In the past, there were two primary scenarios a home would be up for sale at an auction: Foreclosure Auctions The first was when a property was available at a foreclosure auction -- the original homeowner defaulted on the mortgage by not making mortgage payments for a considerable length of time. As a result, the lender had taken possession of the home and was eager to sell it in order to recover the money it lent the homeowner to purchase the home. Tax Lien Auctions The second scenario was when a property was available at a tax lien auction. It meant the original homeowner owed the government a significant enough sum in taxes that a tax authority seized the home and wanted to sell it to collect the taxes owed. Real Estate Auctions Today Although the above two scenarios still play out on a regular basis, today many sellers who do not fall into either camp (i.e., who are not in any financial or legal trouble) are opting to sell their houses through online auctions. In the past, acquiring properties through auctions was generally limited to real estate investors and professionals. Increasingly, however, non-professional buyers have been benefiting from buying homes at residential property auctions across the country. How Do Online Auctions Work? Multiple properties are auctioned as part of the same event, allowing for buyers to target more than one house that interests them and to stay within their budget much more easily than in a non-auction scenario. Some auctions arrange for open houses at the property, so potential bidders can view the home firsthand, and, alternatively, buyers can view the property from the outside and read descriptions of each property to decide ahead of the auction which properties are of interest to them. How Are Auction Properties Priced? The possibility of getting a good property at a cheap price is what draws most people to property auctions. Though properties are still listed at their normal price in the run up to the auction and can be bought at the list price at any time leading up to the auction, the opening bid at the auction will be for less than list price to entice buyers to bid. How Do You Win at an Auction? As in any auction, the highest bidder wins.