Real Estate Auctions--There's a Sucker Bidding Every Minute!

When a Sacramento, CA home that had just been listed for $99,000 sold for $136,500 at a recent REDC auction, I realized that, sadly, some people who bid at real estate auctions do not investigage the sales and listing histories of homes they are bidding on.  If you are considering bidding at a real estate auction, call or visit a real estate agent and ask the agent to provide you with any information available regarding recent sales or listing prices for the home in question.  You may find that the most recent selling price was much lower than you would have guessed, or that the home had been listed, unsold, at a price lower than that which you were willing to bid.  Be careful in relying on some past selling price provided by the auctioneer (which is designed to pump up the bid) or on sites such as Zillow (which can lag behind market conditions).