In his latest sales masterclass, Mr Morris asked whether the auction method was still king in a changing market? The resounding answer was yes.
Mr Morris utilised Ray White data to demonstrate why the auction method remains the most powerful tool for agents and vendors seeking certainty in an uncertain climate.
“It’s an uncertain time, so why not offer certainty?” he said.
“If you’re offering private treaty or a price guide, why not offer your client auction as well and give them the opportunity for an unconditional sale?”
To illustrate the power of the gavel, Morris pointed to South Australia’s standout Q1 2026 performance, where 808 auctions were held with 94.5 per cent of them seeing active bidding.
These auctions achieved an auction day clearance rate (ADCR) of 75.9 per cent, with final sale prices averaging 13.2 per cent higher than the best offers received prior to auction day.
This efficiency is further proven by Ray White’s 90 day data, which shows that 91 per cent of properties with an auction campaign are sold within 90 days, even if they don’t sell under the hammer, compared to just 53 per cent of private treaty sales.
“The market may have changed, but the buyers and sellers haven't. What starts to change is our agents get worried how it will look if there’s no bidders on auction day.
“But our job isn't to worry about looking stupid if an auction doesn't have bidders, it’s to do the best thing by the vendor, which is compressing time on market.”
Mr Morris highlighted the “efficiency factor” for agents, proving that auction agents can sell more properties in a year than those who use private treaty.
“If you can comfortably hold five listings and you’re selling 91 per cent of them via auction campaign, your conversion rate is 4.6. If your average days on market is 26, your efficiency rate is 14. You can comfortably sell 63.9 sales per year,” he said.
“With private treaty, if you hold five listings but you have 53 per cent sold, your conversion rate is 2.7. Your average days on market is 36, so your efficiency is 10.1 Suddenly you can only do 26.9 sales per year.”
