The Best Real Estate Auction Sites to Find Cheap Houses (2025)

The best real estate auction sites give investors a way to find cheap houses online without relying on agents or direct mail. Whether you're flipping, wholesaling, or buying rentals, these platforms offer access to foreclosures, REOs, tax liens, and off-market deals most buyers never see.

In this guide, we’ll break down the top auction platforms available today and show you how actually to use them to find investment properties that cash flow. These tools can help you uncover hidden opportunities in any market, even if you're brand new to real estate.

And if you want to go deeper, be sure to grab our FREE Ultimate Guide to Start in Real Estate Investing. It walks you through the exact steps to start investing, including finding your first property—auction sites are just the beginning.

Now, let's dive into what you came here for:

• What Are Real Estate Auction Sites?
• Why Use Real Estate Auction Sites to Find Investment Properties?
• How Real Estate Auction Sites Work (Step-by-Step)
• Best Real Estate Auction Sites for Finding Investment Deals
• Tips for Using Real Estate Auction Sites Successfully
• What You Should Know About Online Home Auctions
• FAQ: Best Real Estate Auction Sites
• Final Thoughts On The Best Real Estate Auction Sites

If you’re serious about doing your first real estate deal, don’t waste time guessing what works. Our FREE Training walks you through how to consistently find deals, flip houses, and build passive income—without expensive marketing or trial and error.

This FREE Training gives you the same system our students use to start fast and scale smart. Watch it today—so you can stop wondering and start closing.

What Are Real Estate Auction Sites?

At their core, real estate auction sites are places where properties are listed for bidding instead of being sold the traditional way. You won’t find your average retail listings here—most of the deals involve distressed properties, foreclosures, tax defaults, or bank-owned homes. They’re often priced to move, and if you know what you're doing, you can land them well below market value.

These platforms are used by investors, lenders, and sometimes everyday buyers looking for opportunities. Each listing typically shows a starting bid, an auction end date, and just enough property details to decide if it’s worth digging deeper.

Here are the most common types of auctions you’ll see on these sites:

• Foreclosure Auctions: Homes seized by lenders after a borrower defaults on their mortgage.
• Tax Lien Auctions: Properties auctioned by local governments due to unpaid property taxes.
• REO Auctions: Real estate owned by banks or lenders after failing to sell at foreclosure auctions.

These sites are used by wholesalers, flippers, landlords, banks, hedge funds, and counties, all looking to sell or acquire real estate fast, without the red tape of a traditional listing.

Why Use Real Estate Auction Sites to Find Investment Properties?

Not every good deal shows up on the MLS. In fact, some of the best opportunities are tucked away on auction sites. These platforms give investors a chance to buy directly from banks, counties, or sellers who need to move fast. If you’re serious about finding properties at a discount, it’s worth learning how these sites work. Here are a few reasons why investors keep coming back to them:

• Buy investment properties online from anywhere, no agent required
• Find motivated sellers, including banks, counties, and asset managers
• Access distressed property leads like foreclosures, REOs, and tax liens
• Minimal buyer competition compared to listed retail deals
• Potential to buy below market value and create instant equity

For example, one of our students picked up a property listed at $300,000 through an online auction for just $225,000, all because they knew where to look and how to bid.

And this is just one of the ways we teach students to find deals before the competition. Auction sites are a powerful lead source when you know how to utilize them effectively.

How Real Estate Auction Sites Work (Step-by-Step)

If you’ve never bought through an auction site before, the process can seem intimidating—but it’s actually pretty straightforward once you know what to expect. Here's how it typically works, from first click to closing table:

1. Search the listings. Filter by location, property type, status, and auction date. Some sites let you set alerts or favorites so you don’t miss anything.
2. Analyze the deal. Check the estimated ARV, review available photos, read through any disclosures, and run your own numbers. In some cases, site access or inspections may be limited—so due diligence is key.
3. Place your bid. Most auctions start with a minimum bid, and you’ll either bid live during a set window or submit your highest offer in a sealed format. Make sure you understand the bidding terms.
4. Complete the purchase. If you win, be ready to submit your deposit (often within 24 hours) and close quickly. Some deals require cash only, while others may allow financing.

Don’t Think You Need to Rely on Auctions

If you’re just starting out in real estate, auctions can seem exciting, but also intimidating. Between bidding wars, buyer fees, and fast-moving deals, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The good news? You don’t need to rely on auction sites to find great investment properties. Our FREE Ultimate Guide to Start Real Estate Investing shows you step-by-step how to find cheap properties off-market, wholesale your first deal, or flip houses for profit—without needing to win a single bid. If you want a simple path to your first deal, start with the guide.

