Clarence White is an auctioneer with Bresic Whitney in Sydney's inner west. He spoke to SCHWARTZWILLIAMS about his disastrous first auction, and about the hard work he puts in to hone his craft and to prepare for auctioneering competitions.

How did you first get into real estate, and decide to become an auctioneer?

The seed of my interest in auctions began a couple of years before I entered the industry. I had started to become interested in buying (a property) for myself and randomly attended an auction of a beautiful house in Harbord I saw in the paper, purely to observe.

Even though there didn’t end up being much bidding, the atmosphere was electric, there was quite a crowd and you could cut the tension with a knife. I was the most excited person there, including the buyers, sellers and auctioneer! Something hooked me that day.

I began in real estate as a sales agent at First National in North Sydney. Real Estate had been a growing interest for a few years as I neared the time when I myself could buy my first property. After about six months I moved from FNNS to Marriott Lane to take on a role as general manager.

I attended as many auctions as I could because I loved them but I really began the journey toward actually becoming an auctioneer in earnest when I saw a role for an auctioneer advertised on Seek. It turned out to be Cooley Auctions seeking an auctioneer via Sharon Bennie Recruitment. Sharon had placed me in my first role so I inquired.

I was invited to spend a day with Damien Cooley and he suggested I enter the REINSW Novice Auctioneer Competition which was coming up soon. Shortly thereafter I competed in and won the REINSW Inner West Novice Auctioneer heat and subsequently competed in the state final.

From that exposure I generated a couple of leads for employment but I was very keen to work for a prestige brand and also have it fit with my existing midweek work in RE. So I made a DVD of myself delivering a mock auction in my own living room using a digital camera and I asked Sharon Bennie to pass it onto Scott Kennedy-Green at McGrath. From that I got a start with McGrath. They put me through some training, nurtured me a bit and then put me to work. 

I called my first auction on a cold wet day in a garage in the western suburbs of Sydney. It was me, the agent, the vendor and one registered buyer, and the buyer handed back his card and walked off up the driveway before I even finished my auction terms and introduction! Welcome to auctioneering!

You were a finalist in the recent 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championship. What did making it to the finals mean to you personally, and for your career?

The year 2017 was my second time competing at the Australasians. For me the competition season, from state competition through to Australasian Championships, is a great opportunity each year to focus on improvement.

I’m quite competitive by nature and we all want to win but growth and development are the real reasons these tournaments hold so much value.

The training we do to be ready is what pushes us all forward with our craft. So whether I am there as a competitor or an observer, the Australasians are always about learning and growing.

It was a special moment to make the finals and I was delighted to be the runner up overall. Career wise the Australasians are a feather in the cap; a footnote on the resume; an achievement that adds credibility to your value proposition as an auctioneer.

How do you prepare for auctioneering competitions?

There’s quite a lot that goes into it. Since joining Bresic Whitney I have been meeting every week with Gavin Croft to work on my call. This is partly ongoing development and partly preparation for the state and national competitions. We go down to the park each week and talk through different parts of my call and then bring them to life with him throwing me bidding while I call the auction. We work a lot on numbers, working with tricky increments, difficult addition, rapid bidding, miscellaneous calls like “same again” or simply holding up fingers.

As the competitions draw closer and once we have the actual property, we refine and polish our property descriptions and opening remarks. On top of that work, in the weeks leading up to the Championships in Adelaide I spent 10-15 minutes 3-4 times a week by myself at home working with a specially modified deck of cards to simulate difficult bidding. In the final fortnight before comp a lot of solo time goes into writing a description and learning that description. Fine tuning material and delivery on your own. Practice, practice, practice.  

You’re from Sydney. Can you tell us about the Sydney market at the moment?

Our marketplace in the inner west, inner east and lower north in Sydney is in transition. It has seen an extended period of hot market conditions. Buyer activity has calmed in recent months though and things are returning to a more stable situation. Clearance rates remain solid but sellers need to be wary of their expectations as the market is now a price sensitive one.

Where do you live now, and where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world?

I live in Wollstonecraft on Sydney’s lower north shore. I love where I live and think Sydney is the best city in the world. Why would you live anywhere else?

Read more about the 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championship:

Winner of the 2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships is Justin Nickerson

2017 Australasian Auctioneering Championships Finalists

Justin Nickerson is Australasian Auctioneer of 2016