When is a full offer not good enough? How about when an auction company is "teasing the public"?

Damon ... Auctions usually work like that where the price advertised is the starting point for bids or negotiations.  Some brokers (not us) who list distressed properties on the MLS here in Southern California, use the same auction starting bid price strategy.

I know some MLS allow ths but there is are ethics questions that I think needs to be considered as to what we are presenting as "truth" to consumers.

Damon. This is quite common in my market area. There's really not much that can be done about it. Sellers can price their property anyway they want and they can never be obligated to sell it at list price. That's just the way it is. It's neither unethical or illegal (assuming all disclosures are in place)

BUT...what you can do is use this to your advantage. Explain this technique to your potential buyers and give them another reason why they need a pro on their side.

This kind of approach is just NOT good for business...anytime buyers ask me about auction properties, I wave a BIG RED FLAG--you can be the "winning bidder" and the bank still doesn't have to approve the sale...

Damon, I agree that "the auction company is blatantly violating the Code", but that is a code for REALTORS®. How many auction companys are actually REALTORS????

Our MLS will not permit you to post a listing with a super low price just to tease the market.  It's one thing to list it 10% under to drive interest.  It's another thing to price is 25-30% too low.  I think what that company is doing is unethical, if not illegal.

Glad this got featured!  The buying public needs to learn about this practice!

Excellent and informative post.  Not a practice I've seen in our market (yet.)

I had this conversation with a prospective auction attendee yesterday, and explained that auction companies are more concerned about the marketing than really about selling the house.

Damon - I've had dealings with one auction company here in Pennsylvania. In PA auctioneers don't need a real estate license to do their job BUT I was surprised that they didn't have one of their employees licensed just to keep them on top of the current real estate laws.

How are they still in business like this! I would be highly upset. I would be making complaits. Could this be considered bait and switch?

We as Realtors are held accountable for everything we say & do  from words in our marketing like quiet,view (so forth), agency, disclosure...and everything else...then this................and nothing can be done about it?  How about appraiser?

Look what a magnifying glass they have been put under...I can't understand how this can be done with no accountability on their part.....

We were talking about this very subject today at the office.  All of a sudden one particular agent seems to be listing all his properties as "auctions."  One of our agents was told by an associate of this agent that there is no intention of ever actually holding an auction - it's a marketing ploy.  Hope it doesn't take long for the agents in this area to catch on; no one will want to show these properties.

We've seen some of this in our market but consumers have caught on pretty fast. Not too many have actually made it to closing.

I have never done an auction and to be honest, they do make me nervous. I showed one this morning and was relieved when my buyer didn't like the house.

Auctions are nothing but marketing tools and it's a real turn off for the buyer when they bid and cannot buy the property.

Thanks for the inforative post today. I' ve bookmarked  it.

Just a question:  When you bring a full price offer from a ready, willing and able buyer - aren't you owed a commission whether or not the seller goes through with the transaction?  (It didn't sound like a multiple offer situation, it sounded like the seller flat-out rejected a full priced offer.)