From the great blog at Real Estate Auctions.com
There’s no denying that real estate auctions grow more popular all the time. An oft-cited estimate by the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) is that auctions will soon account for one third of all real estate transactions in the U.S.
Here at RealEstateAuctions.com, we’re big believers in the benefits of auctions. It’s just a great way to buy and sell, with advantages for buyers and sellers alike. And there’s no denying we’re loving all the attention auctions have been getting lately, thanks in large part to many popular television shows.
Why have auctions been so much a part of public perception in recent years? Although auctions are the primary way to sell real estate in certain parts of the world such as Ireland, Australia and portions of Asia, auctions in the U.S. have traditionally been regarded by the average consumer as something more suitable for rural properties and foreclosures.
Credit ebay with initially popularizing auctions for all sorts of goods and services, and for making auctions something that virtually anyone can take part in. Founded in late 1995, the growth of the company has been phenomenal, putting an almost incalcuable number of items in a gigantic online marketplace and providing easy access for ordinary consumers to get involved. Ebay is now active in at least 30 countries and has hundreds of millions of registered users.
And if ebay can be cited as the vehicle that brought auctions to the forefront of the American consumer consciousness in general, current television shows that focus on auctions have gone a long way to amplify that image.
Storage Wars, Auction Kings, Real Deal and Auction Hunters have large followings nationwide and have made celebrities of many of the participants. NAA highlighted these shows and their effect on the industry in a story titled “Cable shows increase consumer interest, attendance.” The NAA story was published online earlier this week and featured in the February, 2012 edition of Auctioneer magazine.
And athough none of the popular shows concentrates on real estate, the connection in the public’s mind to auctions–the interest, the excitement, the personalities, the process–is strong and undeniable.
“Buyers and sellers are drawn to real estate auctions for many reasons, including the accelerated time frame,” says Brian Kuzdas, founder of RealEstateAuctions.com.
“Bringing a property to market faster, directly to the consumer who is typically bidding against others interested in the same property, means that sellers can get more money than if they had taken part in a traditional, back-and-forth sale,” he explains. “And real estate auction bidders win, too, because there’s an opportunity for them to get a good price. It’s a fun, exciting process and we’re glad to see such interest in all types of auctions, thanks in large part to these popular television shows.”
