Willow Glen Resident
News
Lots of interest in house auction, but no checks
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
With the real estate market in a slump, residents are opting for unconventional methods of selling their homes. Two local residents opted for an edgier approach and tried their hands at live auctions.
Dec. 8 was slotted as the day the first homes in Willow Glen and the Cambrian area would sell via auction, but a lack of bidders cancelled both events and the two homes were opened up to silent auctions.
"This is a new process," said Faber Johnson, director of new business for Pacific Auction Exchange of San Jose, the auction house selling the properties. "Some people were just here to understand the process, not necessarily to bid."
PAX of San Jose is part of the largest franchise of auction houses on the West Coast and is part of a growing trend in the United States, Johnson said.
The homes auctioned by PAX of San Jose are neither foreclosed nor distressed sales, Johnson stressed. They feature nice homes in good locations, he said.
In order to participate in the live auction, prospective buyers are required to be preapproved and need to bring a $25,000 certified check as a deposit, which if they don't win will be returned to them at the end of the auction.
More than 30 people came to the auction at Willow Glen Way, but none of the 20-plus registered bidders brought the required certified check, Johnson said.
At the Cambrian home at Vista Loop, about 40 people showed up to see the home and watch the auction, but not enough to begin the bidding.
The lack of frenzied paddles in the air, however, did not dampen Willow Glen homeowner Jocelyn Graham's excitement.
"I'm actually thrilled," Graham said. "We have several people interested in placing a bid on our house via silent auction, and the whole process will be done in a week."
The live auction had been suggested to Graham by her real estate broker and owner of the Vista Loop home, Leon Sivils. Graham and her husband needed to sell their home quickly, and the 30-day process of the auction appealed to them.
Sivils and Graham teamed up with Johnson to market, show and ultimately sell the home at the end of a month's period, a full 91 days less than the average 121 days it takes to sell a home via traditional methods, Sivils said.
"This method solves the agony of waiting for the seller," Sivils said.
In March, a home sold in Campbell off Patio Drive via auction in less than 10 minutes. The bidding began at $525,000 and soared to $860,000, with more than 70 bidders.
The same was expected for the Willow Glen home.
"In Willow Glen, there's a lot of homes for sale," Sivils said. "Prices are all over the place, and it seems to be the same kind of home. With an auction, you are able to highlight each home as an individual."
This is important because there are more than 5,000 'For Sale' signs on lawns in Silicon Valley alone, he said.
"When people see the auction sign out front, you literally hear car tires screeching to a stop," Sivils said. "In real estate, you've got to get noticed, and nothing catches your attention more than an auction sign in front of a nice home."
As a result of these auction attempts, more than a handful of interested sellers in Willow Glen along with local developers have called the auction house.
It's a trend that won't go away, Sivils said.
For Graham, the overall effort was a "huge success."
"The mechanism of the auction didn't work as we planned, but it's a new concept," Graham said. "We're really pleased with the experience and glad that we took a chance. It's cutting edge, and I'm glad our broker suggested it. It's incredible."
