Williams & Williams To Hold 72-Hour Homes Auction
Williams & Williams, will auction 565 properties across the country in just 72 hours during the third week of May. Dean Williams, the company’s chairman and CEO, says, “From Florida to California, we expect more bidders than ever will be on the lawn and online, all seeking the opportunity that comes with an auction.”
The nationwide auction event is largely being driven by the foreclosure fallout. “Just as foreclosures have sharply increased, the number of auctions is on the rise,” says Williams. “Both those hoping to avoid foreclosure and those wanting to dispose of vacant and non-earning real estate are looking to a system that is more time-definite, transparent and efficient than the traditional means.” The number of U.S. homes heading toward foreclosure more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier.
On May 13, Williams & Williams auctioneers in 26 states will start the bidding and continue for 72 hours, ending the three-day blitz on May 15. Live auctions will be held online and on the lawn in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, while properties in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas will be sold exclusively on the “virtual auction block” at www.williamsauction.com.
“Foreclosures are nothing new. My family has been auctioning off foreclosed property since the mid-1800s,” says Williams. “What’s unfortunate is that auction – a process we feel is the best way to determine a property’s real value – is primarily being used as a last resort right now.” Williams would like to see more people turn to auction as a first option instead. ”There’s no reason for someone to sell their stocks through an auction-based exchange and then go into foreclosure on their home just because the list-and-wait approach didn’t work.”
Williams takes issue with the way houses are bought and sold currently. He points to the sellers’ control over the final list price of their home. “They have the most emotional commitment to the property and usually the least experience. Not exactly a winning combination,” says Williams. With the market conditions as they are, Williams fears the continued speculative practice of listing properties in this way will lead to more foreclosures. “Selling a property at auction before foreclosure is imminent might just be answer to this mortgage crisis,” Williams contends.
Currently, auctions represent only a sliver of the overall housing sales market: just less than 1 percent of the $1.74 trillion in existing home sales in 2006. “There is room for positive growth,” says Williams. Williams & Williams is the nation’s leading real estate auction firm, averaging over 800 property sales per month in all 50 states. For more information on Williams & Williams, please visit www.williamsauction.com.
Related posts:
- RealtyBid.com to Auction California Homes
- ForeclosureS.com: 364,000 Homeowners Face Foreclosure So Far This Year
- California Foreclosure Auctions Reach Record High
- Home Auctions to be Televised Worldwide on June 20
- Auction of 300 Plus Foreclosed Detroit Homes Offers Buyers Pick of Properties Big or Small (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
