Get to know Bailee Ha, winner of the encouragement award at the 2017 Schools Auctioneering Championship

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Sep 20, 2017

Get to know Bailee Ha, winner of the encouragement award at the 2017 Schools Auctioneering Championship

When Bailee Ha came to Australia with her sister only four years ago, she spoke no English. At the REIA's recent Schools Auctioneering Championship, Ha was one of only five contestants to make it through to the national level, where she won the encouragement award.

Bailee Ha, winner of the encouragement award at the Australasian Schools Auctioneering Competition 2017.
Bailee Ha, winner of the encouragement award at the Australasian Schools Auctioneering Competition 2017.
Greg Troughton, CEO of the REISA.

This year's Schools Auctioneering Championship marks only the second year of the event. Held in conjunction with the Australasian Auctioneering Championship, the event is designed to introduce students to the world of real estate and to make it a first-choice career.

This year, the finalists in the event were: Ha, winner of the encouragement award, the eventual winner Andre Briffa from Tasmania, Jordan Culham from Victoria, Jake Tanner, and Amy-Lee Hay.

Ha, Tanner, and Hay were all from South Australia.

Competitors in the event had to succeed at their respective REI state competitions to earn the right to compete at the national level.

“It was fantastic to see the students strut their stuff across the stage," said Greg Troughton, CEO of the REISA.

"All their schools should be proud of their talented young students," he said.

“I am proud that South Australia put on such a good show," said Troughton.

Ha, who is only 18 years of age and is in year 12 at Roma Mitchell Secondary College, spoke to SCHWARTZWILLIAMS about her win, and about what the award means to her.

"The Australasian Auctioneering Championship was one of the most amazing opportunity that I have ever had experienced in my whole life," she told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS.

"To me, a young girl who came to Australia four years ago with only my sister and without any English, this is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to pursue my future career."

"I'm very glad that I took the chance and actually tried my best in the competition," she said.

How did you first get interested in auctioneering?

"Firstly, when I saw the opportunity, I can't stop myself to grab the paper and asked my teacher to apply. It is because I really wanted to be a real estate agent since I was in year four. I just love to work with people, helping people to find their home or sell the home and also connecting with people is what I like the most.

"Auctioneering, wow, how can I be an auctioneer when I'm not influence with the language? But then when I started watching videos of other auctioneers I see myself in them, I see myself standing in front of people, make them laugh, make them feel comfortable without forcing them to buy whatever I auction. That was the time when I finally got myself together. I decided to grab this amazing opportunity to become an auctioneer."

How did you prepare for the competition?

"At first, we had some training sessions with AJ Colman, our trainer at the Real Estate Institute of South Australia. In there, we start to learn how auctioning works, the rules of auction and how to auction. It was all new to me, but I really enjoyed learning it and I felt like, oh wow, this is actually very interesting and fascinating.

"During training sessions, we had to do some biding and practice our scripts. It was very hard for me to do bidding in my second language, however I overcame it by keep practicing and practicing every night before the competition.

"To me, the easiest part was writing my script about the house, it looks like I can feel the house when I look at it. I also watched the last year competition to learn from them. "

What was the highlight of the event for you?

"I was very, very happy and super excited to meet and listen to all the successful people from the industry, and to meet all other contestants and become their friends. Throughout the event, I also became more confident, improved my public speaking skills, and widened my knowledge."

Do you hope to pursue a career as an auctioneer?

"Yes of course, I would love to be an auctioneer. I would love to continue to be in real estate industry, and learn more and experience more to be a good auctioneer and to help the industry.

"I would like to thank REISA for giving such an amazing opportunity for a young student like me. And a special thanks to AJ Colman, my trainer.

"Finally thank you The Real Estate Conversation for letting me express my thoughts and appreciation towards the Australasian Auctioneering championship."

Interested in trying out for the event next year?

If schools or students are interested in taking part in the 2018 Schools Auctioneering event, they can contact their state or territory Real Estate Institute, details are below.

REIACT

(02) 6282 4544

Email REIACT

REINT

(08) 8981 8905

Email REINT

REIWA

(08) 9380 8222

Email REIWA

REISA

(08) 8366 4300

Email REISA