Auctions have become a convenient, efficient method of moving inventory in a hurry, and that includes all types of real estate. The auction, which historically included the image of Snidely Whiplash in a black top hat selling off the farm to the highest bidder, is no longer synonymous with desperation and bankruptcy. The Internet also has brought property bidding to the family den, with online giants like Priceline and Ebay jumping into the real estate cyber space. Large companies, including Weyerhaeuser, US Bank and the University of Washington, use auctions often to dispose of excess property.

Realty Marketing/Northwest (http://www.rmnw-auctions.com) is acting as the auction-marketing consultant for a spring event that includes 70 properties--valued at more than $30 million--in Washington and Oregon. These properties are being sold at an oral auction on May 12th and via sealed bid auctions on May 18th and 22nd.

Nine of these properties, including seven timber tracts in Grays Harbor County, are being sold with no minimum bid as part of the bankruptcy liquidation of assets owned by Seattle-based Quality Veneer and Lumber Co. There are also 28 additional properties located in Idaho and California in the auction lineup.