Auctions vs Listings: Which Listing Style is Best for You?

When most people think of selling land, they typically envision the process of listing the property, leveraging thoughtful marketing tactics, and hopefully attracting an interested buyer for your property.

On the listing side, land agents take the opportunity to get to know the seller, establish their role, and learn about their motivations for selling. Land agents create a tailored marketing plan using a combination of traditional and digital marketing strategies customized for the property and the seller’s individual needs. Listing agents send it out to different prospects and prospects find it over different means of networking. Just like any other general real estate, land agents look for buyers to buy the property. It is a process that can take weeks or months to unfold. Offers and contracts come in that result in a sale.

However, traditional listings are far from the only way owners can go about selling land.

With the auction method, you have a sale, you bring all interested parties together in one place, you’re ready to sell that day, you get a buyer that day, and in 30 days you generally close. The auction method is a smart and efficient way of selling your land in a variety of markets. Auctions are just slow to move into some areas of the country, but it’s very popular in the Midwest and it’s growing in the mid-South in areas like Arkansas. It hasn’t quite caught on, but that day is coming soon.

Weighing your options


Auctions certainly come with unique benefits. It’s a quick and innovative way to sell land that give sellers more control over the sales process. It’s important to work with your land broker to determine if it’s the right course of action for you. After all, listings have specific advantages as well.

For instance, as the seller, a traditional listing allows you to set a price for your land. While some buyers will likely want to negotiate, you have the ultimate say in how much your land sells for.

Then again, if time is of the essence, an auction may be the clear choice. It creates a sense of urgency that can lead to a quicker sale.

A listed property may be on the market for months or even years. Auctions are time-bound, resulting in a fast sale. Buyers come to an auction prepared to purchase, accelerating the sales process and sometimes even leading to higher sale prices. Auctions generate excitement and competition, and also create a sense of urgency. Multiple buyers compete to outbid each other, often leading to a bidding war, where the final price can be much higher.

In the end, what option makes the most sense will come down to you, your land and how quickly you want to pass on ownership.

Article contribution by Mossy Oak Properties. The Mossy Oak Properties land brokerage network was launched in 2003 and has since grown to over 100 franchised brokerages in over 30 states throughout the country.