CBRE Launches Auction Service

CHICAGO-CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., based in Los Angeles, has hired two local professionals to start a new auction service for the company. Doug Johnson and Paul Galanis, who both previously worked for the auction firm Sheldon Good & Co., have joined CBRE as managing directors.

The two will offer a full spectrum of auction services, ranging from the traditional “open-outcry” method, to sealed bids, to online auctions, said CBRE officials. Auctions are an increasingly popular means of disposing of commercial property, and even more useful in a soft market such as today, said Jeff Barrett, SVP in the CBRE Recovery and Restructuring Service Group. Sources say more than $236 billion in multifamily and commercial real estate assets throughout major metropolitan areas have fallen into distress during the current cycle.