CAPE TOWN - While the Covid-19 pandemic has seen an uptick in businesses adopting digital technology, South African property company Bidstream has developed an online property auction website.
Launched in February, Bidstream has already conducted four auctions which saw a collective 31 properties go under the hammer across residential, commercial and industrial in locations such as Gordons Bay, Ballito, Klerksdorp, Margate and Johannesburg.
Managing director, Craig Cooper said Covid-19 had pushed people into looking at other ways of buying and selling properties.
“Residential estate agents can only work again when lockdown gets to Level 2, and with more than 40 000 of them in the country, they are forced to look at new ways of transacting, so they are using our platform more and more," said Cooper.
However, he acknowledged that sales were impacted by prospective buyers being unable to view properties before auction.
“The economic maelstrom created by adding pressure from Covid-19 to our already ailing economy means that some commercial properties that wouldn’t have come on market will now be available, as companies are forced to sell off non-core property assets to free up cash,” Cooper said.
How it works ?
All relevant due diligence and Know Your Customer procedures are completed on both purchasers and sellers. The auctions run on a set date for a number of hours, and registered buyers can logon to the Bidstream.co.za to tender their bid, which is date and timestamped for security and an audit trail. All properties have a reserve price and the process is easy, transparent and secure.
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