New technology speeds way for Oklahoma City auctioneer

“It's making my life a lot easier, a lot more profitable for my clients, a lot more palatable for the buyers, and it's just making it a lot better for everybody,” he said.

Dakil is set to sell 42 properties Thursday evening. They range from investment properties to family homes to open lots in Logan County, many of them lakeside.

Potential buyers can browse them all on the firm's website, virtually touring most and pinpointing them on a map.

Thursday, they can gather in the air-conditioned comfort of the company's auction facility at 200 NW 114, where Dakil said all 42 properties could be sold in about 40 minutes. With the title work a computer keystroke away, they can close as early as the next day.

“Ten years ago, you couldn't have done that,” he said.

One online innovation this auction won't feature is online bidding. Online auctions, Dakil said, require bidders to put up deposits of thousands of dollars, and most aren't willing. So Dakil said he generally sticks with in-person auctions.

Dakil said he is more likely to employ online bidding for expensive properties with bidders who don't balk at the hefty deposits. Dakil does routinely allow absentee bidding, though the bidder has to submit an absolute maximum bid and put down 5 percent in earnest money.

“I make the decision best for the customer,” he said.

The company has been staging mass auctions for about five years, and this month's isn't even among the biggest, Dakil said.

Frequency increases

But the sales are becoming more frequent, pushed by rising demand. Dakil estimated his real estate listings have doubled during the past year, and a lot of the properties are put up by homeowners themselves.