Best Real Estate Auction Sites for Finding Investment Deals

If you're looking for discounted properties, these are the best real estate auction sites investors rely on to find foreclosures, REOs, tax liens, and more. Each platform offers its own mix of features, listing types, and deal flow. Some are beginner-friendly, while others cater to seasoned buyers with cash in hand. Below, we’ll break down the top auction platforms to help you decide where to start—and how to find your next deal online.

• Auction.com
• Hubzu
• ServiceLinkAuction.com
• Williams & Williams
• Concierge Auctions
• RealtyBid.com
• Bid4Assets.com
• Xome
• Foreclosure.com
• eBay Real Estate
• Ten-X

Auction.com

Auction.com is a California-based auctioning company known to organize both online and in-person real estate auctions. Established in 2007, the company holds in-person foreclosure auctions and online auctions for residential and bank-owned properties. While participation is free for both types of auctions, buyers participating in online housing auctions pay a premium, usually 5% of their offer, upon winning the auction.

According to the company’s website, they’ve facilitated about 510,000 property sales worth $62 billion and hold 15,000 auctions annually across all 50 states. Auction.com also claims to have 13,000+ off-market properties at any given time, making it an excellent lead source for investors seeking a good deal.

However, winning buyers on online auctions must sign the purchase agreement and wire the earnest money deposit and proof of funds within six hours. If the winning buyer fails to complete this process within six hours, other homebuyers can match the bid and buy the property.

Hubzu

Hubzu is among the pioneering and best house auction sites for real estate. The platform is part of Altisource, a renowned real estate service and mortgage provider, and has positive Hubzu reviews. 

With an inventory range of over 3,000 properties, including traditionally owned, short-sales, bank-owned, and foreclosures available at any time, Hubzu offers real estate investors and general buyers a vast selection of investment properties.

Sellers, on the other hand, enjoy exposure to the platform’s over 1.9 million registered potential buyers. They also get 7-day auction cycles to market their property, but can go through up to four cycles to ensure maximum buyer engagement and secure the best possible bids.

Buyers pay a $2,500 premium, but it can be as low as $2,000 on signature seller properties.

ServiceLinkAuction.com

Service Link Auction is a Texas-based real estate auction company owned by Fidelity National Financial and powered by the law firm Hudson& Marshall. The company allows investors and buyers to bid on various properties, including bank-owned properties, foreclosures, short-term sales, and newly foreclosed homes.

Service Link offers pre-auction and real-time auctions. In pre-auctions, bidders only submit a single sealed offer on their property of interest. When the pre-auction period ends, the auction coordinator reviews the offers, notifies participants, and sets another deadline for them to submit their highest and best offers. After this new deadline, the seller reviews and accepts the best offer, concluding the pre-auction process. Note that all real estate bidding platforms ensure that all information remains confidential throughout the pre-auction process. However, the coordinator sends all participants notifications when sellers accept an offer.

Real-time online auctions, on the other hand, are more transparent. Sellers get 3-day auction cycles. The best part about Service Link’s online auctions is that sellers are usually open to negotiation. So, if you’re the highest bidder upon the auction’s close but haven’t reached the reserve amount, the bid coordinator can arrange negotiations for a mutually agreeable price.

Williams & Williams

Williams & Williams, based in Washington, DC, is a worldwide online real estate auction company. They auction various home types, ranging from government/bank-owned, REO, owner-occupied, and residential to commercial properties, trustee, second chance, and even luxury properties.

The company organizes live location and online auctions simultaneously, whereby online and in-person buyers have to compete for the properties. This creates a sense of urgency, thus fueling demand and, consequently, high bid amounts.

Another notable strategy that Williams & Williams uses is group-style auctions known as Buyer’s Choice auctions. During these auctions, the company auctions a group of similar properties, and the highest bidder not only gets the pick of the bunch but may even purchase multiple properties from the group at their bid price.

*For in-depth training on real estate investing, Real Estate Skills offers extensive courses to get you ready to make your first investment! Attend our FREE Webinar Training and gain insider knowledge, expert strategies, and essential skills to make the most of every real estate opportunity that comes your way!

Concierge Auctions

If you specialize in luxury properties, Concierge Auctions is just the best real estate auction site for you. The website stands out for specializing in auctioning properties worth between $2 million and $40 million. Additionally, unlike most best real estate auction websites that primarily work with banks and lenders, Concierge Auctions specifically manages auctions for direct homeowners seeking to sell fast. It truly is a concierge auction service.

RealtyBid.com

Since they’re not in the business of selling real estate, banks and lenders usually lower sale prices for properties they’ve foreclosed on to sell quickly and minimize losses. RealtyBid boasts access to many of these properties thanks to its partnerships with over 100 banks and mortgage lenders.

Besides bank-owned and foreclosure properties, RealtyBid’s auctioning portfolio extends to conveyance without clearance of title foreclosure properties, commercial assets, distinctive residences, and even developer properties. The site also holds ranch and land auction sites.

