Auction marketing has been a very popular method to sell homes in many places: I lived for 7 years in Australia, where a very high percentage of homes and commercial properties choose auction marketing as their first choice!
In Charleston, SC and the Lowcountry, auction marketing traditionally has "signalled" that the property is under distress, foreclosure, bankruptcy, etc.
We set up Lowcountry Home Auctions, LLC to change this mindset! Auction marketing can be used to sell any property, especially in a flat or declining market.
The big problem that Sellers face is the lack of urgency, and the difficulty getting Buyers to make offers. When you are competing with 30-40 other similar listings, no matter how creative you want to get, it is a challenge to entice realtors through the MLS to show your home (another price reduction - Yawn!).
For Buyers, the abundance of similar listings gives them so many choices and options, that they can sometimes feel overwhelmed and "freeze", postponing any decision, knowing the listings will still be there the following week...
Auction marketing changes that paradigm. By setting a date within the next 30 days and taking the property to auction, the Seller is saying "I want to sell now". This creates tha much needed URGENCY, and places the onus of competition BETWEEN BUYERS and not between the Buyer and the Seller. Auction marketing is a true test of the maximum amount the market is willing to pay for a property at any given time.
Auction marketing is ideal as a FIRST OPTION, to test the market BEFORE you list a property using traditional marketing. In 30 days the Seller will KNOW if the property sold or not (a very high percentage are sold), and what level of interest there is in the market. In the odd chance it does not sell, having gone through the auction process will also help set a more realistic price for a traditional marketing listing on the MLS, improving its chances against the competition.
Lowcountry Home Auctions, LLC will gladly pay referral fees to Realtors who bring listings to us (a higher referral fee if the property has not been pre-marketed), and full commissions to Realtors who bring their Buyers to purchase at our auctions. Check out our website http://www.lowcountryhomeauctions.com/ for more details.
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