An American real estate trend is gaining popularity in Alberta.
"We know we have four auctions in Canada going right now," says Calvin Buss, the president of Buss Marketing.
Buss is working with a developer in Cochrane. Together they plan to hold a real estate auction in hopes of selling 55 lots from the MonTerra development in Cochrane Lakes.
The lots will be sold at drastically reduced prices for the one-day event. "Lots that originally sold for as much as $400,000 are on the auction block right now for as low as $175,000," says Buss.
Over 300 homes have been sold in the MonTerra development but the 600 acre site has room for another 2,200 homes.
Buss says auctions are a great way to ramp up sales. "If a developer puts an ad in the paper, it gets lost in the background noise. If enough attention can be drawn to a particular property the buying public becomes aware and there's a great opportunity at the same time to save $100,000 on the purchase."
Some real estate agents say auctions are a marketing tool that doesn't work in all situations.
"I don't think it would work in the resale market. But for some of the developers that are trying to sell the last of their lots of condos, it could work," says Jeff Campbell from Century 21 Real Estate.
One hundred bidders are already registered for the MonTerra development auction.
The auction takes place at Stampede Park on May 2nd.