Moreover, RealtyBid invites real estate investors, agents, and builders to list their properties for auction, making it convenient for investors like wholesalers or house flippers seeking to expedite the sale of slow-moving properties.

As an affiliate of Covius, a leading technology solutions provider in the financial realm, RealtyBid incorporates technology in its auctioning operations, thus streamlining the process. For example, they offer Bid Assist, a tool to automate bidding. Once you set your maximum bid, it gradually bumps up your initial bid amount based on the minimum sale price and other bids until it reaches your maximum offer. This feature enables investors to ensure they bid on their preferred properties without being tethered to the device.

Read Also: Wholesaling Auction Properties: The (Ultimate) Guide

Bid4Assets.com

If you’re low on capital but eager to invest in property, Bid4Assets.com might be among the online sites and best auction sites for homes. The site, established in 1999, offers bid-and-assume auctions, a unique auctioning model whereby participants can bid on the down payment of a property and then pay the principal amount in monthly installments agreed upon with the seller.

Additionally, the site offers sealed bid auctions without a minimum bid or reserve price. The competitor bids remain unpublished for two days, creating the likelihood of the first bidder winning the auction.

That aside, Bid4Assets is part of Liquidity Services, Inc., a global company with a network of online auction marketplaces specializing in handling forfeiture auctions for governments, large banks, and other large entities.

This connection enables Bid4Assets to provide surplus auction services to federal and local government agencies, including the US Department of the Treasury, the United States Marshals, and about 100 counties across the US. The result? Buyers enjoy access to a wide range of government-owned properties and assets, like land, at remarkably affordable prices.

Xome

Have some slow-moving real estate investment properties in your house-flipping portfolio? Consider selling them at Xome. 

Launched in 2015, this site not only auctions properties but also lists them on leading listing real estate sites like the MLS to generate more buyer interest.

When sellers submit a property for auction, Xome bids up the listing price on the seller’s behalf, encouraging buyers to place higher bids, consequently resulting in a higher sale price for the seller.

Additionally, Xome’s bids aren’t binding, meaning if a seller isn’t happy with the final offer, they can reject it. Notably, Xome buyers have to pay a 5% premium and a 1% service fee. Additionally, Xome places a $1,000 hold on the buyer’s credit card for each auction they participate in.

Foreclosure.com

Foreclosure.com has built a reputation as a reliable source for finding distressed real estate across the U.S. The site pulls listings from a wide range of sources—everything from pre-foreclosures and auction properties to bank-owned homes, tax lien sales, and short sales. With access to hundreds of thousands of listings, it’s a favorite among investors who want to get ahead of the competition and find off-market deals before they show up on the MLS.

Unlike typical auction-only sites, Foreclosure.com provides a broader data-driven approach. You can search by zip code, city, or county, then narrow down your results using filters like estimated value, equity, or days on site. Each listing includes detailed property data, public records, and in many cases, purchase instructions or next steps to initiate an offer. While some properties are sold via auction, others can be negotiated directly with lenders, servicers, or local governments.

If you're serious about learning how to find undervalued properties—including how to use sites like Foreclosure.com to do it—be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Real Estate.

eBay Real Estate

eBay Real Estate might not be the first site that comes to mind for property deals, but it's surprisingly active, especially for investors looking for land, fixer-uppers, mobile homes, and unconventional properties. With its well-known bidding system and global reach, eBay offers both auction and “Buy It Now” options across residential, commercial, and vacant land listings.

What makes eBay Real Estate stand out is how easy it is to use. You can quickly narrow your search by location, price range, property type, or whether the listing is an auction or a fixed-price sale. Most listings include photos, basic details, and direct contact info for the seller. However, since eBay operates more like a marketplace than a traditional brokerage, it's up to the buyer to do their own research. That means confirming the property’s condition, checking for liens, and fully understanding the terms before placing a bid.

For investors willing to do the homework, eBay Real Estate can be a creative and flexible way to find low-cost opportunities overlooked by other buyers.

Ten-X

Ten-X is a leading commercial and residential real estate auction platform that connects sellers, brokers, and investors in a streamlined online marketplace. Backed by CoStar, the platform focuses heavily on institutional-grade properties, but also offers access to single-family homes, multi-unit rentals, and distressed real estate.

Ten-X is built with serious investors in mind. Each property listing comes packed with due diligence materials, like title reports, inspection summaries, and financials, so buyers can evaluate deals with confidence. The platform also hosts live bidding events and includes reserve pricing to protect sellers. And if a property doesn’t meet the reserve, Ten-X often facilitates post-auction negotiations to help both sides come to terms.

For investors targeting higher-value properties or looking to scale into commercial real estate, Ten-X is one of the most reputable and data-rich auction sites available.

