Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Before attending the auction, Li Du had only planned to bid on two houses, a bungalow, and a manor. The former had some items he was interested in, and the latter was his personal favorite.
However, after the auction began, he realized that the power of the little bug was irresistible. He could control the entire situation in the real estate auction trade!
The house-pickers did not dare to call out just any price. They were worried that there might be issues with the house and that if they were too daring, their money would go to waste. They were unable to withstand such losses.
Li Du did not have such worries. He was cautious and had checked out everything related to the house. If there were a problem with the house, he would know more about the situation than the owner. Hence, based on the value of the house, he could give the most accurate offer.
It was similar to warehouse auctions. However, at those auctions, many of the things in a warehouse were usually of low value. There was no need for him to be obsessed with that trade. After all, it was rather troublesome to tidy up the warehouses.
It was different with real estate. Every house had a potential profit margin equaling tens or hundreds of thousands. If he made a good bid, he could resell the house for a nice profit. He could potentially earn millions of dollars in every such auction.
It was different from warehouse auctions. Under favorable circumstances, every house was worth bidding for as the profit margin was huge!
Li Du gave up on the second house and managed to take down the third, fourth and fifth houses, spending 55,000 dollars for each. That meant to say that out of the first five houses, he had taken down four!
The house-pickers did not look kindly upon this. They did not appreciate the disruption in their usual dynamic.
The sixth house was a bungalow that spanned across 2000 square feet. It had a backyard, basement and a garage. Apart from purchasing the house, the buyer would also gain the plot of land. Land was a key point in American real estate trade.
The location of the house was not stellar. It was located on the city border of Santa Monica. Transportation, schools, and facilities were not too conveniently located.
Of course, America was different from China. Strictly speaking, there was no major difference between urban and rural areas.
In China, the environment in which people lived was very different between urban and rural areas. The city was a place where all resources were concentrated. All sorts of institutions were located in urban zones. Whether it was shopping, eating, working, playing, seeing a doctor, or going to school, all the resources were better in the city.
It was different in the United States, where facilities were equally developed most of the time regardless of whether one lived in a large city, a small town, or out in the country, with the exception of very remote areas. The standard of living was pretty much the same everywhere.
Each area of residence had self-sufficient facilities catered for daily living, including shops, banks, hospitals, schools, etc.
Hence, city centers in America often became slums, neighborhoods for the poor who were unable to enjoy a peaceful environment and privacy. Those who were rich generally chose to live in the suburbs or the countryside.
However, this was not absolute. It was not that a city was better than the suburbs or the countryside, or the other way around. One could only conclude that there were advantages and disadvantages to both.
For a family living, the city center was not a good choice. There were many slums in the city center, and a high rate of violent crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery, and shootings.
The location of the sixth bungalow was typical. However, the surroundings were decent. Hence, it had good value and the starting bid was 200,000 dollars. Li Du estimated the market value could go up to 500,000 or 600,000!
He was interested in that house. Having taken down a consecutive few houses prior to that, he became more enthusiastic. Hence, the moment the bidding started, Li Du raised the bid, calling out, “300,000!”
To raise the bid so much was considered quite dramatic. A couple of people looked on with wide eyes.
The auctioneer was ecstatic. He pointed at Li Du and yelled, “Did I hear that right, buddy? You are forking out 300,000 here. From 200,000 straight to 300,000! Seems like you are full of confidence about the house. Is there anyone who is as confident? How about ten thousand more?”
Although the house-pickers were rich, they could not spend just like that.
Most of their money was locked up in their properties. They did not have much cash on hand. Their fluid funds probably added up to one million or even less. Furthermore, most of them relied on bank loans.
Under such circumstances, they had to watch their expenses. Once their funds ran into some fluidity issues, they would have to sell off their property prematurely. As a house was a big-ticket item, if they were in a hurry to sell it off, they would have to lower the price.
To the house-pickers, selling a house at a lowered price was considered a loss.
There were quite a few people interested in the bungalow. 300,000 was still within their threshold and someone gritted their teeth and called out, “310,000!”
“315,000 dollars!”
“F*ck, 320,000!”
At that price, Li Du made an even higher bid. “350,000!”
“F*ck!”
“Sh*t!”
“D*mn it!”
“Son of a b*tch!”
The profanities rang out all around.
Luke, who had recognized Li Du from before, smiled coolly and said, “Did you guys look down on him? Did you mock him for picking up trash in warehouse auctions? Good, now everyone is waking up to reality. See who is picking up trash now!”
The house-pickers saw Li Du as a thief stealing their livelihood. They all began to share the same vengeful view and treated Li Du as their target.
“355,000 dollars!”
“360,000!” Li Du raised the bid.
“370,000!” Someone else followed.
“400,000!” Li Du nodded nonchalantly.
The bid for the house had gone up to 400,000 dollars. That was extreme. It was risky going any higher, very risky. The house-pickers turned red but they had no choice except to stop bidding.
“400,000, this dude has called out 400,000. That’s the highest bid of today! Is there anyone who is willing to bid higher, perhaps add another ten thousand? Otherwise, then, 400,000 once, 400,000 twice…”
The house-pickers did not dare to make any higher bids. At 400,000, Li Du took down another house.
Later, more houses were up for auction. The other house-pickers started to strike. Out of the first six, Li Du had landed five. Out of the remaining four, he only managed to land one.
At last, the climax of the show began. The real bid king was here. It was the beach manor!
The starting bid for that manor was 200,000 dollars. For an estate like that, the price was low.
Again, Li Du showed his wealth to the house-pickers. He was the first to bid, and called out, “300,000!”
The house-pickers were no longer attempting to mock Li Du. They looked at him with expressions of shock.
Although the profit margin for the manor was huge, to raise the bid by a hundred thousand was a startling move in the real estate auction trade.
“310,000!”
“320,000!”
“330,000!”
All of the heavy-weights had begun to bid. Those who participated in the bidding for that manor were all millionaires. They were bold and strong contenders.
