CHICAGO—Earlier this year, Sperry Van Ness launched a Chicago-based franchise, called AuctionWorks, which hosts multi-property auctions online, and in November it will hold its largest auction to date, with more than 90 listings. Nearly half of the properties are bank-owned, including 17 that the firm will sell absolute. The Nov. 24-26 auction includes office, medical office, industrial, retail, mixed-use, single-family, multi-family, and vacant land. A June online auction by SVN AuctionWorks listed 27 properties. Buyers can bid online or submit pre-auction offers.
“I've found that live auctions were not very exciting because the best properties usually sold long before the auction,” Diana Peterson, the president of SVN AuctionWorks, told GlobeSt.com. The online method combines efficiency and convenience with the competitive bidding an auction inspires. Previously, Peterson was an executive vice president of Auctions by ATG, where she was responsible for building the firm's auction platform.
“The sheer volume of properties in this online auction speaks to the firm's success and demonstrates how many owners and brokers are now turning to SVN AuctionWorks to sell their properties in an efficient and timely manner,” she added. “Banks especially have found our online auctions to be an ideal venue for selling their REOs.”
One large bank-owned property in the auction is an 182,000-square-foot industrial building on about 55 acres with 30 acres of surplus land in Watseka, IL, about 20 minutes southeast of downstate Kankakee. The minimum bid is $1.5 million. “The Watseka property has most recently been used as a sheet metal fabrication facility,” Peterson said. “It has 11 loading docks and 15,000-square-feet of office space.”
Another significant bank-owned property is 1600 E. Algonquin Rd. in Algonquin, Ill., a 30,454-square-foot building ideal for retail, office or warehouse use. Built in 2001, it contains a large showroom with a small warehouse area and two loading docks, and can be subdivided into eight units. The minimum bid is $1.43 million. “Its corner location along heavily-trafficked Algonquin Rd. makes this an ideal retail location.”
More than 45 bank-owned residential lots will be available, including 28 single-family lots on an 8.5-acre parcel in suburban South Holland, as well as vacant residential lots located on the South and West Sides of Chicago. The auction also includes 11 Chicago apartment buildings, ranging from two- to four-flats; and 12 single-family homes located throughout Chicago's South Side and south suburbs. These properties are part of two privately-held portfolios that are available for pre-auction bulk purchase.
All of SVN AuctionWorks' online bids are placed by registered prospective purchasers. SVN never bids on behalf of the seller. This process creates an open and transparent bidding experience, Peterson said.
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