Hunters estate agents launches online property bidding platform

Boutique Dublin estate agent Hunters is launching an online portal which it believes will speed up residential property sales.

The company, which has four offices in Dublin, has invested about €200,000 on the bidding platform, which requires title documents and a sales contract to be in order before a property goes to market. Interested bidders will have to have proof of funds before they make a bid.

After an offer is accepted, the prospective buyer would have two weeks to sign a contract conditional on the funds coming through.

Hunters managing partner Rowena Quinn said the system would help reduce the likelihood of non-genuine bids and speed up the sales process, particularly for cash buyers and people trading down.

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Interested purchasers

“The length of time it takes to complete a sale is no longer acceptable,” Ms Quinn said, who claims that the new online platform was expected to reduce sales times from an average of seven months to nine weeks.

“We’ll continue to do everything we do as agents and chartered surveyors but the difference is the contract is uploaded to the platform so the purchase can peruse the contract. We’re hoping we’ll only have engagement from interested purchasers,” she said.

In addition to the platform, Ms Quinn said the company has prepared a “preferred solicitors list”, having engaged with a “vast volume” of Dublin solicitors before building the platform.

The decision to introduce the platform comes after challenges over the “last number of months” with sales falling through, Ms Quinn said.