GOLDEN VALLEY, MN The launch of the real estate section of the on-line auction site, eBay, has become so successful that starting in April, eBay expects to unveil services for real estate agents to upload multiple listing services onto the site more easily.
EBay unveiled its real estate section last August, after Vicki Richman decided to list her 81-room Econo Lodge motel, near the University of Minnesota, in the site s miscellaneous section. She sold it to hotel-owner Dipan Patel for $2.41 million at the end of August, which is far above the $2.1 million price that traditional brokers quoted.
Soon after, more real estate opportunities began popping up on the site, and today the category hosts about 800 properties.
However, the category doesnt operate like eBays other auctions. Sales are closed off-line in the conventional way, the auction site doesnt charge a percentage of the sale price- only a flat fee, and because real estate bids are non-binding so are the real estate bids posted on eBay. (1/31/01)
SOURCE: Saint Paul Pioneer Press, MN