I knew the minute he walked in: “You’re here to talk to me about Villa Collina.”

“How did you know?”

“I just knew.”

After a year sitting on the market, the gorgeous Knoxville, Tenn., estate had seen plenty of callers – professional athletes, physicians, others who wanted to turn it into a bed and breakfast or corporate retreat. For the price, the intrigue was promising. But as much as they knocked on the door to visit the 44,500-square foot, 49-room mansion on Lyon’s View Pike, no one was banging it down with an offer. So it sat, waiting for its next owner.

We needed to do something. This luxury property’s price – and its owner’s spirit – were falling. Within a year, it had dropped to $12.5 million. There was simply no sense of urgency among potential buyers, who were content sitting on the sidelines and waiting for the price to plummet.

Previously, there could be multiple offers on a home of this value. But it’s not a seller’s market any more – the market doesn’t spur buyers to jump up and buy right now.

My affiliation with Sotheby’s International Realty led me to Concierge Auctions, while I researched my client’s options. I discovered that Concierge Auctions creates a market where

there is none – exactly the jolt Villa Collina needed. But utter “auction” in the real estate world, and it draws sighs. My client and I needed to talk this through.

I presented my client with the auction option when it came time to renew the listing. We’re in a market that just didn’t support the sale, and we needed to create urgency, I explained.

I asked her, “When you think auction, what do you think?” Her response stayed within the lines – thoughts of an owner losing property, distressed properties, hyper-stressed owners.

I said, “Let me tell you about this auction process.” I reposed the question: “What do you think when you hear Sotheby’s?” It’s synonymous with luxury. When you think about it, you think of the auction houses in New York and London – you don’t have the same concept of an auction as you do with real etate. No, it’s luxury; it’s diamonds; it’s art. When you think of Sotheby’s International Realty, the auction company associated is Concierge Auctions. So when people hear Concierge, they know they are dealing with professionals who absolutely know luxury and how to create a market for it.  [hs_action id=”253″]

The more I described Concierge and its services, the more she listened and the more she liked. After negotiating with Concierge, we announced a May 26 auction. The entire team got to work.

The auction timeframe assures the finality of a sale. If you’re on the sidelines, like many of our visitors were during the first year, the conventional method doesn’t urge you to move. That Villa Collina would sell to the highest bidder at auction forced potential buyers to action. Six weeks until a sale? As hard as I try, I can’t generate that sense of urgency. The auction process – from regional and global exposure – does.

From the minute they started, what Concierge’s marketing team did was top notch. They exposed the opportunity in major newspapers, identified qualified buyers, and simply saturated the market with information about this esteemed estate. They marketed Villa Collina in every way possible – from an in-depth website detailing its attributes to a printed magazine information packet to subtle reminders like an animated slideshow of images at the end of every email. The property was constantly exposed. Everyone – from the top to the individual teams – took ownership of this project. The designated project manager, who lived in the area during the auction process, also helped the exposure by making the property available daily for on-site visits.

I remember one day when Laura Brady called and said, “The Wall Street Journal wants to do a feature home of the day and interview you.” Let me tell you, here in Knoxville, I don’t get The Wall Street Journal calling very often.

Concierge Auctions’ global exposure campaign generated 29 qualified buyer prospects and 1,641 visits to the auction website from 47 states and 16 international countries.

In those three weeks – three weeks – we didn’t have anybody who had seen Villa Collina before as a potential client. Concierge – and the urgency of the auction – had created all new interest and a new life for this property.

So I knew, with that type of exposure, exactly what my previous client wanted when he came in to see me that day.

“You’re here to talk to me about Villa Collina.”

The property was perfect for his family. He said, “I’ve seen it, but I’ve never seen a reason to come by at the price. I wanted to get it before it went to auction.”

That day in my office, he explained: If it goes to auction, this is my opening bid. But if she’s willing to take it off the auction block, here’s my offer. He absolutely wanted the home, and he wanted it now.

Concierge created an unmatched sense of urgency, and I had the contacts and buyers to put the deal together. I couldn’t have don’t it without them. They couldn’t have done it without me, either. They created the platform for me to do what I do best.

The exposure goes farther than the property itself. Potential clients who were disappointed they missed out on this auction want to see others, or sell their properties through a similar process. The auction process doesn’t work for every property – but it works when everything lines up. Concierge is great at conducting due diligence when looking at remarkable properties that need the sense of urgency to spur a sale. It’s for their protection and my protection – you don’t want a lousy auction. No one looks good then.

Even more than that: This type of sale – the luxury auction and the sheer value of the sale – is so far outside the norm in Knoxville, it gives you hope, especially when you turn on the radio or television and you hear how bad things are. Then you see a transaction like Villa Collina, and I can only believe that it would instill that hope that luxury properties can sell in tough times.

Guest blogger Debbie Elliott-Sexton is the Broker and Owner of Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty in Tennessee. She has teamed with Concierge Auctions on multiple successful luxury home sales around the Knoxville area.