In the big cities of America, houses worth $1 million or more make up over 4 percent of all properties, a share that has gone up 3.8 times since 2002, according to Trulia. So if you’re selling, how do you stand out and get noticed by the right buyers?
Luxury home auctions are the choice for more and more sellers — they’re quick, competitive, and add a sense of urgency to the sale. They also help establish fair value for a hard-to-price asset, like a highly customized luxury home.
Case in point: Former Texas Rangers’ first baseman Mark Teixeira is selling his fabulous mansion, pictured above, in Westlake’s Vaquero community through Elite Auctions at a no-reserve event on May 12. The home has been on and off the market for years with no luck; choosing an auction now is the smart move, says Elite Auctions President and Founder Randy Haddaway.
“High-end houses with big wow factor are perfect candidates for luxury home auctions, like Teixeira’s extraordinary one-acre waterfront lot in Vaquero,” Haddaway said. “These auctions bring with them concentrated periods of marketing that get a lot of people paying attention to the property during that time and the sale will happen at a definite time.”
Luxury home auctions usually go like this: First, the auction company offers several weeks of open houses for prospective buyers. During this time, they can order a home inspection and poke and prod to their heart’s content. There will be a “last look” the day before. The day of the auction, things move fast: the auction itself lasts between 15 and 30 minutes and buyers bid online, by phone, or in person. When it’s done, the property goes to the highest bidder. The buyer pays a buyer’s premium of 10 percent and the buyer’s agent gets their commission from that.
Auctions generally come in tw0 forms: absolute (no reserve/no minimum) and reserve (if the reserve isn’t met, you don’t have to sell).
Teixeira’s property is selling with no reserve.
“He is serious about selling and part of our job with every auction is to help find the qualified, interested buyers — it’s one of the advantages of using a luxury auction house over traditional listing on MLS,” said Tara McLean, Vice President of Operations for Elite Auctions.
Helping their clients buy and sell homes in a timely fashion propelled Elite Auctions to sell over $330 million of real estate in just a three-year period with over $1 billion in advisory marketing services.
Years ago, home auctions were only for distressed properties. That’s not the case today, says McLean, who notes that in other countries like Australia, home auctions are much more common at all price points.
Luxury homes tend to sit on the market longer than other price points when marketed traditionally as there is usually little to no motivation for buyers to act, said Alicia Chmielewski, Marketing Director for Elite Auctions.
“Nine times out of ten, a multimillion-dollar buyer doesn’t have to be anywhere by a particular time, so they can wait for their next business deal to go through, their book to be published, the seller to reduce price, etc., and the house will remain on the market waiting for them,” Chmielewski said. “Through luxury home auctions, interested buyers must act on or before the auction date or they will lose the opportunity to purchase altogether.”
Elite Auctions is sponsoring a Cinco de Mayo Daltxrealestate.com Staff Party at 2 p.m. on May 5 at Teixeira’s stone-and-stucco mansion at 2220 King Fisher Dr. (RSVP HERE). It’s an opportunity not only to learn more about this one-of-a-kind property, but also to learn more about the auction model for high-end home sales from experts.
Prospective buyers can see the property at 2220 King Fisher Dr., Westlake, every weekend through May 6. Private showings are available by appointment. The final opportunity to tour will be held the day before the auction on May 11. Tours can be scheduled by calling 214-326-1875 locally, Elite Auctions at 844-94-ELITE, or by e-mailing [email protected].
The absolute auction will be held onsite at 2220 King Fisher Dr. in Westlake, Texas, 76262 on May 12, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. CDT. Bids will be accepted via phone or in person. Broker participation is invited.
