well against their competition because they’ve portrayed an image that they’re there to buy at any cost,” he says.