Why do sellers use Modern method Auction

london21

A close family member of mine wants to buy a semi-detached house.
They dropped leaflets in the interested area around November.
About a month later, someone contacted them they had a property they are looking to sell.
Seller said they can view but informed that they are in the process of putting property in auction.
The same day, seller cancelled viewing and stated that auction coordinator will contact them to arrange viewing.

I have advised relative that I would not advice going down the modern method route.
The fees 4.2%
Houses in the area go for £450,000

Upon further research the auction company Iamsold and estate agent keep the fees.
The reviews online are not positive.
If the buyer fails to complete they lose their reservation fee of 4.2%

hazyjo

They're often for the desperate. Can't afford fees, or believe they're simply passing the fees onto the buyer.

Often, people don't really understand what they're signing up for or how unpopular modern auctions are. EAs are salespeople at the end of the day. For the inexperienced, this option could sound like a good idea.

ohdarn

Pretty sure some estate agents take advantage of sellers that aren't sure what one is.
Easy way of earning loads more commission than a standard sale.

YellowCarBlueCar

When I approached estate agents over selling my late father's house, one of them was pushing this option.  The house was a proper "doer-upper" in a good location, so a bit tricky to judge what it would be worth to a buyer, as it would depend on the importance given to location vs condition.

As hazyjo and ohdarn suggested, the agent didn't point out how unpopular they are, just highlighting that there would be no fees for us to pay.  At the time I didn't even realise that modern method was a thing, it just sounded like a contemporary was of auctioning.

Maybe in circumstances where the value is difficult to estimate it's a reasonable approach, nut not one that we went with.