From left: Chadwick Saylor & Co. Managing Director William Chadwick and his Malibu home at 21804 Pacific
Coast Highway

Traditionally reserved for foreclosed properties, home auctions are increasingly becoming a medium for the wealthiest Americans to sell their homes, according to Bloomberg News. Large auction houses have reported an increase in the number of auctions of extremely high-priced mansions, the number of buyers and the number of bidders.

J.P. King Auction Company, an Alabama-based auction house, said the number of mansions it has auctioned worth more than $8 million has doubled this year. Similarly, Charlotte, N.C.-based Grand Estates Auction Company said just 12 percent of its auctions are homes in financial distress and the number of buyers has grown 130 percent.

The number of luxury properties auctioned by California-based Premiere Estates Auction Company also increased 30 percent last year, according to the firm. In fact, Premiere Estates is preparing for an auction with what’s believed to be the highest opening auction bid ever…. [more]