On the auction block

There has been a lot of talk in the last two days about

Madania Real Estate

's

. More info from Emirates Business 24/7

.

Anil Bhoyrul

, of Arabian Business,

- it was an indication that the market is only going to get worse. (He also mistakenly calls it the UAE's first property auction. There have been auctions for property in Dubai for years. See

and

.)

He writes:

In other words, contrary to the talk of recovery on the horizon, the figures show things are getting worse. All the talk of a "summer exodus" may be over hyped (personally I don't think it will be that bad) but again, until the summer is over, nobody wants to take any risks.

Tuesday's auction was the first test of the public's appetite to get back into the market. Would they come in their hundreds, cheque books and passports ready, eager to prey on the ashes of the property boom?

Well, of the 100 people who showed up, only 9 had registered beforehand to even be allowed to make a bid. Who were the other 91 people? Around 35 journalists and 56 estate agents.

I agree that it may be an indication that the market has not found a bottom. When Madania first announced the auction in mid-April, I called

Blair Hagkull

, the head of the regional operation of

Jones Lang LaSalle

, to get his opinion.

He told me that "auctions work well in boom times and in tough times". Usually, during the latter period it is banks and financial institutions that host these auctions to get rid of property on their books that buyers have defaulted on, not brokerages.

Mr Hagkull went on to say that the market was probably not quite ready for auctions as a "widespread sales mechanism", but it could help establish a clear market value. Until some indication of that comes, people will keep waiting on the sidelines.