Auctions may become more common in Queenstown because it is becoming more difficult to set prices for property, says Queenstown spokesman for the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Adrian Snow.
Auctions were typically used when it was hard to place a value on a property, sometimes because it was "exceptional", but also, given the current economic climate, when prices were "arguably coming down", Mr Snow said.
"The auction gets pulled out of the bag to be the tool used to set the price.
"It's very common in a recessive or flat market and certainly very common in Australia," he said.
Several auctions were held in Queenstown and Wanaka at the weekend, with some properties passed in.
Harcourts Queenstown sales representative Peter Townsend said Harcourts held auctions on Wednesdays.
Last week, three properties went under the hammer, and one sold for $808,000.
At that auction there were two international phone bidders, two national phone bidders, and five people in the room bidding, he said.
"One of the auctions was a mortgagee sale - some people expected to see $500,000, but it sold for $808,000.
"I don't think the market is as bad as the media say.
''We've got so many buyers and sellers."
Mr Townsend said he had seen no sign of the economic downturn affecting real estate in the area, other than more interest from overseas buyers.
He had one client based in Boston, in the United States, with whom he had been dealing for the past three years.
"As soon as [the dollar] dropped below 60c, he called and said, `I'm back in the market'.
"He's 40% better off than he was two years ago.
"It's fair to say prices have softened, but [auctions] are also a reality check for owners as well."
A handful of auctions were held in Wanaka during Labour Weekend.
Locations agent Joss Harris said about 12 people turned up for her client's auction at 5 Stratford Tce, while fellow agent Fiona Reid said fewer than 20 people attended the auction of 14 Rockhaven Rd on Saturday.
The Stratford Tce property, two adjoining houses in an area with commercial potential, passed in for $490,000 but Mrs Harris sold an Anderson Rd house at an open home by private treaty.
Mrs Reid sold 14 Rockhaven Rd by private treaty a day after it was passed in at auction at $590,000.
The purchaser had attended the earlier auction so Mrs Reid felt the auction process had been successful for her client.
The ODT incorrectly published on Saturday that Remax had an auction at 87 Hunter Cres, Wanaka, on Saturday.
The date for that auction is November 22.
