Florida Home Sellers Turn to Auctions
Chuck Humm and his wife, Dee, own a beautiful waterfront home in Ponte Vedra Beach. It was built in 1994, but the couple is now set on selling it and traveling the country.
Will they go through a Florid home loan broker or agent? Nope. An auction will be held on May 5 to determine the value and sales price of the property.
“I don’t know what we’ll get– that’s a function of who comes,” said Humm, 64. “We’re doing this because we want to be able to make plans with some certainty and high-end properties can take time, no matter who the broker is.”
Humm is among a growing number of luxury homeowners in Florida who have chosen to auction off their high-end single-family homes rather than sell them through the conventional Florida real estate system involving a broker or Realtor.
The shift is less a reflection of dissatisfaction with traditional methods than of the increase in unique homes that owners view as a piece of art rather than a piece of real estate.
A new approach to Florida home loans: the auction
A fixed period of several weeks to see the house and bid on it coupled with the ability to attract a group of serious buyers has compelled the Humms and many others to choose auctions.
“It’s becoming more common because it’s no longer seen as a distress sale,” said Michael Fine, a senior vice president with Sheldon Good & Co., which expanded its auction business from commercial to residential properties in the 1970s. “It’s seen now as a good alternative marketing method for many types of properties, one of those being unique high-end homes.”
While sellers have a degree of control in the process, Fine said buyers tend to be accustomed to buying things in auctions, such as art or wine.
This crowd also knows it can expect a bid package from most auction companies that includes home inspection, title search and other documents, making the decision to buy on the spot easier.
An attractive price reached in a speedy manner is what the Humms are counting on. They are obviously not alone. As the Florida home loan market shifts a bit, sellers are looking for alternative ways to find the best deals.
