Commercial Real Estate Auction To Rise

And that includes the famous John Hancock Tower in Boston, which is scheduled for auctioning on March 31. Broadway Partners could also be forced to auction off several office buildings in DC, including 1615 L Street. Eliot Spitzer's father is rumored to be interested in acquiring the property, which actually overlooks the Mayflower Hotel.

According to NYT:

Sales generated through auctions — including residential, commercial and agricultural properties — totaled $58.6 billion in 2008, up 38 percent from $42.3 billion in 2003, according to a recently released tally by the National Auctioneers Association, a trade group based in Overland Park, Kan.

Most of the recent activity and attention has focused on the residential sector, with an increasing number of homeowners being forced into foreclosure. But commercial auctions are expected to pick up this year as property owners and developers seek to raise cash to pay off loans or are forced into foreclosure themselves.