Real estate auctions are not a single market. Foreclosure sales on courthouse steps, bank-owned REO disposals, luxury estate sales and commercial portfolio trades all use the word “auction” and share almost nothing operationally. The platforms below sort into those groups.
We have also included how each one actually earns, because in property auctions the fee structure tells you more about the platform’s incentives than any marketing page.
Distressed and foreclosure
1. Auction.com
The largest platform for foreclosure and bank-owned residential property in the US. Runs both online and in-person trustee sales. Inventory is genuinely distressed, which means opportunity and risk in equal measure — many properties cannot be inspected internally before sale.
Earns primarily through a buyer’s premium, typically around 5%, plus technology fees. That premium is on top of your bid, so factor it in before you set a ceiling.
2. Hubzu
REO and short sale property, with a strong servicer relationship pipeline. Runs an online bidding process that often includes a seller confirmation step, meaning your winning bid is an offer rather than a binding sale. Read the terms carefully — this catches out first-time bidders constantly.
3. Xome
Similar REO and foreclosure focus with an integrated title and closing services arm. The vertical integration is the business model: the auction is partly a customer acquisition channel for the services attached to it.
4. ServiceLink Auction
Servicer-side disposal platform. Less consumer-facing, more institutional inventory.
Commercial and investment
5. Ten-X Commercial
The dominant online commercial real estate auction platform. Multifamily, office, retail and industrial assets, with due diligence packages that are genuinely thorough — rent rolls, financials, environmental reports, all pre-assembled.
The due diligence room is the product. Commercial buyers will not bid without it, and assembling it is the real work behind each listing.
6. CREXi
Broader commercial marketplace with an auction component. Useful for finding assets that are not distressed.
Traditional auction houses
7. Williams & Williams
Long-established accelerated marketing firm handling residential, commercial and land. Runs genuine absolute auctions where the property sells regardless of price — which produces very different bidding dynamics from a reserve sale. See what a buyer’s premium is for how the fee interacts with your bid.
8. Concierge Auctions
Luxury residential, often multi-million-dollar properties where a conventional listing has stalled. The model is accelerated marketing: an intense short campaign ending in a defined sale date. Expensive, and effective for the specific problem of an illiquid trophy property.
9. Hilco Real Estate
Distressed commercial and portfolio dispositions, frequently attached to bankruptcy proceedings.
Local and land
10. Regional auctioneers via HiBid
Farm land, rural acreage and estate property still sell predominantly through local auctioneers, and those auctioneers list online through aggregators. For agricultural land in particular, the local auctioneer’s buyer list beats any national platform.
What to check before you bid on property
- Is the bid binding or an offer? Some platforms sell; others forward your bid to a seller who may decline. Enormous practical difference.
- What is the total premium? Buyer’s premium plus technology fee plus closing costs. On a $200,000 property a 5% premium is $10,000 you did not bid.
- Can you inspect? Occupied foreclosures frequently cannot be entered. You are buying condition risk.
- What liens survive? This is the one that ruins people. Some auction types leave junior liens attached to the property.
- Deposit and closing timeline. Many require non-refundable deposits within 24 hours and full settlement in 30 days, cash.
Running your own property auctions
Brokerages and auctioneers who handle property regularly increasingly run their own bidding platform rather than paying a national portal. The property-specific requirements are well defined: document rooms with access logging, proof-of-funds gating before bidding rights are granted, escrow deposit handling, multi-parcel bidding for land divided into tracts, and a clear binding-versus-offer distinction in the terms.
Our real estate auction software page covers those modules, and starting a real estate auction platform covers the commercial side.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a mortgage on an auction property?
Rarely on distressed foreclosure sales, which usually require cash or certified funds within days. Some platforms handling REO and estate property allow financing contingencies — check per listing.
Are real estate auction prices actually below market?
Sometimes, but less often than people assume once you add the buyer’s premium, repair costs and holding costs on a property you could not inspect.
What is an absolute auction?
One where the property sells to the highest bidder with no reserve and no seller confirmation. It attracts far more bidders because the outcome is certain.
