Distressed Assets Fuel Auction Renaissance

Anyone who’s been watching the FDIC trade billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate loans and properties knows how important auctions have become, especially in the sale of distressed assets. A staple of the RTC, auctions have again become commonplace, thanks to firms such as DebtX and LFC.com. “There’s a resurgence of auctions because of the overabundance of assets,” says Kelly Lovegrove, director of operations for LFC.com. “And auctions are the quickest ways to clear assets.”

And with the likes of eBay and Amazon.com so ingrained in our culture, e-commerce seems a logical solution for the commercial real estate industry. “Buyers are accustomed to going online,” says Guy Ponticiello, managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle Corporate Capital Markets in Chicago.