Slowing Housing Market Drives Hawaii’s Largest Real Estate Auction

RISMEDIA, July 2, 2007–In a slow real estate market, people get creative to sell their property. So Honolulu real estate brokerage firm Elite Pacific Properties is bringing to Hawaii a technique that is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the US: real estate auctions. Elite, which specializes in upscale real estate, has organized Hawaii’s biggest ever multi-property auction, to be held at the Hawaii Convention Center in Waikiki on July 14th from 10a.m.-3p.m.

Elite is auctioning over 20 different properties. “There is something for every buyer at the auction, including vacant land, income properties, condos, and houses. Auction properties range from a condo formerly at $299,000, now with a minimum bid of $200,000, to a North Shore beachfront estate previously at $7,950,000 and now with a minimum bid of $5,500,000,” said Stephen Cipres, Elite’s co-founder. “Naturally, our sellers are expecting to get bids above the minimum, while buyers turn out hoping for a good deal. All minimum bids are substantially below fair market value.”

Elite held some individual “sealed bid” property auctions earlier this year, and was successful at selling properties in a matter of weeks that other firms had listed for over a year without a sale.

“An auction compresses the typical real estate marketing process into a shorter time period,” says Paul Mayer, the other co-founder.

The partners researched auctions in depth and noticed a trend outside of Hawaii for multi-property auctions. When other Oahu brokerage firms expressed interest in working with Elite to auction their listed properties, they knew they were on to something.

For more information, visit http://www.elitepacificauctions.com.