SOLD! . . . to the highest bidder . . . Atwater Place

By Becky Jackson

The Atwater Place auction was  fun and crazy.  I have renamed the auctioneer “Accelerated Chaos”!  They have their systems, and they are working with many newly-hired and un-trained people, but there were so many confusing and contradicting rules and statements going into the auction and a million small, redundant steps for everyone to follow.  Seems like they wanted to foster chaos along with the hype.

The auction was active, fast – but not uncomfortable, and sales were generally well above the minimum bids, consistent with recent market results and at substantial discounts from the recent price lists.  Many of the sales were at prices which can be negotiated from developer price lists if a buyer is brave enough to ask and push for it, so in the end we reach the real market price, one way or another.  Sellers can set asking prices, but Buyers determine value by offering and paying what they will.  Tonight 40 people offered and agreed to buy which made a vigorous market happen where there had not been one before.  Some may have paid a bit more than they expected, having gotten caught up in the bidding, I don’t know, but the overall average is a sales price of $291/SF, a substantial discount from most current price lists on A-grade new condos.

There appeared to be numerous willing bidders for all units, except the penthouse which had no offers, and which is fully valued at their ‘minimum’ in my opinion and validated by the buyers tonight. There were also very few bidders for the two townhomes, which is consistent with current market demand for townhomes and reflected in the much lower price/SF for those homes.

This auction was certainly not a cheap process to pursue, but it did lead to sales of 40 homes in a months time – a significant jump in velocity for condos sales for sometime.  Now, the challenge is how they follow that up and sell another 100+ high end homes with the same level of urgency!

September 20, 2009 · Filed Under Condominium Buildings, Market/Pricing Assessment, Real Estate

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