A public sale in which each thing is sold to the person who offers the highest price.A way of marketing property to the highest bidder. Bids are taken verbally or simultaneously through mail or telegrams, and the property is sold to the highest bidder.

Auctioning real estate may require both an auctioneer's license and a real estate license.

Example: Land in Iowa, since it is relatively homogeneous, lends itself to auction sales where it is sold to the highest verbal bidder.

Example: Fannie Mae agrees to buy mortgages once a week via an auction. Mortgage sellers state the price or yield they want, and Fannie Mae accepts the highest yields offered.