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Local commercial real estate brokers have largely avoided the mass property auction method of selling properties during the recession, mostly for one reason: Not enough buyers to make it worthwhile.
But prominent Sarasota commercial broker Ian Black believes the market has recovered enough to the point where it's ready for a big auction. That's why Black, in a partnership with Lakewood Ranch-based Auction World USA, will host a commercial property auction in April. The event is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 10 at The Francis, in downtown Sarasota.
The auction will feature at least a dozen local properties currently for sale, from a vacant downtown Sarasota lot to a 40,000-square-foot office building in a Manatee County industrial park. “No one has done this type of event in Sarasota before,” says Black. “This will be a tremendous buying opportunity for people who attend.”
Black and Auction World USA owner Mark Henderson intend for the auction to accomplish two goals. They hope potential buyers who are considering a purchase of a particular property will be spurred into action once it's on the auction block. They also believe the auction process will help the brokerage firm find clients from outside the region.
“There is another realm of buyers at auctions that traditional marketing might not reach,” Black tells Coffee Talk.
Buyers who attend the auction will not pay a buyer's premium, says Henderson, though sellers will pay a $500 fee. Henderson says the money from the fees will go directly to advertising the auction and the properties that will be up for bid.
Henderson, who conducts real estate auctions both locally and nationwide, says he expects the entire auction to last about an hour. Black, meanwhile, is hopeful the auction leads to a new trend. “If this process were to be successful,” says Black, “we might have two or three a year.”
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