For roughly a decade after that first auction, he continued to broker deals the conventional way — for American sellers, Aussie-style auctions were a tough sell. Real-estate auctions are a time-honored tradition in Australia, dating back more than 200 years to its days as a British colony. But in times of healthy demand for homes, auctions can deliver benefits for sellers looking to ride out the frenzy. "I don't think the American consumer is ready for auctions yet," says Rob Hahn, the CEO of Decentre Labs, a company he started in 2022 to bring online real-estate auctions to the masses. The biggest beneficiaries, Duby tells me, may just be real-estate agents: When buyers and sellers are shuffled through this murky process, they'll look for a professional guide.

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Persons: Evan Duby, Duby, Sellers, haven't, Kenneth Lusht, they've, Tim Quirk, Quirk, — Quirk, Mike Russo, —, Rob Hahn, Hahn Organizations: nab, eBay, Pennsylvania State University, Auction.com, Decentre Labs Locations: Brooklyn, Australia, Melbourne, British, New South Wales, Victoria, Massachusetts, Bethesda , Maryland, American, States