When it comes to real estate auctions, there are many factors that determine how long an auction will last. These variables include the number of bidders and how competitive they are, the number of lots to be auctioned, as well as the overall auction process and terms and conditions.
Real Estate Auctions
Unlike conventional auctions, real estate auctions can be much more time consuming, at times ranging from 10 minutes upwards to 1 hour. This difference in time is largely due to the complicated structure and importance of the purchase. There are times when numerous tracts of land can be broken down to be sold individually, and this can make the auction process take hours instead of minutes. While realty auctions yield more revenue, they are also more expensive to organize. There are many more complex issues that must be evaluated to make this type of auction successful.
How Can Auctioneers Increase the Speed of the Bidding Process?
In a traditional public auction forum, each bidder will have an opportunity to bid at an increased amount from the previous bidder. This opportunity can cause an auction to last a large amount of time. Therefore, auctioneers have a few strategies to increase the speed of the bidding. In a live auction setting, instead of waiting for each bidder to increase the bid amount, skilled auctioneers will change the amount themselves causing the bidding to climb to the top rate quickly.
In both the live and online auction settings, the auctioneer can limit the amount of time bidders have to place their bid. For instance, if there was an estate sale in Raleigh with many small items, the auctioneer can stipulate that each item only has a certain amount of time an item can be bid on, and once that time limit has been reached the highest bidder wins that item. This time limit can increase the importance of timely bidding and add a sense of urgency to the process, which causes the bidding process to accelerate.
Benefit Auctions
Benefit auctions are much different from conventional auctions. Often times, these types of auctions can take a much longer time. Auctioneers have to take into consideration the entertainment portion of the event, and most bidders at charity or benefit auctions, or any type of fundraising event where donated merchandise is auctioned off, are there for many different reasons. The bidding can increase quickly because bidders are more concerned with helping the organization rather than how much they paid for an item. Auctioneers may also be required to give more background to the lots as well as to how each bid can help the cause of the benefit.
Despite the type of auction—live, online, or charity—it is important to utilize a skilled and experienced auctioneer. They will be able to follow time constraints while maximizing the amount of money raised.
At Carolina Auction & Realty, we have over 20 years of experience in the auction industry in North Carolina. We are a licensed and award-winning company that can take on a variety of auctions including real estate, commercial equipment, estates, business liquidations and benefits.