Auctioning Your Luxury Home - Here's What You Need to Know

We know you have hard questions. The idea of auctioning your luxury property can sometimes seem scary and there are a lot of unknowns. Why an auction? How long does it take to sell my luxury property? Why would anyone auction a luxury property?

Principals at Interluxe have been auctioning premiere properties for 25+ years and know a thing or two about the luxury real estate market.

Here are some questions we get asked a lot:

Why would anyone auction a luxury property?

Auctioning luxury real estate serves the best interest of both seller and buyer. For the seller, it is an opportunity to proactively market their estate in a concise period time with a pre-determined sale date. It allows them to gain more interest and attract more qualified buyers to their property than they would typically receive from traditional real estate methods. For the buyer, they are provided with all the due diligence regarding the property prior to the sale, and at auction, they can see what the other prospective buyers are bidding. What results is the property being sold for the best and truest value of the property – a benefit to both seller and buyer!

What are the benefits of selling a home via luxury auction?

Sellers experience an aggressive marketing program; the property will be exposed to a large number of pre-qualified prospects from all over the world. Buyers come prepared to buy, resulting in a timely sale. Sellers are thus able to reduce long-term carrying costs, including taxes and maintenance. The open-bidding process assures that the home will be sold at true market value—and because of the competition created among buyers, the price garnered at auction will in many cases exceed the price of a negotiated sale. The auction process also allows the seller to know exactly when the property will sell, and he or she won’t be encumbered with the hassles of numerous and unscheduled showings.

What price will a seller get for their home?

A luxury home can be difficult to appraise, sometimes due to its uniqueness or lack of comparable sales. This can result in a seller having a difficult time determining the appropriate asking price. With a luxury real estate auction, it all comes down to true economics. An auction creates an arena where buyers compete for ownership of premiere properties. This drives the price to its highest value as determined by a transparent and competitive bidding process. Luxury auctions commonly result in record-breaking prices due to fierceness of competition and the reinforcement of value by a community of bidders.

How does the auction process specifically help buyers?

Buyers purchase in an open and fair competitive bidding process and can rest easy knowing that he or she made a smart investment on the estate. Much time is saved, as the buyer knows that the seller is committed to selling. Also, a luxury property auction eliminates long negotiation periods and reduces the time to purchase a property- the purchasing and closing dates are known, all buyers compete for a property on equal terms and comprehensive property information is openly available.

How long does it take a property to sell?

That is determined by the marketing campaign that we implement to accomplish the wishes of the seller. We typically like to market our luxury estates for 45 days prior to the auction. Closing happens in 30-45 days of the auction (or less).

How do you market to the right buyers so that responses are received from qualified buyers?

This is one of the greatest attributes of Interluxe. We are just as much an advertising agency and public relations firm as we are luxury real estate sales specialists. We have a dedicated team that researches the property and demographics to determine who the buyer is prior to the sale. We in turn use that data to determine what type of marketing campaigns are going to best attract qualified buyers and study our in-house proprietary database. The marketing campaign is aggressively implemented to provide maximum visibility of the property within a compressed period of time, resulting in interest from those who have both the financial means and desire for the luxurious properties we represent.

Why is an auction a particularly useful tool for the seller of a luxury property?

Control. Throughout our entire process, we make sure that the sellers maintain control of their sale. They have pre-determined the date of sale, with a sales team that is completely knowledgeable of their luxury property and dedicated to selling only their property. Interluxe’s team strives to ensure that all prospective buyers are qualified and interested in the property – our process creates a competitive bidding arena that brings forth the highest price obtainable for the seller. Their property is offered as-is, where-is, with no contingencies and has the ability to close in 30 days.

And now here’s a question for you...what’s holding you back from considering an auction for your luxury property?