A venerable Parisian house whose auction rooms have seen bidders compete for beautiful objects for more than 170 years, Drouot has chosen to add another string to its bow. For a long time there was the Gazette Drouot, the weekly devoted to auction sales, then more recently Drouot digital, the digital counterpart of the auction house. And now, in this digital extension, Drouot.immo has just appeared, an interactive auction platform that counts “shake up the codes of the real estate market”.
Auction sales formulas have been developing and becoming digital for years, whether judicial sales or candle sales. And recently, interactive auction platforms have multiplied (Immo notaires auctions, Agorastore, 36h immo, etc.). So where is the novelty? “It’s a very transparent formula where buyers selected for the sale compete anonymously for just one hour,” explains Maëlys de Lummen, president of Drouot Immobilier. There is therefore an element of speed since most other formulas spread the auctions over several days. But above all there is the fact that the seller undertakes to sell his property to the best bidder… In fact, most voluntary auction sites only position themselves as decision-making aids. The seller is free to sell or not or to transfer to a buyer who is not necessarily the best bidder. “We wanted to get closer to the “pure” auction model that we have always practiced”specifies Olivier Lange, general director of Drouot.
A common DNA
After testing its digital tools on Drouot.com for 5 years, the auction house set up its own real estate agency Drouot Immobilier 2 years ago, in the 9th arrondissement to respond to local issues and to test its first auctions. Now that the technique is established, Drouot has announced the conclusion of a partnership with the Espaces atypical agency network in order to feed its auction platform. The site currently has around ten sales scheduled and plans to carry out at least 100 next year. And nothing prevents other networks from joining the experience in the future.
“We share a common DNA with Drouot, believes Julien Haussy, founder of Espaces atypicals, with customers who are passionate about beautiful things and looking for favorites and rarities.” It is also an opportunity for this network to offer its customers an alternative sales formula or even to benefit from an international clientele of buyers that Drouot already attracts. Concretely, the goods which are all marketed exclusively are displayed on the site a few weeks before the auction, the time to select the buyers who can have the financing and to carry out visits beforehand. The seller is free to set or not a reserve price and to determine a bidding level, knowing that he undertakes to sell to the best bidder as soon as his reserve price is reached.
For the sales already made we find a mixture of goods whose marketing had run out of steam, very atypical products difficult to estimate for which we are awaiting the verdict of the market or even very coveted goods, on which the dynamics of the auctions can affect prices soar. This is how an elegant Breton property in Ploubazlanec, by the sea, with major work has made a beautiful change. Its owner was hesitant, with estimates varying from 1.4 to 1.7 million, so he finally opted for auction. It was a good thing for him: the sale ended at 2.08 million.
For the moment, the basket of properties offered at auction displays a fairly high average ticket, with auctions around a million euros and a maximum of 7 million euros for a priory located at the gates of the Alpilles. But at the other end of the spectrum, this charming Breton farmhouse (see our main illustration) will start at 300,000 euros while the sale of a 10.2 m² service room started at 42,000 euros per month. last. As for the economic model, it is quite simple, the buyer pays the final amount of the auction without any additional costs. The seller agrees with the real estate agent on a commission rate which will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale. As for the agent, he will transfer a certain part of his commission to the auction platform.
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