The sale of real estate at auction has become an increasing trend in the United States. Having long been the default method of liquidation for distressed properties, real estate auctions are becoming mainstream. More and more buyers and sellers of real estate are realizing that the auction method of marketing can many times be superior to traditional real estate listings.

The National Association of Realtors claim that “[all] types of property can be sold at auction. For sellers, auctions mean immediate cash and no long-term carrying costs. For buyers, auctions can save time and money.” The National Auctioneers Association claims that over $58 billion in real estate was sold at auction in 2007. Real estate auction volume has increased each year since the NAA started tracking it in 2003.

Having long recognized the importance of real estate as a component of the auction industry, the NAA offers a professional designation called AARE – Accredited Auctioneer Real Estate. AARE is a  prestigious designation, held only by several hundred auctioneers worldwide.

Here’s the official description from the NAA website.

An auctioneer with the AARE designation has gone the ‘extra mile’ to ensure they offer the highest level of professionalism and the most up-to-date information when it comes to selling properties. Whether selling residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial properties, AARE auctioneers have enhanced knowledge in all pertinent areas, such as:

Accredited Auctioneer Real Estate

• Marketing techniques
• Financial/investment calculations
• Evaluating cash flow
• Holding-period analysis
• Tax consequences of buying and selling properties
• Multi-parcel real estate auctions

We asked AuctioneerTech friend Tom Jordan, CAI, AARE, CES, MPPA, why an auctioneer should take the AARE courses. Tom is a member of the AARE committee and a candidate for NAA Education Institute Trustee. He posted his reply on his blog. Here’s what he said.

Most real estate brokers are taught how to sell real estate the traditional way by listing the property and putting it in MLS. They either learned this through going to a state approved real estate school or the real estate agency they work for or both. The auction method is not taught in real estate schools, though there is nothing wrong with selling real estate the traditional way – not all properties are good for auction and, on the flip side, some properties will do better at auction. The NAA Education Institute designed the AARE designation to fill the knowledge void both for Realtors(R) and auctioneers and real estate brokers of the auction method of how to sell real estate at auction.

Tom also noted that the second of the three courses was recently rewritten to make it flow better. The course now requires a working knowledge of using a calculator for financial functions so the class time can be spent on learning real estate- and auction-related equations.

The AARE course is offered is three classes. Each AARE class is two days in length.

• 100 Emphasizes how to market residential, agricultural, commercial and industrial properties
• 200 Learn the techniques for evaluating cash flow, holding period analysis, tax consequences of auctions and the challenges associated with each
• 300 Working in groups, students evaluate properties, design a proposal to get the sale, and plan, conduct and prepare a post-auction report

The NAA requires that each auctioneer with the AARE designation successfully complete all three classes as well as submit documentation of ten auctions, an auction summary report and an application to gain the designation. In addition to the initial requirements, there is the standard yearly designation fee and requirement for continuing education.

Realtor(R) Dave Sommers, AARE, recently received the designation. “The instructors were excellent,” he said, “especially Manson Slik. The course makes what you’ve been doing seem fresh. As with all NAA courses, the additive benefit of the camaraderie with others adds so much to the course materials. Knowing that there are other auctioneers who have dealt with the same problems you’ve had and can walk you through solving them is an invaluable benefit.”

Your next opportunity to take the AARE courses is in Chicago in April. For a list of upcoming courses from the NAA, see the NAAEI Events List.

As we were searching for the links for our coverage of the KAA Winter Convention, we were surprised by the almost-complete lack of designations listed with each auctioneer on his or her respective staff pages. While it’s possible that all of the auctioneers for whom we were searching simply didn’t have any designations, we think it’s more likely that those auctioneers who had designations simply didn’t have them listed. Listing an auctioneer’s designations next to his name on every piece of marketing material as well as the website is an important pieces of a holistic institutional marketing campaign.

While many auctioneers use the basic education found at an auction school and are happy conducting business indefinitely based solely on those fundamentals, more and more auctioneers are realizing the importance of continuing education to ensure that their businesses are using modern business practices.

There are currently seven professional designation courses offered by the National Auctioneers Association institute. These designations prove to prospective buyers and sellers that an auctioneer has continued to learn and improve his processes.

CAI – Certified Auctioneers Institute

AARE- Accredited Auctioneer Real Estate

ATS – Auction Technology Specialist

BAS – Benefit Auction Specialist

CES – Certified Estate Specialist

GPPA- Graduate Personal Property Appraiser

MPPA – Master Personal Property Appraiser

We covered the new ATS designation back in November. We’ll be covering each of the remaining designations in the next couple of months, concluding with an article on CAI in March.

