Florida Real Estate Auctions Create a Stir
Real estate auctions have become a more familiar phenomenon in the Southwest Florida housing market and the state as a whole.
But with the cooling housing market, the region’s top brokerage, Michael Saunders & Co., fired off a sharp broadside against the practice in a recent advertising section.
As traditional real estate sales came under pressure during the recent slowdown, residential and commercial property auctions became one way for sellers and Florida mortgage brokers to generate both buzz, and apparently, closings.
Recently, real estate broker Sky Sotheby’s International and J.P. King Auction Co. sold more than $30 million of property, virtually in one afternoon, in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
But the Saunders ad railed against “the well-publicized tent auction, held amid a party atmosphere and attended by fewer buyers than curious onlookers. We daresay that sellers who participated were in no mood to party at the end of the day.”
One could say, though, that if a seller chooses to accept an immediate cash sale, it is a successful sale at the then-market price.
Two of the more visible auction players are former Saunders employees, including both of the founders of Sky, as well as Naples-based DeCaro South Auctions, which opened a Sarasota-based real estate auction business run by former Saunders’ Realtor Dudley Brown.
DeCaro also has a high-end division and works as an exclusive auction division for many brokerages in Florida.
Another 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 last year opened Marsha Wolak Auctions. The company is based in Sarasota, but has satellite offices in Naples and the Tampa housing market. Also in Naples, broker Paul Drake has set up a new realty auction business called Manning Drake Auctioneers Inc.
Auctioned estate sets record for Lakewood Ranch
Recently, the sale of a home in the Sarasota Polo Club set the record for the highest sale price for a single-family residence in Lakewood Ranch.
The nearly 12,000-square-foot, seven-bed and 12-bath estate with guest quarters and a 22-stall barn on 14 acres sold for $6.9 million. The sale was a result of the auction by Sky and J.P. King. Sky’s Stacy Haas represented the seller.
“When my client first contacted us he had already had the home on the market with another [Florida mortgage loan] brokerage for nine months. I suggested a fresh approach,” Haas said. “By placing his home in the auction we increased the reach of our marketing, accelerated the sales cycle and closed quickly with no contingencies. I had their listing for only 87 days and we closed in 30 days. It was a win-win for everyone.”
SOURCE: The Herald-Tribune
