Live real estate auctions gain popularity

In the coming weeks, three of the largest real estate auctions ever held in the region will place just under 300 acres of prime Inland Northwest property and 10 homes on the block.

Behind the rostrum will be nationally known auctioneer Randy Wells. Wells and his wife, Annette, own MR Auction and Realty Auction Services in Post Falls.

Wells is the president-elect of the National Auctioneers Association, the largest professional organization for auctioneers throughout the world.

Live real estate auctions, he said, are catching on across the country.

An NAA-published report shows: “The most significant growth was seen in residential real estate, which grew by 12.5 percent in 2006, generating $16 billion. Last year, residential real estate auctions generated $14.2 billion.

“Residential real estate auctions are the fastest growing sector of the industry and are increasingly being accepted as mainstream with the general public.”

Wells is riding high after recently auctioning off the most unusual real estate he’s handled.

He sold the 35-acre campus and six historical buildings that make up the Albion State Normal School, originally a Southern Idaho teachers college established in 1894, in June.

The hammer price was $891,000.

Friday evening, Wells, also a licensed real estate agent, plans to call the first of the three mega-property auctions. First up will be seven properties. They’re scattered in Athol, Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Spirit Lake and just outside Davenport, Wash.

Then on Sept. 6, more than 30 properties around Sandpoint, Lake Pend Oreille and Clark Fork will take center stage. That sale will be held at the Best Western Edgewater Resort in Sandpoint.

Two more properties will be available by closed bids Sept. 7.

Among the advantages of selling properties at auction are a compressed marketing cycle, fewer showings and open houses, sales prices that reflect real market-value and closings that usually occur within 30 days, Wells said.

Plus, sellers aren’t saddled with paying real estate agents’ commissions, which may add up to more than the buyers’ premiums paid in addition to the price they paid for the property.

To ensure properties aren’t sold below value, sellers can set minimum price reserves, Wells said.

If you’re considering this route, Wells said, hiring an auctioneer who specializes in real estate is critical. They know best how to market property before auction and have lists of potential buyers.

There are fewer than 1,000 real estate auctioneers across the country. Wells is helping form a network of such specialists able to cover requests all over the United States.

Wells said don’t let all the recent hand wringing over the softening real estate market get you down.

“If your house is priced right, it’s going to sell. Our market is hot,” said Wells, who worked as a general auctioneer for 17 years before selling his Post Falls auction house to concentrate in on selling real estate, in 1997.

So far this year, he said, month-to-month property sales totals in the region are running about the same as last year.

And he likes to tell sellers that at auction, they receive anywhere from $100 to $1,000 above the second highest bid – which he believes reflects fair market value.

While real estate agents generally discourage sellers and buyers from talking to each other, Wells likes to bring them all together in one place.

“I want them looking each in the eye,” he said. “If I can get the adrenaline flowing, I can get more money out of that property. After all, who in America likes to lose?”