Monday, August 21, 2006

Desperate sellers turning to auctions

Desperate sellers turning to auctions
Eager to unload property, sellers hope for bids

By MICHAEL POLLICK
michael.pollick@heraldtribune.com

Back in December 2004, when David Holland paid $315,700 for a new home in an east Venice Centex subdivision, the granite-and-tile beauty looked like an easy flip.

But as Centex's sales slowed down, his property turned into a flop.

Last week, Holland cut his losses. He put his house up for an "absolute auction," meaning no minimum and no reserve. Once the auction company advertised the house that way, Holland had no choice but to let the property go to the highest bidder.

He walked away with $255,000, a painful reminder that real properties, like stocks, do not always go up.

Read the rest of the article here:
http://heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060821/BUSINESS/608210570/1448

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think we'll see more auctions taking place as this situation continues to unravel.

It's certainly one way to get out from the burden of paying taxes, insurance, and a mortgage on a property that is simply a money drain.

The thing is, interest rates are still VERY reasonable by historical standards. That RE sales have slowed to a crawl in spite of this speaks to the underlying economic weakness (debt) present in America's households, and in the U.S. economy as a whole.

8:45 AM  

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