Real Estate Auctions Grow in Popularity Across Southwest Florida Housing Market

Auctions have become a more familiar phenomenon in the Southwest Florida housing market and the state as a whole with the cooling housing market.

Some of the trend is an outgrowth of owners who need to move properties quickly, while another driver is banks auctioning properties after foreclosure.

As traditional real estate sales came under pressure in the recent slowdown, property auctions for houses have become one way for sellers and brokers to generate both buzz and, hopefully, closings.

A few weeks ago, luxury Florida mortgage broker Sky Sotheby’s International Realty and J.P. King Auction Co. announced that they were teaming up to market luxury auctions in the Sarasota-Manatee market.

Then, Naples-based DeCaro South Auctions announced a Sarasota-based real estate real estate auction business run by former Michael Saunders’ Realtor Dudley Brown that will handle lower price-point properties one at a time.

DeCaro also has a high-end division and works as an exclusive auction division for many brokerages in Florida.

The latest local entrant in the auction game is Marsha Wolak, a licensed Florida auctioneer and member of the Florida Auctioneers Association and the National Auctioneers Association.

Wolak has held a Florida real estate broker’s license since 1994 and sold conventional real estate from 1990 to 2002, with career sales of more than $100 million. In 2002, she formed Marsha Wolak Realty and focused on real estate investing.

Then, last year - recognizing the need for auctions in the current market - she put together Marsha Wolak Auctions. The company is based in the Sarasota housing market but has satellite offices in Naples and Tampa.

The multi-tasking Wolak is a mother of two, works out, rides motorcycles, and plays golf and tennis.

Wolak’s first area “mega-auction” is scheduled at the Sarasota Hyatt on April 15 at 11 a.m. There will be more than 30 properties up for bid, including several multimillion-dollar luxury homes.

Her auctions differ from those of Sky/J.P. King.

“We do take ordinary properties,” Wolak said. But the business also takes “sellers who need to sell in this difficult time, too.”

“We also specialize in short sales, which is when the bank takes less than the [Florida mortgage] due, to close the sale in a market like this,” she added.

Wolak said that the short sale program has been marketed in recent months and well-received by area brokerage firms. She offers a Realtor referral program that pays agents 3.5 percent at closing.

In order to generate interest, Wolak has been hosting Realtor seminars as well. She held two last week, in Punta Gorda and at the Naples Board of Realtors. Another is scheduled for Wednesday at noon at Jackson’s at Harbour Island in Tampa.

SOURCE: The Herald Tribune