Cyber Monday has come and gone, and while most consumers kept their bargain hunting to WalMart and Best Buy, some savvy buyers turned to real estate for the greatest deals.
Cyber Monday has come and gone, and while most consumers kept their bargain hunting to WalMart and Best Buy, some savvy buyers turned to real estate for the greatest deals.
American real estate auction site HomeSearch.com held its first Cyber Monday blowout auction featuring more than 250 properties across the United States. Bidders successfully won properties, such as a nearly 3,000 square-foot home in New Haven, Connecticut, for just $62,000 – plus a $1,500 buyer credit.
Further, some of the properties auctioned off in yesterday’s sale had appraisals more than four times what they actually sold for. The New Haven home, for instance, was valued at $230,000.
“We certainly put more hype on the deal,” says Dan Peters, the owner of Dan Peters Auctions & Appraisals in Ontario, who was not involved in the U.S. Cyber Monday promotion. “There’s more intensity and more hype than with a regular ‘for sale’ sign.”
HomeSearch.com took the consumer frenzy around Black Friday, and more recently Cyber Monday, and channeled it into real estate. Paired with the natural buyer excitement surrounding auctions, it’s not surprising every one of their properties sold in just three days.
But, Paul Martin, a traditional agent who was also not involved in the HomeSearch.com sale, said auctions typically attract sellers who want to offload a property quickly, rather than properly.
“In a more balanced market like now, it’s harder for real estate professionals to sell homes, days on market are up,” he says. “So people think it’s a faster process to get it sold, and for some people that’s the main objective. But most statistics indicate that sales prices are lower by auction than a property that’s more extensively marketed by agents. Marketing is a prime factor to get a buyer who will pay the best for the property.”
American real estate auction site HomeSearch.com held its first Cyber Monday blowout auction featuring more than 250 properties across the United States. Bidders successfully won properties, such as a nearly 3,000 square-foot home in New Haven, Connecticut, for just $62,000 – plus a $1,500 buyer credit.
Further, some of the properties auctioned off in yesterday’s sale had appraisals more than four times what they actually sold for. The New Haven home, for instance, was valued at $230,000.
“We certainly put more hype on the deal,” says Dan Peters, the owner of Dan Peters Auctions & Appraisals in Ontario, who was not involved in the U.S. Cyber Monday promotion. “There’s more intensity and more hype than with a regular ‘for sale’ sign.”
HomeSearch.com took the consumer frenzy around Black Friday, and more recently Cyber Monday, and channeled it into real estate. Paired with the natural buyer excitement surrounding auctions, it’s not surprising every one of their properties sold in just three days.
But, Paul Martin, a traditional agent who was also not involved in the HomeSearch.com sale, said auctions typically attract sellers who want to offload a property quickly, rather than properly.
“In a more balanced market like now, it’s harder for real estate professionals to sell homes, days on market are up,” he says. “So people think it’s a faster process to get it sold, and for some people that’s the main objective. But most statistics indicate that sales prices are lower by auction than a property that’s more extensively marketed by agents. Marketing is a prime factor to get a buyer who will pay the best for the property.”
