Buyers are being forced to reconsider their real estate assets as the economy buckles under the strain of lockdown and the pandemics effect on business as a whole.

The need to showcase your property in these difficult times is extremely difficult and one needs to carefully consider many options before embarking down the sales avenue. Equally, the current situation is presenting sellers with difficult decisions if they are wanting to unlock value from property in the short term.

Specialist companies like GoIndustry DoveBid, a subsidiary of Liquidity Services NASDAQ: LQDT can offer a unique sales solutions during these unprecedented times, and additionally, the need to work with transparent business partners that have strong online capabilities is now more important than ever. As a global asset management specialist company, with headquarters in the USA, we remain innovative and a reputable disposal partner who have built many years of trust with financial institutions, corporate clients and government institutions.

Is Property Still An Attractive Investment?

“While there is vast uncertainty in many markets across the globe, property will still be a safe investment in times of crisis,” says Kim Faclier, Managing Director of Property at GoIndustry. “While the needs of the population may shift in priority, people will always need a place to live. On a commercial level, companies will be re-evaluating their business plans and this will undoubtedly result in activity within the commercial property market.

It is difficult to fully predict what this activity might be – it could be anything from the rapid downsizing of companies to smaller premises, employers choosing to downsize their leases for flexible office space, to companies wanting to evolve their services in this changing time and thereafter require alternative property as a result. As the coronavirus takes a steep toll on the economy and the workforce, some who are still employed will now permanently work from home.

Companies of all sizes are adjusting to a new normal; that includes some of the largest tech employers in the world like Google, Salesforce, Twitter & facebook who have recently given their corporate staff the option of working from home through to the end of the year, or indefinitely in some cases

Our Property Experience

Over the years we have valued and sold property for many clients in the banking, distressed business, government, parastatal and corporate space. Case in-point is our continued long-standing relationship with Telkom SA. “This well-known South African communications service provider, who we’ve been working with for over 8 years, has presented us with a varied surplus property portfolio to dispose of,” says Faclier.

“We have successfully sold a substantial amount redundant and under-utilised properties on their behalf. This has been achieved by holding more than 22 separate auction sales of over 200 properties via our proprietary online auctions, on-site auctions, boardroom-style auctions as well as through private treaty sales. These auctions have achieved a staggering 320 000 page views and grabbed the interest of over 750 registered bidders from across the globe.

“We recently concluded 2 online auctions on behalf of Telkom, proving our specialised online sales process is highly effective. In November 2019, GoIndustry auctioned 34 of Telkom’s properties across all 9 of South Africa’s Provinces. In March this year, (literally a day before the country’s national lock-down) we concluded another online auction of 53 properties across the country. Having raised hundreds of millions of rand for our valued client over the years, these 2 on-line auctions alone attracted more than 500 bids, 25470 page views and 43 approved bidders, all  transacting through our software”, continued Faclier.

Both sales featured a vast array of property types, included single- and double-story buildings, plots with telecommunications capability, vacant land with development potential, residential dwellings, agricultural holdings and industrial erven. The beauty about the online process is that GoIndustry are able to offer incredible transparency, as well as date and time-stamped records for their clients.

The Suitability Of Online Auctions

While online auctions have always been perfectly suited for the sale of multiple properties across various locations, the current COVID-19 regulations have resulted in online and/or remote purchases becoming a necessity. Online auctions allow bidders from across the country, and globe for that matter, to participate in a sale from their home without the need to venture out to a physical venue and be in close proximity with others and hence, risk transmission.

Online auctions provided a trusted auction process that is auditable and open to scrutiny. A further benefit to an online auction is that sellers experience no disruption to their place of work, allowing them to focus all their time and resources on their business in this uncertain time.

“In the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we, as a company, are now better positioned than ever to transcend these unprecedented times. We look forward to assisting existing and future clients, parastatals, corporates, companies and government divisions with our unique, proprietary-owned specialised online capabilities.”

For further information, please contact Kim Faclier on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +27 82 554 6295