Mansions Go Under the Gavel - New York Times

An Excerpt From the August 7, 2009 issue of the New York Times

Stacy Kirk, who together with her mother co-founded Grand Estates Auction Company in 1999 to handle multimillion-dollar homes exclusively, said her business had grown to 30 homes last year, from 20 homes sold in 2005. “We have been receiving more inquiries from homeowners in the $1.5 million and up price range,” she said. “And we are talking to banks for the first time about whether we can help sell similarly priced homes that are headed for foreclosure.”

When Grand Estates sold a Nantucket home at auction in July, the price was $5.2 million, slightly less than the $5.4 million paid in 2004 by the owner, Paul C. Steinfurth, a real estate executive who lives in Miami. The proceeds covered his $3 million mortgage and the 6 percent cut, or $312,000, that went to the auction house.

Ms. Kirk, who heads Grand Estates, said that she used an absolute auction because “there are so many properties out there and to get the most number of buyers there, you need to sell absolute.”