The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-03-03
REAL ESTATE
AUCTIONS
EXPAND
Building Booms Follow Big
Sales, Says
Expert.
BY JOSEPH p. DAY.

/ AS one lOOkS D1Ch IuLO46h
years, the auction sale of quarter
OF a century ago is seen in the rela-
| tive light of the first automobile
crude but with great possibilities.
| And as the old wheezy, snortlng
| ''one-lunger'' was the forerunner OF
the magnificent steel steed OF today
so was the auction sale of twenty
! five years ago the predecessor or the
polished, productive selling mechan'
ism of today.
Twenty-Five years ago an auction
sale that disposed of $4,000 worth
of lots in one day was looked upon
as an achievement. Last July, at
Long Beach, despite cloudburst
that tied up the Long Island Rail-
road and paralyzed underground and
overhead transit four hours, over
| half a million dollars worth or lots
were sold. It was so dark In the
tent that lights were necessary at 3
o'clock in the afternoon. But the
crowd was there, attracted by adj.
vertising and promotion, and they
bought. Several occasions last year
have eclipsed the million dollar
mark for one days business.
These facts are cited merely to
prove the tremendous merchandising
power of the modern day lot auction.
A turnover Of a million dollars, COW
ering years transactions, Is con-
sidered big for many concerns, but
by means of auctions it has been
possible to direct real estate opera
tons which for thirty days totaled
twelve millions of dollars. The lot
auction sale is q big institution and
does things in big, comprehensive
million-dollar way.
AID OF NEWSPAPERS.
The property owner has come
rightly to look upon the auction sale
as the quickest and most profitable
medium for the disposition of his
property. Because the advertising
and. promotion expense is concen-
| trated over a short period it repre-
| sents to the property owner the
smallest possible outlay for maxi.
mum selling results.
Intensive promotion and advertis.
| ing such as are employed today were
| unthought of even sixteen years ago.
It requires, OF course, highly
| trained aud extensive Organization to
| dovetail in and follow up the leads
engendered by the modern tremen-
dous newspaper advertising cam.
| paigns.
| The old-time auctioneer never had
| the volume of business that would
| warrant the carrying of large and
comprehensive selling force. He had
not the vision, and perhaps lacked
| the courage to indulge in big news
paper page display advertising.
1t has not been easy to bring the
property owner and the public to
the point where they have absolute
faith and confidence in auction sales.
The newspapers have helped greatly
with their constructive articles; ad.
vertising, full of proof and truth,
has helped.
Building booms have invariably
marched behind the latter-day sales.
Improvement has sent lot values
soaring; in the face Of these in
1 creases, the auction day prices, as
i profitable as they were to the owner.
| look like the greatest Of bargains to
the buyers. So everybody is happy,
and a new community is under way.
The modern auctioneer does not
employ the ballyhoo. band and
barbecue stunts that characterized
| former property auctioneering, but
/ his business-like transactions Of to.
day are a far cry from the earlier
| methods. People come to auction
sales with a very serious purpose,
to buy a home site or invest in lots.
They regard it as an earnest bust
ness undertaking. For many of the
buyers it represents q serious step
! their first in the direction of real.
responsible citizenship. land owning
MODERN EXPLOITS.
1t is hardly to be supposed that
the old auctioneering methods were
conducive to big business proceed.
ings.
Our sale of 1900 houses in Cam.
den, N. j., for the United States
Shipping Board would have been
unthinkable to the auctioneer OF
twenty-five years ago. OF course
few landlords, aside from Uncle
Sam, would have had such a large
amount of improved property to
sell. But your old-time auctioneer
would hardly have been prepared
to undertake a sale Of such proper
lions. He would not have had the
organization to exploit the sale
along national lines which developed
a market strong enough to accept
the offering at the profitable prices
the Government insisted upon.
| It is my belief that no type OF
merchandising has made such big
strides in. the last twenty-five years
as the selling of property by auc
ton. Real, scientific craftsmanship