One the biggest auction houses in the nation is getting a makeover. Real Estate Disposition, more commonly known as REDC, is rebranding itself as Auction.com, CEO Jeff Frieden told HousingWire Tuesday.
The rebrand spawned from a new initiative to develop the auction house's online platform in conjunction with the ever-growing digital revolution.
"We believe so much in this online revolution and platform that in February 2009, we purchased the domain Auction.com, for $1.7 million, and have rebranded the company," Frieden said.
In 2007, Auction.com began offering online bidding as a compliment to its live ballroom auctions, although a very small percentage of assets actually sold online. Today, every auction held in person is also available to online bidders and more than 50% of sales are occurring online.
In 2010, the firm auctioned off 35,000 residential and commercial assets, and commercial notes totaling $1.7 billion. Auction.com said all its commercial properties and notes sold online — 1,800 assets for $800 million. Of the residential assets, half were sold online — 17,500 assets for $850 million.
"It took two years to build our existing online platform because of our stringent regulations to recreate the live auction experience for our bidders," Frieden said. "We have taken our 20-plus years of expertise as real estate auctioneers and have translated the live auction experience into our best-of-class online platform."
REDC plans to officially announce its rebranding sometime in the next week or so.
by Christine Ricciardi HousingWire January 11, 2011
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