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A new auction brokerage called Rila Auctions has launched in southern California, promising to create “urgency and competition through transparent bidding, ensuring homes reach peak market value while giving buyers of all budgets equal access to compete,” Inman learned exclusively in an April 14 statement.
The company was founded by Ben Bacal of Revel Real Estate and broker of record Harry Dheedene.
Rila states its goal is to change the way the industry works in the auction environment by focusing on transparency and technology. It can close in under six weeks, according to the statement, and is designed to be agent-friendly, offer competitive fees and remove uncertainty in an opaque market.
“After working with several auction platforms, I realized there was an opportunity to create a smarter, more transparent solution that puts agents and sellers first,” said Bacal in the release. “Rila Auctions offers the efficiency, clarity, and competitive edge the modern market demands — with a flat-fee structure and full-service support that agents can trust.”
Bacal and Dheedene also founded the social media app Rila to help agents market homes in an Instagram-like video-search environment. A Bel Air home will be the first property marketed on Rila Auctions, a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house launching at $4.6 million. It is being brought to the platform by Enzo Fiore of Revel Real Estate, who is co-listing with Dheedene.
Bacal said his platform will pay buyer agents and is “the future of real estate” in a video announcement shared with Inman. “Buyers know exactly where they stand with an auction and sellers know that their properties are attracting maximum interest,” he said. “I firmly believe this avenue of selling real estate is going to revolutionize the way we sell properties.”
Rila Auctions isn’t alone in the space. Final Offer is a technology-forward competitor while Concierge Auctions, backed by Sotheby’s and Anywhere Real Estate, is more traditional in its service delivery.
“Final Offer gives buyers an elegant search experience, a UI that lists all activity on a home, alerts agents and even interested buyers to changes and new offers, and plainly lists what it’ll take to meet the seller’s terms, as well as offering calendar views of all activity and a history of homes sold on the platform,” Inman’s review stated.
The intent of auction-based sales is to surface competitive offers instead of hiding them behind traditional practices. For example, listing agents are often reticent about sharing exact terms of each offer when there is competition over a listing, a practice that is generally explained with “It’s always been done that way.”
In a transparent auction experience, buyers are often encouraged to increase an offer when able to clearly see what other buyers are submitting, such as price, earnest money, financing and other contingencies.
If a listing agent’s most important job is to get as much value as possible out of a property for its seller, then there is little argument against an auction format. However, the model hasn’t gained any notable traction, despite a number of opportunities for greater adoption over the years. It seems to be often sold as an either-or instead of as a marketing supplement to a standard listing. One hangup is the need to obtain an auction license per each state’s regulations, which takes time and money.
Rila Auctions, in conjunction with others, could provide the spark the format needs to catch the attention of sellers. Its founders’ collective experience and industry presence could help.
