Home buyers look for deals at auctions - Trading-Lab

kika · #1 08-28-2007, 06:44 PM

Home buyers look for deals at auctions

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/...ry/217844.html

By J.W. ELPHINSTONE
AP Business Writer

About 60 people huddle on the front lawn of the white bungalow with green shutters in Ocean Township, N.J. Parents with children in tow meander on the porch, while others weave in and out of the freshly painted rooms, inspecting appliances and the wood floor planks.

Many of them clutch bright yellow paper signs showing a bidder number. They hope to walk away with a house, winning a good deal at an auction while sidestepping the typical six-month house hunt with a real estate agent.

As the housing market slows and foreclosures spike, people who have to sell quickly or lenders that need to unload properties they took back at sheriff's auctions are turning to the fast-talking spectacle for quick sales. Even some homebuilders and condo developers are using auctions to reduce excess inventory.

These auctions differ from sheriff's sales, trustee's sales or courthouse sales, which conclude the foreclosure process and are conducted by the county. Often, the lender wins the property at these sales and then tries to resell it by auction.

Last year, revenue from housing auctions grew 12.5 percent to $16 billion from $14.22 billion in 2005, according to the National Auctioneers Association. From 2003 through 2006, residential real estate was the fastest expanding auction sector, the trade group reported.

Auctions represent only a sliver of the overall housing sales market, just less than 1 percent of the $1.74 trillion in existing home sales last year.

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#1 08-28-2007, 06:44 PM
kika Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 38	Home buyers look for deals at auctions Home buyers look for deals at auctions http://www.miamiherald.com/business/...ry/217844.html By J.W. ELPHINSTONE AP Business Writer About 60 people huddle on the front lawn of the white bungalow with green shutters in Ocean Township, N.J. Parents with children in tow meander on the porch, while others weave in and out of the freshly painted rooms, inspecting appliances and the wood floor planks. Many of them clutch bright yellow paper signs showing a bidder number. They hope to walk away with a house, winning a good deal at an auction while sidestepping the typical six-month house hunt with a real estate agent. As the housing market slows and foreclosures spike, people who have to sell quickly or lenders that need to unload properties they took back at sheriff's auctions are turning to the fast-talking spectacle for quick sales. Even some homebuilders and condo developers are using auctions to reduce excess inventory. These auctions differ from sheriff's sales, trustee's sales or courthouse sales, which conclude the foreclosure process and are conducted by the county. Often, the lender wins the property at these sales and then tries to resell it by auction. Last year, revenue from housing auctions grew 12.5 percent to $16 billion from $14.22 billion in 2005, according to the National Auctioneers Association. From 2003 through 2006, residential real estate was the fastest expanding auction sector, the trade group reported. Auctions represent only a sliver of the overall housing sales market, just less than 1 percent of the $1.74 trillion in existing home sales last year.