18Conditions of sale by auction—the Act, s 77

18 Conditions of sale by auction—the Act, s 77

18 Conditions of sale by auction—the Act, s 77

(1) The following conditions are prescribed as applicable to the sale by auction of land or livestock—

(a) the vendor’s reserve price must be given in writing to the auctioneer before the auction commences unless the auction relates solely to livestock,

(b) a vendor bid must not be made unless the auctioneer has, before the commencement of the auction, announced clearly and precisely the number of vendor bids that may be made,

(c) the highest bidder is the purchaser, subject to any reserve price,

(d) if there is a disputed bid—

(i) the auctioneer is the sole arbitrator, and

(ii) the auctioneer’s decision is final,

(e) the auctioneer may refuse to accept a bid that, in the auctioneer’s opinion, is not in the best interests of the vendor,

(f) a bidder is taken to be bidding on the bidder’s own behalf unless, before bidding, the bidder has given to the auctioneer a copy of a written authority to bid for or on behalf of another person,

(g) a bid must not be made or accepted after the fall of the hammer,

(h) as soon as practicable after the fall of the hammer the purchaser must sign the agreement for sale, if any.

(2) The following conditions, in addition to the conditions prescribed by subsection (1), are prescribed as applicable to the sale by auction of residential property or rural land—

(a) all bidders must be registered in the Bidders Record and display the identifying number allocated to the person when making a bid,

(b) subject to the condition prescribed by subsection (3)(a)—

(i) the auctioneer may make only 1 vendor bid at an auction for the sale of residential property or rural land, and

(ii) no other vendor bid may be made by the auctioneer or another person,

(c) immediately before making a vendor bid the auctioneer must announce that the bid is made on behalf of the seller or announce “vendor bid”.