Live Auctions Attract Thousands of Luxury Home Buyers in 31 States

TULSA, Okla., June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's real estate market needs more urgency and the promise of a fair deal to move buyers off the sidelines to become active participants according to Williams & Williams®, a worldwide real estate auction firm and the leader in global live auctions. Their method for creating urgency and bringing buyers off the sidelines is live auction.

During a recent weeklong live auction event, Williams & Williams auctioned 125 luxury properties in 31 states in five days on behalf of a major national mortgage servicer. Valued at over $90 million, the portfolio included a range of luxury homes in vacation, retirement, suburban and urban communities in 31 states and represented a wide variety of architectural styles, values, and lifestyle amenities.  According to Doug Turner, Williams & Williams' SVP, Default Solutions, "Many of the properties had been on the traditional market for months and some had been previously offered through an online-only auction service before being brought to Williams & Williams for live auction." 

Williams & Williams' "American Luxury Week" live auction events decisively demonstrated the power of live, open, time definite sales to attract buyers and give them a reason to participate in the market. The marketing campaign was executed over of a five-week period and delivered impressive results. More than 200,000 people viewed the campaign video on YouTube, over 3,000 people toured the homes during the open houses and more than 2,000 people attended the live auctions in person.  Nearly 1,600 interested buyers registered to bid on-site and online.

Another recent sale delivered equally impressive results. The live auction was conducted to sell a 192-unit multi-family complex in Parachute, Colorado, once a booming oil and gas town that has watched a large percentage of its residents and industry relocate to neighboring Grand Junction. A Williams & Williams live auction did for this arguably hard-to-sell asset what no other sales method was able to do – attract a large pool of buyers who were ready and willing to actively bid live on-site and online to own the property. 

The global marketing campaign generated over 3,500 visits to the property website, 65 phone calls from interested parties and 28 requests for Property Information Packages. The high bid was 50 percent above the seller's reserve and the sale closed within 30 days. "When you generate this much buyer interest in a seemingly oversized multi-family property in a small town, the live auction is a leading indicator of the anticipated resurgence of the town and community," said Fontana Fitzwilson, EVP, Commercial Real Estate for Williams & Williams.   

"Transparent, live competition leads to more confident bidding as potential buyers know that a person standing right next to them or bidding online believes the property is worth about as much as they do because they are actively bidding," said Geoff Sills, Williams & Williams' Marketing Vice President.  "Anchoring the sale of a property to a specific time, date and location let's all interested parties know when to show up and make their best offer."

Williams & Williams' clients include private, public and institutional sellers.  Next month on July 19th, through its luxury home division, and in partnership with Adirondack Premier Properties, LLC, the firm will sell two rare, privately owned Adirondack waterfront properties on Lower Saranac Lake through global live auctions.  More information on these sales can be found at williamsauction.com/adirondacks.

For buyers or sellers, live auction is a timely solution that meets the needs of both parties. The real value of the property is established through competitive bidding and the seller knows exactly when the property will be sold. It's a rare opportunity for a win-win in the real estate market.

With more than a century of live auction experience, nearly 100,000 successful real estate sales and award-winning marketing strategies, Williams & Williams knows how to motivate buyers. The company's method of auction differs from other major auction solutions in that its sales are conducted live in front of each property where local bidders on-site compete in real-time with bidders participating remotely through its sister company, auctionnetwork.com. An experienced auctioneer directs the bidding for each live auction. 

About Williams & Williams:
Williams & Williams (www.williamsauction.com) is a worldwide real estate auction firm and the leader in global live and interactive auctions.  It is owned by parent company Williams, Williams & McKissick (WWM).  With more than a century of experience, Williams & Williams provides a broad range of real estate services to private, public and institutional sellers interested in the benefits of time-definite sales solutions that deliver best value.  A full-service brokerage with an operating footprint in all 50 United States, Williams & Williams also cooperatively partners with residential, commercial and land brokers to auction properties throughout the United States and abroad.  To sell your property, call 800-801-8003.

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SOURCE Williams & Williams