The latest designation from the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) is Auction Technology Specialist (ATS). A course written by auctioneers for auctioneers, it offers a comprehensive education for all auctioneers, including those who are self-described as technology-challenged.

Students in the ATS course in Overland Park, April 2008

The biggest misconception about ATS is that it’s designed for operational staff instead of auctioneers. Unlike the Auction Administrator Certification Program, which is indeed targeted at support staff, the ATS course is intended to teach auctioneers to be competent using modern techniques to build their businesses, tap more potential sellers, gain exposure to more buyers and dissect the jargon used by technology vendors to find out what services they really provide and what those services will really cost.

Packing the wallop of 28 credit hours, the focus is not to teach auctioneers to become geeks. It’s clear that the best use of auctioneers’ time is marketing items and services, not writing lines of code. The focus instead is to help the auctioneers understand the purpose, not necessarily the mechanics, of modern gadgets, marketing avenues and website design theory and techniques.

Like most of the courses offered by the NAA, you must have your associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or approved life equivalency and be 21 years of age or older. In addition to these common requirements, you must also complete two simple, straightforward and free courses offered by Microsoft.

• The Internet and the World Wide Web
• Digital Lifestyles

For an auctioneer with basic Internet knowledge, these courses take minutes to complete. If you’re an auctioneer who is new to technology, computers, Internet or email, these courses provide a great way to become familiar with the basics on your own time. These courses also give you an idea of the assumptions made by the course of the minimum level of understanding possessed by the students of the class. The live course builds on the materials covered in the two Internet courses.

As for the live class, the chapter list on the NAA ATS page is a little out of date. Here’s the list of the current course chapters in order.

Auction Technology Specialist

• Types of Auctions and Their Technology Needs
• Digital Photography and Video
• Image Hosting
• Inventory Management
• Lead Generation and Prospecting
• Marketing Your Auctions
• Payment Processing
• Enterprise Integration
• Websites
• Company Marketing Strategy
• Building an Online Community

The last day of the course is a hands-on exercise that builds on the skills learned during the first three days and demonstrates the listing of items for Internet bidding using multiple platforms as well as posting an item-level listing to the NAA’s state-of-the-art auction calendar.

Finally, after having taken the class, students must conduct an Internet only auction as well as a live auction with Internet bidding available before officially passing the course and gaining the ATS designation.

Here’s the class summary from the NAA website.

The Auction Technology Specialist ( ATS) program will help you understand today’s technology and how to use it to improve your business. ATS consists of two sections. The first section takes place online using the Microsoft eLearning Center. The second section is a live, four-day, classroom experience. To complete the designation, you must complete the four day class, pass the class exam, conduct a live and static auction, and submit the appropriate documentation.

In these scary economic times, many of us will find our businesses evolve. The one thing we cannot afford in this economic downturn is to become lax in our education. Maintaining a pulse on the industry and on technology will let us adjust quickly to these fast-changing times.

If you’re an auctioneer who hasn’t yet done many auctions while providing Internet bidding, you should take ATS. If you’re an auctioneer who doesn’t have a website or who wants to make your website better, you should take ATS. If you’re an auctioneer who is obsessed with auction tech and can’t wait to find out the latest and greatest techniques for improving your auctions, you should take ATS. If you’re an auctioneer looking to build your business using some of the newest social media and guerrilla Internet marketing, you should take ATS. If you’re an auctioneer who is looking to gain a competitive edge on your competition, you should take ATS. If you’re a programmer or the head of technology at your auction firm and are interested in technology and not so much interested in auctions or the auction method, ATS may not be right for you. ATS is for auctioneers.

In the interests of disclosure, I’ve personally been involved with the course for some time, along with several industry leaders in the field of auction tech. I’m quite happy with the way it was developed, the variety of views and materials presented in the coursework and the reception it has received so far from those auctioneers who have taken the course.

The ATS designation, like all the designations from the NAA, tells customers – bidders, buyers and sellers – that you are recognized in the industry for having mastered a skill set. I’m not going to argue the merits of ATS against the other designations offered by the NAA as they’re all valuable. But no matter if you do estate auctions (CES), real estate auctions (AARE), benefit auctions (BAS) or all kinds of auctions, the beauty of ATS is that, regardless of your specialty, it will help you conduct better auctions and be a better auctioneer.

View more information about ATS in Baltimore on November 17 and submit your registration today.