Tips for Using Real Estate Auction Sites Successfully

Online auctions can be a goldmine for finding underpriced properties, but only if you know how to navigate them. Below are some essential real estate auction tips to help you avoid costly mistakes and make smarter bids:

• Do your due diligence: Always research the property’s condition, neighborhood, and market value before bidding. Many auction sites offer limited inspections.
• Watch for hidden fees: Buyer premiums, closing costs, and technology fees can eat into your profits. Read the fine print carefully.
• Check the title: Some auction properties come with liens or unresolved title issues. Always verify title status before placing a bid.
• Know the redemption period laws: In some states, former owners can reclaim the property after auction. Learn your local laws so you’re not caught off guard.
• Understand financing limitations: Many auction homes require all-cash purchases or quick closings. Have your funds or proof of financing ready.
• Start small: If you're new to online property bidding, consider starting with lower-priced auctions to gain experience without major risk.
• Stay disciplined: It’s easy to get overwhelmed. Set a maximum allowable offer (MAO) and stick to it.

What You Should Know About Online Home Auctions

Online real estate auctions are an excellent source of investment properties for wholesalers, house flippers, and landlords. However, before you leap you should be well aware of the following:

Online Housing Auction Fees

Although properties featured on home bidding sites are usually cheaper, there are fees imposed on the buyers that may drive up the overall costs such as:

• The buyer’s premium: Covers the costs of conducting the auction and is typically between 5-10% of the purchase price or a flat fee between $1,000 and $2,500

• Earnest money: Also known as a bidding deposit, it is usually 1-3% of the total winning bid.

• Technology fee: Covers the cost of operating the auction website and can be anywhere between $200 and $500 depending on the site

• Transfer fees: Usually $1,000 depending on the real estate and foreclosed auction site

• Encumbrances: Buyers are also often responsible for the listing agent commissions, tax liens, and other closing costs

What If You Win An Online Real Estate Auction?

You’ll need to prove your ability to pay through either a reference letter from your bank or proof of funding. You’re also responsible for the renovation and repair costs when you win on house auction websites. Furthermore, you’re subject to the following terms:

• Purchasing an occupied home, means you have to handle the eviction expenses out of pocket

• You’re subject to the Right of Redemption laws, which allow the initial property owner up to 18 months to catch up on payments and regain ownership. Additionally, you’ll not be reimbursed for costs incurred during this period, whether from repairs or property updates.

FAQ: Best Real Estate Auction Sites

Still have questions about how real estate auction sites work? Here are answers to some of the most common questions investors ask before diving in.

Are online real estate auctions legit?

Yes, most online real estate auctions are completely legitimate, especially when hosted on well-known platforms like Auction.com, Ten-X, or Foreclosure.com. However, it’s important to verify the site's reputation, read the fine print, and research each property before placing a bid.

Can I use financing on auction properties?

In some cases, yes, but many auction properties require either cash or proof of funds due to short closing timelines. If financing is allowed, you'll typically need pre-approval and a lender that understands how auction deals work.

What is the best auction site for beginners?

Foreclosure.com and Hubzu are two of the best auction sites for beginners because they offer user-friendly interfaces and transparent property details. These platforms also provide a wide range of listings across different property types and price points.

Do I need a real estate license to buy at auction?

No, you do not need a real estate license to buy properties at auction. Anyone with the funds and required documentation can bid and purchase. However, working with a licensed agent can be helpful, especially when navigating title checks and closing logistics.

Can wholesalers use auction sites?

Yes, wholesalers can use real estate auction sites, but a lot more goes into that process. Since many auction properties come with strict bidding and closing rules, you'll need to verify whether assignments are allowed and have funding or partners lined up in advance.

Final Thoughts On Real Estate Auction Sites

Online real estate auctions revolutionize the market by providing sellers with a swift method to unload properties and offering buyers access to quality homes at reasonable listing prices. The closing process is also typically quicker than in traditional sales. 

However, as noted, they have downsides ranging from hefty buyer premiums to the additional costs of handling repairs and out-of-pocket eviction expenses. Working with a reputable site may help mitigate most of these risks, and our list of the best real estate auction sites includes the top home auction platforms.

If you’re serious about doing your first real estate deal, don’t waste time guessing what works. Our FREE Training walks you through how to consistently find deals, flip houses, and build passive income—without expensive marketing or trial and error.

This FREE Training gives you the same system our students use to start fast and scale smart. Watch it today—so you can stop wondering and start closing.

*Disclosure: Real Estate Skills is not a law firm, and the information contained here does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney before making any legal conclusions. The information presented here is educational in nature. All investments involve risks, and the past performance of an investment, industry, sector, and/or market does not guarantee future returns or results. Investors are responsible for any investment decision they make. Such decisions should be based on an evaluation of their financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.