Home auctions are going, going, gone online

Before this year, the eBay user “bluemoon” had never tried to sell anything on that Web site except for a slightly used printer and some old Playbills from classic Broadway shows. Now she has a much bigger item up for sale — a $400,000 home.

“There’s so many houses for sale on my street that I felt I needed to do something out of the box to get mine noticed,” said "bluemoon," aka Jean Simon, a 42-year-old resident of Corona, Calif. Two years ago, she and her husband, Doug, bought a four-bedroom house in booming Riverside County, near Los Angeles, but since Doug found a new job on the East Coast, they want to sell fast so they can move. After four months of trying to sell the house via traditional methods with no solid offers, the couple turned to the Internet and put the house up for auction on eBay’s real estate pages.

Simon says the $400,000 reserve price is a tad below the house’s fair market value.

“We built up a lot of equity since we bought it, so it’s not like we’re losing money,” she said. “But we’re motivated sellers who don’t have the time to find renters, and who don’t want to be saddled with property taxes and a mortgage for a house we no longer live in.”

A couple of people have e-mailed with questions and some interest, but the Simons are still showing the house through an agent, just in case.

Other motivated sellers are resorting to similar non-traditional techniques now that the real estate market is losing steam. Real estate auctions are gaining traction again, with revenues increasing 39 percent over the past three years, according to the National Auctioneers Association.

Despite their past reputation of selling distressed and foreclosed homes at dirt-cheap prices, auctioneers say they are now selling homes at all price ranges to multiple bidders who sometimes raise the final price to above market value. Auctions also allow the seller to control the timing of a sale and avoid the contingencies common in conventional sales, such as stipulations that a buyer can pull out if he is unable to sell his current home or obtain financing.

Online revenues are currently just a small fraction of the overall real-estate auction figure, but that number is expected to grow, according to Ben Anderson, an auctioneer and real estate broker in Destin, Fla., and chairman of the National Association of Realtors’ auction forum.

“Websites like eBay.com have encouraged more people to view auctions as a way to sell all kinds of things, so it’s not that far of a leap for them to list real estate,” he said. “It’s still somewhat of  a ‘feel me, touch me’ procedure, but the Internet will definitely become a significant part of the auction process.”

Currently, eBay Real Estate lists 1,900 homes for sale; nearly a quarter are in the formerly hot Florida markets. eBay touts its site as being particularly popular with those selling unique homes, vacation homes and homes as investments, and an ideal venue for sellers to get their houses noticed beyond city limits.

Despite its reputation as an auction Web site, eBay’s Real Estate section does not act take a cut of every transaction. Instead it lets sellers put their houses up for auction, eBay style, charging $35 to $50 to post listings for up to 30 days. eBay also charges a “reserve” fee of up to $50 for sellers who want to put a floor on the lowest bid they’ll take, but the fee is fully refunded if the house sells. For sellers who simply want to advertise their home, eBay charges $100 to $300 for listings of up to 90 days.

MORE FROM REAL ESTATE

Real estate Section Front

Pace of mortgage help rising but still slow Survey shows spike in 1st-time homebuyers Craftsmanship sparks home renovation fad Foreclosure filings dip for third straight month Rates on 30-year loans still below 5 percent Housing agency's financial cushion sinks Only 5 percent plan to buy a home next year Housing plan reaches 1 in 5 borrowers Home prices fall in most U.S. cities Homebuilders hunting for land again Real estate Section Front   Add Real estate headlines to your news reader: