Did you happen to catch the ad in the Saturday Homes section of the RGJ for the house for sale on eBay?  The print ad essentially pointed interested parties to the eBay listing.

The property is a former model home in the Woodland Village Master Planned Community in Cold Springs.  The house has 6 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a 2-car garage and 2,240 sq. ft.  It is currently listed on the MLS at $252,900.

The bidding started at $190K.  There is no reserve.  And according to the ad in the RGJ there is a “buy it now” price of $252,900.  The eBay auction ends Wednesday.

This might just prove to be a very effective way to find a buyer for one’s home.  At last count this eBay listing had nine bids.  And the current bid was up to $193,200.

I took a look at the Cold Springs market and found:

95 Active Listings
Average DOM (days on market): 103 days
Median list price of $259,900

11 Pendings
Average DOM: 132 days
Median pending price of $227,900

7 Solds in the last 30 days
Average DOM: 98 days
Median Sold price: $249,900

These numbers yield more than 13 months of inventory in Cold Springs.  The Seller of this property already has nine bids.

I’ll be watching this one with interest.  Anyone want to predict what the final sales price will be?

Comments

[smarten]

Good work Guy! And yes, I saw the advertisement.

Now here's a perfect example of what may be a "deal of the day."

The way things like this usually are offered on eBay is the seller reserves the option to terminate the listing prematurely if it is no longer available for sale. It's no longer available for sale if the seller, who is concurrently offering it for sale outside of eBay [through the MLS], enters into a contract to sell it.

If indeed the high bid is currently $193K, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and the seller nets more if he/she receives $195K plus his/her agents' commission [$5,790] even though he/she suggests there is no agent. So does this seller want to take a bird in the hand now, or take his/her chances dealing with an unknown later?

Of course, my question to you is whether you are of the opinion this property is a steal at $199K [my suspicion is you'd answer no]?

If not, then it really doesn't matter what the high bid turns out to be.

If so and I were you, I'd be finding me a client willing to present an offer [expiring in 24 hours] at $200K.

BTW, did you catch the end of the listing? "By participating, you are NOT entering into a contract to purchase this property. [Instead] you are, however, expressing serious interest in the property and in pursuing contract DISCUSSIONS."

So it seems to me that if "discussions" don't work out, the winning bidder can't be held responsible for anything because by definition, he/she has agreed to do nothing more than discuss - an agreement to agree which the other attorneys on this blog will tell you, is no agreement at all.

[stjoe56]

In a lot of the world, an open outcry (public bidding) is the preferred way of selling real estate.

Even in those parts of the world that use agents, once you eliminate north america, the number of agents per number of agents per number of houses being sold drops dramatically.

SJ

[Mike Van H]

What's so fascinating about this concept of selling your home is it puts the power, and a lot of faith, into the buyers. I'm not sure what the rules of E-Bay are....what if the highest bid is substantially lower than his buy it now price? Does he/she still have to sell to the highest bidder or can he forfeit the listing? It's an interesting concept, putting the power of what your home is worth in the FULL hands of the buyer; no real estate agent telling you what it might be worth, no appraisors, it's just you, and the buyer, and what they feel your house is worth. The only problem with the buyer is they aren't actually seeing the house in person before they buy. It's like buying a cut diamond online...you can't inspect it, see the grooves and ridges, inspect the cut close-up examine it for defects, etc. On the flip side of the coin, I suppose it's nodifferent than buying a house at a local auction.

[Former Nevadan]

There was an article in our local newspaper (Idaho Statesman) several months back about a young couple in the Boise area that bought a house through E-bay. I think a local builder had listed them. Maybe Phil Hoover remembers that? I couldn't find the article in the newspaper archives, but I'll keep searching.

[Former Nevadan]

I found the article (9-26-07):

http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/167888.ht

This builder had listed five homes on eBay as a way of "countering the slowdown in home sales that has lasted for more than a year."

Sound familiar?

[Guy Johnson]

For anyone keeping track, here is the result of the eBay auction:

Starting Bid: $190,000
Bidders: 4
Total Bids: 46
Winning Bid: $201,800

At less than $89/sq.ft. I would have to call this a "deal of the day".

[Reno Ignoramus]

If this house actually goes on to close at $89 a sq. ft., it's going to serioulsy hurt prices on the street. There are two other houses on the same street in the MLS. 17794 Georgetown is 1345 sq. ft. listed at $239K, or $177 a sq. ft.
17704 Georgetown is 1696 sq. ft. listed at $249K, or $147 a sq. ft.

This house, if it closes, will close at 50% LESS per sq. ft. than the asking price of the house at 17794 Georgetown and 40% LESS than the asking price of the house at 17704 Georgetown. OUCH!

It is interesting that this house has apparently never been lived in and has been a model home. It appears to be that it is the developer that is whomping on values in the very neighborhood that it built.