OCALA - There will be no fast-talking auctioneer chattering a mile a minute to feed a bidding frenzy. The slick used car salesman bellowing about rock-bottom prices will also be missing.

But Marion County's McPherson Governmental Complex will be transformed into a car lot for three hours on the morning of April 19 as the county displays 19 former Building Department vehicles now on sale to the public.

This won't be your typical car sale. No one will shout "everything must go" because, as Marion County assistant purchasing director Susan Olsen noted, county officials can turn down even the highest bids if they think they are too low.

Also, there will be no hollering about "huge sale! one day only!" That's because the Purchasing Department will accept sealed bids through 2 p.m. May 1. And no one can hype "no money down, no payments for a year," because, if the county accepts your bid, you have to pay up in full right away.

Still, you can get a truck in any color you want, as long as that color is white.

All the trucks - 15 GMC Sierras, two Chevrolet Silverados and a 2002 Dodge Dakota - come with power windows, as long as that power is your arm rolling down the window. Besides no power windows, there are also no power door locks.

"These are plain-Jane trucks," Marion County Fleet Director Michael Zeak said, "but someone's going to get a good deal."

MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) ― No luggage is ever really lost. If it doesn't find its way to you after that disastrous plane trip, it might end up at someplace like this weekend's auction at Miami International Airport. Hundreds of unclaimed bags, plus the most amazing things people left behind at South Florida's busiest airport, will hit the auction block Saturday.

Thursday, interested bargain hunters can preview the items up for grabs, including luggage, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, iPods, jewelry, toys, sporting goods, and DVD players, at 5600 NW 36th Street, Building 845, 3rd Floor, beginning at 10 a.m.

Saturday the auction will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Some of the items up for sale were lost and never claimed. Others were left behind when passengers had to fly, and realized they couldn't afford to pay to carry them on the plane.

Ms. Davalos from cbs4 has posted a short notice about the upcoming auction at the Miami International Airport.

From the article:
The auction begins at 9:30a.m., Saturday, Nov. 17th at 5600 NW 36th St., Building 845, Third Floor.  A preview of the items will be one hour before auction time.

No luggage is ever really lost. If it doesn't find it's way to you after that  plane trip, it might end up at someplace like this weekend's auction at Miami International Airport. Hundreds of unclaimed bags, plus the most amazing things people left behind at South Florida's busiest airport, are up for sale Saturday.

The real estate editor of Everything AL has posted a new story predicting more auctions for nearby states based on Floridas real estate auction trends and volume over the last two years.

From the article:
Auction companies were booked in Florida this year, and auctioneers expect the trend to hit Alabama's Gulf Coast next year. With 2,788 condominium units for sale at the Gulf, auctions will get the sales activity moving, according to the firms, and some area real estate agencies are looking at auctions as a way to reduce their listings.

Sellers on the Gulf Coast haven't reached the desperate or urgent level seen in Florida sellers, according to William Bone of The National Auction Group. "You didn't have the hurricanes, and that took a lot of fear out of the market," he said. Still, he added, "the market can never come back as long as there are thousands of unsold condos."

Auctions are up nationally, according to the National Auctioneers Association in Overland, Kan. Industry revenue totaled $257.2 billion in 2006 and is projected to hit $269.6 billion in 2007, according to NAA.

Residential real estate is the fastest-growing segment of the live auction industry, increasing by 12.5 percent in 2006 and generating $16 billion. Residential revenue had increased by 3.1 percent at the end of the second quarter of this year.

Housing Predictor has published a list of factors leading them to proclaim real estate auctions to be the next boom in real estate.

From the article:
The tsunami of foreclosures has made it cherry picking time for many investors, some of whom are leery themselves about the nation’s future economic health. There are an estimated 78 million homes in the U.S., which is an all time high. More homes still remain vacant than at any other time in the nation’s history. The surplus of newly constructed homes still awaiting new owners is also at its all time high. Excessive inventory has caused new home builders to slash prices and offer incentives from swimming pools to washers and dryers to sell their homes.

Real estate auctions use to be confined mainly to major urban areas in Florida, California and Illinois. But with the inventory of foreclosures swelling online and in person auctions are being held in at least 34 states, according to company officials holding the events, and the excessive inventory is increasing daily.