As the housing market slows and foreclosures spike, people who have to sell quickly or lenders that need to unload properties they took back at sheriff’s auctions are turning to the fast-talking spectacle for quick sales. Even some homebuilders and condo developers are using auctions to reduce excess inventory.

These auctions differ from sheriff’s sales, trustee’s sales or courthouse sales, which conclude the foreclosure process and are conducted by the county. Often, the lender wins the property at these sales and then tries to resell it by auction. Last year, revenue from housing auctions grew 12.5 percent to $16 billion from $14.22 billion in 2005, according to the National Auctioneers Association.

Auctions represent only a sliver of the overall housing sales market, just less than 1 percent of the $1.74 trillion in existing home sales last year. But those in the real estate auction industry are hoping the current market conditions will continue to boost business. Already, states that never hosted many housing auctions are seeing demand jump as home prices plunge and more borrowers find themselves trapped in unmanageable mortgages.

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Real estate agent Caesar Parisi stands ready with effective advice for Selling Your Boca Raton Home.

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