For Sale by Auction!

An article was recently published in a local Massachusetts newspaper outlining a purportedly “new” way for home owners to sell their home. This new method can be loosely summarized by the following; advertise for five days (web, local papers, signs, etc.), two days of open house, and then put it on the Auction Block!!

Apparently sellers using this method, as devised by author and “consultant” George Cappony, are instructed to set a low starting price in order to draw buyers in.

According to Cappony, since the homes have a “low starting price, people [buyers] automatically want them. It’s a beginning bid, just like on Ebay. That’s the attraction. It’s a magnet that brings in people to the sale. There is a sense of urgency."

Sounds simple! Right!.. Maybe too simple… I sure hope they set their “reserve price”.

I wonder if this is possibly just a way for some sellers to feel, psychologically, as though they are back in the driver’s seat. Perhaps resorting to an auction may be a real “sign of the times”… better you do it now rather than HUD do it for you later.

Also, it seems Cappony’s method is not so new as he has been pushing it since the late nineties. He offers his services as a consultant including providing web-based marketing. Apparently, Cappony charges no more than $5250 to work his magic… well at least he’s not a Realtor.

Interestingly, the article never reports the outcome of the home sale it was chronicling. The homes web address http://www.322purchasestreet.com seems to not be accessible either.

I sent the sellers an email to follow up. Check back as Ill post their response should I get one.