– Introduction for today’s episode 00:42 – Leigh welcomes Ray Wood 00:56 – Ray is a partner at Best Agents and Locked On 01:48 – Ray is a fourth generation, real estate agent and it was his Dad who got him into the industry 02:26 – A lot of property is auctioned in Australia and Ray got his start by auctioning different items from the back of a truck 03:45 – Buying a property is an emotional decision 04:23 – An auction is a transparent environment where the buyers can see who else wants the property and this makes them want it more 05:48 – Ray shares how there are instances in the Toronto market where 30 or more people make an offer on the same property 06:27 – By conducting an auction, you’ll easily be getting top dollar for your home as opposed to looking at all offers individually 06:58 – Consumers in the US and Canada are typically against auctions 07:05 – Consumers must be educated about how auctions can be productive 07:48 – An auction starts at a base amount as opposed to starting at a high amount 08:50 – Auctions in North America are still stigmatized because agents and sellers do not know how they work 09:31 – Agents should help the sellers understand the science of how it works 10:16 – An open time in Australia is 45 minutes 11:22 – Ray is big on establishing a relationship with an agent 12:07 – Ray wrote a book: How to Sell Your Home for More 12:32 – Leigh asks Ray where people can find auction specialists and Ray has no idea 13:05 – Ray says agents have a moral obligation to sellers to produce the best result—if people are hesitant about the procedure of an auction, it’s probably not considered the best option 13:50 – Leigh thinks auctioning could possibly be the answer for the current real estate problem in Charlotte as there are multiple buyers bidding for one property 14:27 – Ray says not everybody has the ability to educate sellers and buyers 14:55 – Harcourt’s work in California might be a good indication of the future of auctions 15:26 – Consumers do want innovation 16:05 – Locked On is a CRM and a cloud-based software that helps you communicate with your clients 17:07 – Contact Ray at his email and check out his podcast 17:43 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate  3 Key Points Auctions can be valuable for both buyers and sellers—especially when it comes to having multiple, competing offers. There is a need to educate consumers about how to do auctions for real estate. Agents have to put the best interest of their clients, first and foremost. Credits Audio Production by Chris Mottram Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives Cover Design by Two Minds Design Original Music by Rimsky Music