The Real Estate Institute's 2016 Australasian Auctioneering Competition, which was held in Alice Springs earlier this month, included a Schools Auctioneering Competition.

The Schools Competition allows year 12 students who have attended an auctioneering course to compete, and the winner this year was Carlton Heres from Tasmania.

Heres came to be involved in the event when real estate agents from the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania came to his school to speak about entering the competition.

"The competition consisted of six weeks of training, and learning about how to auctioneer, and then the state competition was held," said Heres. 

Greg Troughton, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of South Australia, which hosted the auctioneering competition this year, said the Schools Auctioneering Competition is about "introducing students to the world of real estate and making it a first choice career, and about giving real estate agents, and in particular auctioneers, an ability to give something back to a profession that has given them so much."

"REIA, REINZ and all of the REIs around Australia are working very hard to making the schools auctioneering competition a "must see" event," said Troughton. The next schools competition will be held in South Australia in September 2017.

Heres won the Tasmanian competition, qualifying him to move on to the Australasian finals.

"I was fortunate to represent my school at the REIT competition, and then went on to represent Tasmania at the Australasian Schools Auctioneering Competition," he said.

Heres researched properties and worked closely with his mentor to prepare.

"The main way I prepared was looking at the property's brochure and the history of the house," said Heres. "My mentor, David Jackson, also met with me every week leading up to the competition and ran me through different bidding sequences to ensure I was ready."

Heres sees the competition as a pathway to pursue a career in real estate.

"I am currently seeking a career in real estate," he said. "Since it is not possible to be a pure auctioneer in the state of Tasmania, I will become a real estate agent and do the odd auction when opportunities arise."

Winning the competition was a significant event for the schoolboy.

"Winning the competition means a lot," he said. "It is one of the biggest achievements for me, and to have had the opportunity to see the senior auctioneers in action as well, it was a real privilege."

Heres was keen to thank the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania and others who helped him. 

"A huge thank you has to go to Mark Berry and the team at REIT for making all of this possible," he said.

The REISA provides a scholarship to do Certificate IV in Property Services, valued at $4,000, to those who complete the REISA Scholarship Auctioneering Competition. "REISA is keen to provide a pathway into the real estate profession," said Troughton, "and that's why in South Australia we provide the reward of undertaking the course to obtain a license to practice real estate."

Jonathon Moore, of Moore Auctions, praised the standard of the school competitors.

"Absolutely outstanding performances from all the contestants in the Australasian Auctioneering Schools Championships in Alice Springs," said Moore. "Great to see these guys have a go."

To find out more about the schools auctioneering competition go to www.reisa.com.au.

See also:

Justin Nickerson reflects on his auctioneering win

Justin Nickerson is Australasian Auctioneer of 2016

Tasmanian real estate 'robust and active'