Auction Firm Sees Growth in Distressed Realty Sales.(Dean Williams - Williams & Williams)

TULSA -- An auctioneer here realized about four years ago that the mortgage banking industry has the most to lose in what he calls the "real estate value proposition" if defaults and foreclosures get out of hand.

So Dean Williams began recruiting mortgage bankers as clients for his auction firm that he started in 1986 with his father who already was a successful auctioneer of ranches and pure-breed cattle.

To get a grip on the real estate finance industry, the president and chief executive of Williams & Williams joined the Mortgage Bankers Association. He got his certification as a mortgage banker and completed the future leaders program, which he called "extremely rewarding."

Last month, his nationwide auction company sold 1,100 homes for institutional clients, mortgage banks and investment firms. The foreclosed properties, or real estate-owned, are marketed and sold in 35 days. Closings generally take another 26 days.

Mr. Williams wants the mortgage banking industry to view auctions as a way to reduce the hassle, costs and holding time of selling residential properties and REO. And more importantly, he wants the industry to view auctions as a way to create liquidity in real estate markets - even in markets that become stagnant with few sales transactions and large inventories.

Mr. Williams entered the auction business right out of Georgetown University Law School 20 years ago. He got married the same year in Jamaica and now considers the island his favorite vacation spot. "We love Jamaica. We love the food, the atmosphere, the independence of the whole island," he said in the interview.

The auctioneer likes scuba diving and skydiving, not golf. He took up boxing as a fitness regime 12 years ago and became friends with Cecil Pettigrew, a retired professional boxer.