Auction Marketing
Sells Real Estate Fast
Auctioning of real estate is used more and more today to elicit a quick fair market price for your home. There are places in the south and Midwest and even West Virginia where auction is becoming the primary source for selling real estate. The key ingredient for success in auctioning is the motivation of the seller. I have purchased homes at small local auctions and large regional auctions as well. I have seen people bid more for a property than it had been previously listed for.
I have conducted thousands of foreclosure auctions while employed with a large Baltimore Auction company. I have sold cars, jewerly, estates and homes buy auction. The process isn’t for everyone and isn’t appropriate for every piece of real estate in the marketplace. Each situation is different, I’ll be glad to discuss your options when it comes to auctions.
Short Selling by auction is a way to get a contract fast and move on with your life.
The buyer is usually charged an auction fee or buyer’s premium to offset commissions that a seller may normally pay. If the buyer has an agent the seller can choose to pay a buyer’s agent or not. It’s all negotiable and decided before the auction.
The seller is NOT required to accept any bid or even the high bid. They can refuse to sell the property. What the process does, is get as many interested buyer’s together at the same time to compete for the property. This competition, is the reason auctions don’t work for all properties. If you own a condo in a community where there are 5 other similar condo’s for sale, auction marketing may not be your best avenue. In that situation, price is the determining factor and not the unusual nature of the property. If however, your condo is an estate sale, you want it done quick, then an auction might be the method.
The cost to the seller is usually limited to the advertising. If your auctioneer is a licensed real estate agent then that agent can list the property, with an opening bid price to help draw attention at no charge. I always suggest supplementing the Multiple Listing Service presentation with 2 or 3 consecutive weeks of newspaper advertising. This is billed to the seller and may be his or her only expense of offering the property at auction. I estimate local print advertising costs of $1,000.00.
Below Information directly from Realtor.org
What Factors Impact the Success of a Real Estate Auction?
Auctions Are Often Thought of as “Fire Sales” For Properties in Distress.Is this True?
Until recently, real estate auctions, unlike art and antique auctions, have experienced unfounded negative images in the marketplace. The majority of auctions today don’t result from foreclosure of distress situations, but rather are the result of a seller choosing a cost-effective, accelerate method to sell a property. Builders or financial institutions, for example, prefer auction rather than laboring for months or years to sell units of a development one by one. Auction allows the seller to eliminate virtually all long-term carrying costs, passing the savings directly to the purchaser in the form of a reduced price. Auction is truly a win-win situation: sellers obtain immediate cash and buyers purchase properties at fair market value, the price determined by open, competitive bidding.
What Factors Impact the Success of an Auction?
1. The seller must have realistic expectations, including a fair sales price, terms and timing.
2. The desirability of the property. This includes location, conditions, plus the value of surrounding properties.
3. Since a variety of auction methods are available, carefully choose the auction type that best suits the property and the seller’s needs.
4. A well planned, aggressive marketing/advertising campaign targeted to prospective purchasers is critical to an auction’s success.
5. Using a recognized real estate auction company or a REALTOR® auctioneer to ensure the auction is conducted in a professional manner and followed-up through closing.
6. Making sure that due diligence information is provided to prospective buyers AHEAD OF TIME.
7. Preparing the property for sale so it is presented to prospects in its best condition. (i.e.., title insurance, clean-up, financing, etc…)
If you are not sure if this method is right for you, please contact me, I’ll give you my honest opinion regarding auction or traditional marketing methods.
