Auctioneer
What the work is
Conducts sales of real estate, goods and livestock by taking offers from buyers and accepting the highest purchase price.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Appraises and lists real estate, goods and livestock for auction
- Organises advertising and other publicity to promote upcoming auctions
- Conducts auctions of real estate, goods and livestock
- Facilitates bidding processes by asking for or setting opening bids, and maintains control of the auction
- Takes offers from buyers and closes the sale by accepting the highest purchase price
- Resolves disputes or issues that may arise during the auction
- Completes necessary paperwork and documentation related to the auction process
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a real estate agency in a regional town that also runs rural livestock sales and property auctions. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- The hammer falls at an auction and both the seller and the buyer walk away happy
- A family you helped to find a home sends you a photo of their first night in it
- A morning at the saleyards, with the auctioneer's patter and everyone's handshake
Hard days
- A sale that falls through the day before settlement, after weeks of work
- Telling an owner that the price they hoped for is not what the market will pay
- Weekends and evenings given up to open homes, auctions and urgent phone calls
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 622231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.