J.P. King Auction Company, a real estate marketing firm, said today that their auctions in this quarter alone have yielded $50m in sales.

According to Realtor.org, the real estate auction market is growing in popularity. In 2007, the market rose 5.3% and generated $58.4bn – a 39% boom from 2003…

J.P. King completed auctions in 19 states including the big foreclosure markets of California, Arizona and Florida. At the beginning of October, J.P. King auctioned 23 condos in Summer House at Ponte Vedra and attracted 95 registered bidders. All 23 were sold.

A recent issue of the REO Insider explored how the auction houses are creeping into the online space. Holding an online auction, at least on paper, looks like it would attract more potential bidders, streamline the process and keep costs down. After all, renting out those ballrooms on auction day has to be pricey.

But an online auction just isn’t the same. First, there are no shrimp appetizers and when it comes to bidding time, the face-to-face exchange drives up the bids.

Write to Jon Prior.