Public auctions

[Wayne Igo]

At a foreclosure public auction there is usually an opening bid. Lets suppose a property is going up for auction at a starting bid of $87000. Repair costs are say mostly cosmetic at $3500 and the ARV is $160,000.00. Clearly, there is a deal here but only if the auction price is not too high.

My question is, on average, how much above the opening bid (if there is one) on a percentage basis, can one expect the winning bid to be.  I know it "depends".  But I would really appreciate any comments from those with auction experience.

Thanks