Commercial Auctions Expected to Rise
The New York Times reports: In a dismal real estate environment, one segment of the market is actually booming these days: the auction business.
Sales generated through auctions — including residential, commercial and agricultural properties — totaled $58.6 bil. in 2008, up 38 percent from $42.3 bil. in 2003, according to a recently released tally by the National Auctioneers Association, a trade group based in Overland Park, Kan.
Most of the recent activity and attention has focused on the residential sector, with an increasing number of homeowners being forced into foreclosure. But commercial auctions are expected to pick up this year as property owners and developers seek to raise cash to pay off loans or are forced into foreclosure themselves.
“We’ve seen two years of residential downturn,” said David E. Gilmore, a managing partner at the Sperry Van Ness Accelerated Marketing Company, an auction and brokerage firm with offices in several states. Noting that commercial real estate generally lags behind residential by 18 to 24 months in a downturn, Mr. Gilmore added, “We’re there.”
The research firm Real Capital Analytics estimates that there are 5,227 troubled, potentially troubled or lender-possessed commercial assets in the United States, valued at around $124 billion.
View the full article on The New York Times: Commercial Auctions Expected to Rise
Posted by: Matt Stone