Thursday, May 19, 2011

Are the banks getting more motivated?


Last week, I took a buyer into a couple of bank owned "REO" properties that just came on the market. In the past, these type of properties were initially listed too high so we would wait until a property sat a while and had several price reductions.

Now it seems, that some banks have changed their strategy and are being much more aggressive with their initial listing price.

In the couple we looked at, they were priced very fair and close to "wholesale/investor" pricing. I wasn't surprised to find out they received multiple offers and I'm sure they will get over list price.

As a real estate broker/auctioneer, I have to ask why the banks are not turning more to online auctions to sell these? Why deal with multiple offers when there is an easy and efficient way to have the buyers bid it out online? The banks already have very specific terms and contract addendum they force buyers to use, making their listings ideal for the auction process.

At some point, the asset managers need to take advantage of the best and most efficient process to sell these assets? But, when?