I’ve been involved in lots of successful auctions in my time, but the three-day auction we conducted last week (described in the press release below) was special by any standard. The turnout was outstanding, and the seller was pleased with the results.
It also reinforced my view that the real estate market is bouncing back, perhaps more quickly and strongly than people realize. We had a lot of perceptive bidders who understood that the best time to buy is at a low point in the cycle. But they could also sense that the bargains they’ve seen for the last couple of years won’t continue indefinitely, and they wanted to build their portfolios while they can.
Smart bidders!
John
Hundreds of bidders turn out for $8 million auction of bank-owned properties
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Oct. 22, 2012) — Bidders showed up in Gainesville by the hundreds last week for a three-day auction of approximately 175 properties, including office buildings, land, restaurants, homes and home building sites, among others.
The result was a combined total exceeding $8 million, according to John Dixon, president of John Dixon & Associates, which partnered with the Metro Brokers Bank Asset Team for the auction for Community Bank & Trust.
“We expected a strong turnout because of the variety and quality of the properties we were selling, but this was frankly a stronger turnout than even our optimistic estimates. It was three days of pure excitement,” said Dixon.
Ronald Gailey, assistant vice president-special assets for the bank, said he was pleased with the outcome. “We achieved our goals and then some. The folks at John Dixon and Metro Brokers Bank Asset Team did an excellent job. Crowds were great, and bidding was vigorous across the board,” he said.
Over the three days, the auction drew approximately 550 bidders — 250 who jammed into the room for live bidding and another 300 who joined the auction via Internet simulcast and cast their bids remotely. And those numbers do not include those who attended on more than one day, Dixon said. “Many came all three days, but are only counted as one bidder. We had standing room only crowds all three days.”
On Tuesday, a group of properties in the northeastern corner of the state sold for approximately $3 million. On Wednesday, properties spread out over north Georgia sold for approximately $2 million, and on Thursday, properties stretching from Rome to Augusta sold for another $3 million.
John Dixon & Associates, based in Marietta, Ga., is a leading auctioneer of bank-owned properties throughout the United States. Individuals seeking additional information may contact the firm at 770-425-1141 or visit www.johndixon.com.