In two previous articles about Auction.com’s expanded Market Validation Program (MVP), you learned how MVP is a win-win-win for borrowers, sellers, and neighborhoods, and why MVP is outperforming traditional short sales. (If you missed those articles, see links below.)
In this article, we are going to look at how MVP’s transparent and competitive marketplace ensures equal opportunity for buyers and how that equal opportunity helps fuel the American Dream.
MVP Caters to a Majority of Small-Volume Buyers
First, when a property is placed in MVP — Auction.com’s pre-foreclosure sales program — the house is marketed to a buyer base of 6+ million registered users. And although the buyer base is huge, most of its users are considered small-volume investors. A recent Auction.com survey showed that 87 percent of Auction.com buyers purchase five or fewer properties each year.
What’s more, almost 33 percent of all pre-foreclosure MVP properties purchased during the last six months are lived in by their buyers.
Owner-occupants Tyrone Velasquez and Scott Stuber, who have been investors for about seven years, are part of this demographic. They have purchased and renovated over a dozen homes in Dayton, Ohio, and kept one as their personal residence.
“We have bought I believe five properties through Auction.com,” said Scott. “It’s been a great process. It’s simple, it’s easy. We never have to leave home. We love it!”
MVP Is Transparent
Second, by using a platform with more than 6 million registered users, MVP pre-foreclosure properties do not get lost in the shadows of the traditional market. Over 80 percent of MVP offers come from new buyers who purchased through the Auction.com platform as the highest and best offer.
Karen Tyler, a Virginia-based real estate broker said she submitted her bid for a short sale property on Auction.com before she realized it was also listed on the MLS.
“I found out after I bid on it that it was actually a short sale on the market (and) I’m a principal broker of 100 agents,” she said.
Only 12 percent of buyers surveyed by Auction.com said the MLS was their primary source for finding properties, according to the 2020 survey. Meanwhile, 78 percent said their primary acquisition source was online auction.
“It’s nice because you have the ability to see the properties available online whereas you used to have go to a Realtor and say ‘what’s available, what’s in my price range that I can buy that needs rehab?’” said Stuber. “With the ability of being able to do it online, it cuts everything out. It shortens your time. It gives you a much greater opportunity to see what’s available, and it’s just been a great process.”
Buyers like Chicago-based investor Michael Hallman recognize Auction.com as the biggest source of inventory among all online real estate auction platforms. Hallman buys and rehabs 12 to 20 homes a year in the Chicago area, reselling mostly to owner-occupants.
“Sometimes in a day I don’t have the time to check all the different competition websites and platforms to see what’s going to auction that day, so I mostly just check Auction.com for sure,” he said.
Finally, while MVP exposes buyers to pre-foreclosure sales, which in turn can help homeowners avoid foreclosure and obtain a graceful exit, it’s also allowing entrepreneurs to pursue the American Dream.
“Right now, I work an 8 to 5 job while Scott works in the business so I help on evenings or weekends when I can,” said Tyrone. “So, our goal is to build for retirement, and that’s what we’re looking forward to. So, you have to keep looking at that goal.”
MVP-Related Content
- How the Auction.com Pre-foreclosure Market Validation Program Will Change the Industry (article)
- Does MVP Outperform Traditional Short Sales? (article)
- How Online Auctions Deliver on the Promise of Pre-foreclosure Sales (article)
- What Is Market Validation and How Will It Help Prevent Future Foreclosures? (video)
- Why Does MVP Outperform Traditional Short Sale? (video)
Visit Auction.com/MVP for more information.