Consider Selling Your Home at Auction

By _____________________ (Board President's Name Here)
________________________ Board/Association of REALTORS

Looking for guaranteed results and a quick sale of your home?

You may want to consider selling at auction.

Yes--you read that right--at auction.

You're already familiar with the auction concept right? The Van Gough paintings sold for millions at a London auction house, the antiques bid off every other Friday in a local auction house that looks like a renovated barn.

Many REALTORS are using the same concept to sell houses; however, some are having a hard time convincing clients that auctions are a legitimate sales method.

Their problems convincing clients are understandable, given the history of real estate auctions. Foreclosed properties were sold at auction during the Great Depression. Today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses auctions to dispose of foreclosed properties. So it's easy to see how many people began associating real estate auctions with distressed properties.

No sellers want potential buyers to think their three-bedroom, two-bath house--their family home for the last 20 years--is a distressed property just waiting to be unloaded.

But now even homeowners in higher-priced neighborhoods are seeing the advantages of selling their homes at auction. They know exactly what day their homes will sell. They can stipulate in advance what minimum sale price they will accept. They may be able to sell their home for much more than expected, since auctions tend to stimulate interest in a property. And they can sell their house in one or two months, compared with marketing times of three to four months using more traditional sales methods.

Sellers who have unconventional houses have even more to gain from auctions, because the extra publicity surrounding an auction draws more curiosity-seekers and potential buyers.

Finally, homeowners who have to make a quick sale and can't decide on a price are often turning to the auction method. Many are divorcing or settling an estate.

With all these advantages, here's wagering you'll be hearing of a lot more homes being sold through auctions.