The current document is directed a resource-exchange system that facilitates resource exchange and sharing among computing facilities. The currently disclosed methods and systems employ efficient, distributed-search-based auction methods and subsystems within distributed computer systems that include large numbers of geographically distributed data centers to locate resource-provider computing facilities that match the resource needs of resource-consumer computing facilities. In one implementation, the resource-exchange system continuously collects communications-latency data for pairs of resource-exchange participants, in order to support latency constraints associated with potential resource exchanges. The collected data facilitates efficient, rapid, automated candidate-resource-provider selection during auction-based matching of resource consumers to resource providers.