SOLD! Online Storage Auction Rakes It In; Provides Storage For Rakes.

The Infinity held the second and final round of deeded storage space auctions last Thursday. Round one of the auction took place November 18th with all units selling. Thursday night represented the last opportunity for Infinity homeowners to bid in the online auction and score a deal on some much needed room to stash bicycles, buggies and boards, both ski and surf.

I have a client who participated unsuccessfully in the first round and would be traveling during the second, so I happily stepped in to be his bidder-by-proxy. Being a very bright and analytical gentlemen, he provided me with a detailed bid strategy which yielded success and what I think to be a respectable value based on the 'comps' as we say in real estate.

That brings me to the most fascinating thing about the auction for me: seeing value assigned to property in real time. It was a small-scale case study of a consumer market in action. Before your eyes you saw demand rise and fall, then rise and fall again. Prices did a similar dance, leveling off for periods, dropping and then shooting up suddenly. I found it terribly interesting to review the post auction data and determine patterns and how well the group did individually and as a whole.

The big question on most peoples minds: Does having storage add value to my home? My answer: Absolutely, but there is no way to determine how much. Try this scenario: Two almost identical Infinity units hit the market at the same time at the same price. One has storage and the other does not, which sells first?

In a challenging market, anything a seller can do to make their home stand out will add value. Whether or not that value translates to more money, a quicker sale or both is up to the market.