Iowa's Auctioneer Jason Smith

Are you considering selling a home? Have a home you can not get sold? Have you considered the auction method of marketing?  Auctions are an ACCELERATED method of marketing.  When most people thing of an auction they think of a fast talking auctioneer.  The fast talking auctioneer is only a small portion of auction marketing.  95% of the work occurs before the Auctioneer even takes the podium.  The auction method of marketing is about MARKETING and not FAST TALKING Auctioneers. 

There is a growing trend in the United States and more and more people are selling their homes at auction.  Today the National Auctioneers Association(NAA) released new numbers about real estate auctions and real estate is the fasted growing segment of the auction industry.  You might think this is due to the current market condition but the numbers actually were measured over a 5 year period from 2003-2008.  You'll recall that time period is also the same time period when we experienced a sellers market and home prices were high.  According to the NAA real estate auctions have grown 46.6% in 5 years. When you think about that number it is overwhelming. The increase is due to several things and among those are better education of the public on the auction method of marketing, the publics more favorable opinion of Auctioneers as compared to real estate agents (I'm both) and certain cultural factors that make auctions less mysterious to the public.  Ebay's online auctions have made auctions commonplace and today's younger generation grew up with auctions, and other segments have become more familiar and comfortable with auctions through Ebay and other online auctions.  These things combine to make today's live public auctions a more appealing method of selling real estate.

Would you be comfortable selling your home at public auction?  I know your number one concern is going to be price!  You are going to be nervous that nobody will show up to bid on your home and somebody will be able to steal it.   Give me a second to show you something.  If your home is listed with a Realtor and say its been sitting on the market 180 days then isn't it already happening to you?  Nobody is showing up to bid?  Is the time and holding cost already costing you money? 

If you have already purchased a new home and are still making payments on the old home its costing you the mortgage payment, interest, taxes, insurance and upkeep (mowing - snow removal) for the second home.  How much is it costing you to keep the home listed?  If your monthly payment plus interest on the home is $1000 and your taxes are $300 and your home insurance is $75 then its costing you no less than $1375 per month.  Thats $8250 over a 180 day listing.  With a real estate auction there is a 30 day marketing period and a 30 day closing period, thats a total of 60 days from start to finish. Is a listed home even guaranteed to sell within the typical 180 days listing period?  Remember, I am both an agent and an auctioneer so I can comfortably say the answer is easily no, otherwise there would not be so many homes right now that have been on the market longer than that! 

With an auction your home is exposed to the market in an intense and accelerated way.  An auction is an EVENT and the center of attention is YOUR HOME!  Attention and interest is brought to your property.  All of a sudden your home sticks out, its not just ANOTHER listing in the MLS.  There are flyer's hanging all around, post cards are being sent out, its posted all over the Internet to auction websites, the MLS, blogs, advertising websites, its in the newspaper with its VERY own ad.  If you are listed with a Realtor some of that same advertising is done, only over a longer period of time at a much slower pace.  With a Realtor you do not get the individualized advertising like the flyer and newspaper ad. 

Think about the difference between a listing and an auction for a minute.  With a listing you start high with your price with the intention of having to come down.  After all you did not want to start to low and leave money on the table right?  Ever have a Realtor tell you "well we can always come down"   With an auction you start low and generate interest and at auction the price goes from lower to higher.  When the property is advertised correctly all interested buyers come to compete against each other.  This is the best form of appraisal.  The bidding will stop when nobody is willing to pay more for your home.  Now back to your concern someone could "steal" your home.  There are two types of auctions, reserved and absolute.  Absolute means you will sell your home to the highest bidder.  With a reserve auction you will be able to reserve your price, meaning ahead of time you set the price you will let your home sell for.  If bidding is above that price your home sells, if it is below that price your home does not sell. 

Here is another great benefit of an auction and one of the best I think.  YOU set the terms of the sale.  You will have no contingencies to deal with.  Ahead of the sale you and I sit down and discuss your options.  You set the sale date, you set the closing date, you set the down payment due at the sale and you sell the real estate AS IS WHERE IS!  When a Realtor brings you an offer the buyer is setting the terms by making you an offer.   With an auction you make all of the decisions, I advertised those terms and conditions, we state the terms and conditions just as the sale begins and any person bidding accepts those terms and conditions.  A 10% non-refundable earnest is typical the day of the sale.  If the buyer fails to close the earnest deposit is non-refundable and goes to the seller.  If you are selling a home that sells for $100,000 thats a $10,000 earnest deposit, a very motivating deposit for the buyer to close.  Statistics show that 99% of homes sold at auction actually close.

Finally, according to National Auctioneers Association 2007 Auction Industry Growth document released today  "Despite a slump in sales of new and existing homes in 2007, revenues from residential real estate sold at live auction grew a solid 5.3% from 2006, and 46.6% since 2003. What might account for this performance? One explanation might be the greater acceptance of the auction method of marketing among homeowners, buyers, institutions, and real estate professionals. Public recognition of the benefits and successful results of live auctions should bring even greater growth to this sector as the housing market recovers. As the sale of real estate through live auction has increased, real estate agents have discovered the opportunity that live auctions provide for quicker turnaround of property. Finally, Auctioneers' interest in marketing real estate has accelerated, particularly using multi-tract sales to increase a property's value."

I work with Realtors that bring me sale clients and you still get paid a commission on the sale.  If you are a Realtor and have a property or two you think may make a good candidate for auction please call me so I can show you how we can work together and you can still make a commission.  I know how valuable your clients are to you and by working together you have more options at your disposal to sell clients listings.

As an auctioneer its my job to get you top dollar for your home while you the seller pay less in commission since some of it is paid by the buyer through a buyers premium.  I do that by AGGRESSIVELY and INTENSELY marketing your home, bringing lots of attention to it and getting every buyer possible to your sale.  As an Auctioneer at the sale I represent the seller and the seller only.  Many are but not every situation is right for auction so give me a call to inquire about selling your home through the auction method or marketing today.