Land Auction vs Listing?

There are many factors to consider when deciding if a land auction or traditional listing is the best choice to sell your real estate. The questions we start with before we get into the pros and cons of each sales process are;
1) Is this property going to be sought after by more than one person?
2) Does it currently have an established value? and
3) Does the seller have time to wait?
“A real estate auction can be a very lucrative sales process when executed properly”; says Jacob Hart, Land Auctioneer with High Point Realty and Auction in Decorah, IA. “We often sell property at a much higher price at auction than we would ever traditionally list it at”, says Hart.
The auction process starts with the property being marketed with the seller’s terms established so buyers can set the price based on those terms. Many times, this is easier and favored by buyers due to the level playing field and ease of a take it or leave it transaction without complicating things. When the auction marketing starts the date and location are set for the sale, terms published, and all interested buyers are sent a very nice package of pertinent information. The auction may be a sealed bid, private or public sale depending on what process is best suited for the property and seller’s intentions. When auction day arrives, we start at the opening bid and go up from there.
On traditional listings sellers start with an asking price set at the market value and typically sell there or offers come in below. Land real estate is a very in-depth market and the farms we sell often times have not been sold for many generations. Attempting to put a listing price tag on something that has not been available most times in any buyer or sellers lifetime is a hard thing to do.
An auction also allows the seller to have a definite date when they will have the property sold to move on. An average sale is scheduled 45-60 days out and closes 30 days after the auction. This gives sellers a schedule for planning their next move and may save them taxes, interest, and maintenance at the same time verse waiting 6 plus months to sell their property.
A land auction verse traditional land listing has many benefits for the right property or owner’s situation. If you have questions about a land auction as a sales method for your property. Give one of our offices or land agents a call. They would be happy to give you their honest knowledge about which sales process may be the best to sell your property.