Visit our virtual open house
In the last entry, I explained why we have decided to sell. Now I want to elaborate on why we chose the online auction route.
Our house has been listed with Montserrat real-estate agents. Traffic has been pretty good considering that it’s Montserrat – so off the beaten track that we’re not even on most maps or listed as a Caribbean island. This means that Montserrat is known by and attractive to only those people who have friends or family here or people who have done enough research to realize that Montserrat is a hidden jewel.
What does all this mean for a potential sale?
People look for mega bargains because of everything they have heard about our volcano. These bargains existed some years ago, but there are very few of them now, even though our prices are way below those of other islands. With the opening of the new airport in 2005 and the beginnings of a lot of large projects, there is a huge revival in Montserrat. It is not quick and it is not easy, but it is happening, and the real-estate prices reflect this change.
Selling the traditional way means waiting for the visitor to talk to a real-estate agent who may (or may not) bring them to your property, following which you may (or may not) receive an acceptable offer.
An alternative with a much better potential is the online auction.
Auctions have been around forever and so have real-estate auctions. The traditional real-estate auction takes place at the property to be sold and last a few hours. An interested party usually visits the property at an open house before the auction and then returns for the auction – that they may (or may not) win. Some auctions are fast and furious and a scary experience for the newcomer.
Bill and I decided to use an online auction because it makes our property more visible and accessible; it’s like holding an open house for the world and we like having a lot of visitors come by and see our house. We also like the auction process because it’s transparent and we don’t have to set an asking price. We can watch the bidding and know that we got the best price. Because of health reasons we want to sell fast at the highest price and we don’t want to wait for the traditional viewer to come and make an offer. We like that there is nothing to negotiate, no haggling over price, and no contingencies to later kill a sale.
Of course we researched the whole idea first and we looked at some precedents. For example a US$ 2.2 million Malibu beach, California property was sold on EBay. Also CNN had a special segment on a private real-estate auction on March 12th. Also,
the first town ever auctioned on eBay soon will be back up for sale on the online auction site. Nearly two years after he bought the tiny town of Bridgeville, Orange County financial adviser Bruce Krall said Friday he plans to re-auction the Humboldt County hamlet on eBay next month.
Most buyers of real estate also like the online auction. It is easily accessible to the public, and convenient for buyers to bid from home or work. More importantly, unlike live auctions that lasted for a short time, the online auction can run for days or weeks letting more buyers bid. They are not afraid to bid. Buyers say seeing the bids of other buyers makes them less afraid of overpaying. They think the open bidding process is a fairer and safer way to buy a home.
The value of negotiating skill is small relative to the value of an auction’s additional competition. - Auctions vs. Negotiations – Stanford Economist, Professor Jeremy Bulow
In the next blog entry, I will tell you why we picked RBuy.com
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