Auctions

I went to a seminar about Real Estate Auctions yesterday. Auctions seem to be getting more popular ergo I should know more about them.
This is the information I took away: Auctions are only a good idea for sellers that are truly ready to sell and are willing to sell at Market Value (Market Value, not 'But last year I could have gotten ... Value'). There are absolute auctions which means that there is no reserve and the property will be sold to the highest bidder no matter how low that highest bid is. That can be risky for the seller but it generates more potential interested buyers. The more bidders there are, the higher the final price will be (Most likely!).
There are also auctions at which owners can set a minimum price and will not have to sell, but CAN if they so chose to after the auction, below that price. Bidders do not know prior to bidding what that minimum price is. This generates less potential bidders but a safety net for the seller to not have to sell at a too low price.
Do I think Auctions are the way to go? Tobe honest: I have not made up my mind. It seems that it might be something to consider if a property has not been able to sell for a while and the owners are anxious to sell. At an auction the buyer pays the (usually) 6% fee to the auctioneer; the seller does not pay a commission. The seller pays advertising cost and other fees to the Auctioneer which run between 0,5 to 1% of the property value.
To consider: If the property does not sell at auction the owner is out the money he paid to the Auction company.
If you list a property and the property does not sell, the Realtor gets nothing and the owner pays nothing. But this is not a 'competition' between Listing a property or having an auction. It is another venue in a challenging Real Estate Market and I am the last to not give something new a fair shot.
If you are thinking about having an Auction or attending auctions, give me a call and I will give you more information and refer a company I trust and have worked with for many years.

Here the regular info:
Properties that have come on the market since my last post:
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20070821152835521738000000&s=6&id=1

Properties that have sold since my last post:
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20070821153039458468000000&s=6&id=1

and properties that have gone under contract:
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi?20070821153153039314000000&s=6&id=1

Thanks for reading my post and have a great week!