By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
Canadian County land values are up 10% in the past 90 days, and land sales are up in the county, including the Yukon area.
“The real estate market is still strong, with lots of buyers for land and all types of houses,” said Ken Carpenter, owner of Ken Carpenter Auction and Realty, LLC, 136 W. State Highway 152 in Mustang.
A real estate broker, Carpenter currently has 10 agents working for him, with a focus on Canadian County. He sells homes and land through traditional sales, and also through auctions. He has sold hundreds of properties worth millions of dollars in the Oklahoma City metro area and surrounding areas, and he’s been selling real estate and personal property at auctions since 1985. He specializes in real estate, farm equipment, heavy machinery, personal property, and automobiles.
“Competitive bidding has always been a very successful way to market real estate,” Carpenter said. “This means less stress for the seller not to worry with appraisals and inspections. Selling at auction will get the highest bid, and the best bid for your property.”
He’s also an auctioneer. “I’ve been doing auctions since 1985, for 35 years now,” Carpenter said.
A visionary, Carpenter took his auctions on line two years ago with virtual auctions. “It has been fantastic,” Carpenter said. “We are marketing stuff all over the continent. We wanted to reach more people, get more people involved in the auctions, and we’ve been very successful. Online, people can be involved 24/7. I’ll check my web site at 9 p.m. at night, and then again at 7 a.m. the next morning. People have been bidding all night long. They don’t have to be at a certain place at a certain time to bid. The buyer can bid and not have to be on auction location. No worries about weather or parking.”
Carpenter said his auction business gets better every year. “During the pandemic, because we already had virtual auctions going for two years, it actually helped. We could keep doing auctions and no one else could,” said Carpenter.
Carpenter still does the “Auction Chant” as a fast-talking auctioneer, and in fact has a live auction scheduled July 25.
He now does auctions live, on line, or both, depending on the circumstances. “We do whatever people want,” Carpenter said.
“The most unusual things I’ve ever auctioned off have been all kinds of antiques,” Carpenter said. “Some stuff we don’t even know what it is. But usually the bidders know.
The biggest thing I’ve ever auctioned has been $6.2 million in mineral rights in one day.”
SON OF A DAIRY FARMER
In the 1920s, Carpenter’s family moved from western Oklahoma to Canadian County due to the Great Depression.
Carpenter was born and raised in Mustang, attended Mustang schools, and is a graduate of the Class of 1982. He has a diesel degree, a real estate license, and is auction certified, all from the Canadian County Technology Center. “I’ve never been able to afford to leave the county,” Carpenter said with a smile.
Prior to 1985, Carpenter was a dairy farmer in Mustang. As well, both his dad and grandfather were dairy farmers. “As far as I know, I’m a third generation dairy farmer, but I’m not really sure if it goes further back than my grandfather,” Carpenter said.
His children also attended Mustang schools. And his sons now farm his land, which Carpenter still owns.
HELPING PEOPLE
Carpenter is keen on helping those who are in a hard place, whether downsizing, dealing with an estate, or liquidating their assets.
Helping people who have lost a loved one, or someone liquidating their assets. It’s important to help somebody in those spots,” Carpenter said. “They are emotional. They don’t know what to do. They’ve got stuff. and they have to make it go away. I love the fact that we can help people.”
To connect with Carpenter call (405) 620-1524, or email Ken@kencarpenterauctionandrealty.com, or visit http://www.kencarpenterauction.com.
