Over 400 hundred people showed up, and in less than 20 minutes, the six remaining units in Cardinal Investments-developed m127, the building creatively named for the city's bus signage, were sold and it was all over.
Here's the slate of winning bids, each of which had a 5 percent bidder's premium:
1) Penthouse B: a 2,225 square-foot (with 338 square-foot terrace) 3BR,
2.5BA was originally listed at $3,400,000, got a highest bid of $1,950,000 and with the buyer’s premium comes to $2,047,000. This was the only unit to have a reserve bid, and the developer could not confirm whether it was met.
2) Unit 8: this 1,554 square-foot 2BR, 2BA was originally asking $1,900,000, got a highest bid of $1,350,000, and with the buyer’s premium sold for $1,417,500.
3) Unit 7: this 1,577 square foot 2BR, 2BA was originally asking $1,850,000, got a highest bid of $1,250,000, and with the buyer’s premium sold for $1,312,500.
4) Unit 6: this 1,577 square foot 2BR, 2BA was originally asking $1,775,000, got a highest bid of $1,175,000, and with the buyer’s premium sold for $1,233,750.
5) Unit 5: this 1,577 square foot 2BR, 2BA was originally asking $1,725,000, got a highest bid of $1,185,000, and with the buyer’s premium sold for $1,244,250.
6) Unit 2: this 1,550 square foot 2BR 2BA was originally asking $1,600,000 got a highest bid of $1,170,000 and with the buyer’s premium sold for $1,228,500.
Everything came out to a grand total of $8,484,000 and an average price of $840/square foot.
According to the WSJ article, only 100 people were registered to bid on this auction - so that should be your buyer pool for this event. The apartments were originally on the market for "several years" and 5 of the 6 units auctioned off had no preset reserve or contingencies. This proves one thing:
THERE IS A PRICE FOR EVERYTHING AND THE MARKET, NOT THE BROKERS, DICTATE THAT PRICE!
When will developers learn that significantly overpriced listings that can't sell over a period of 2+ years is likely not the fault of the marketing team hired. Simply switching brokers is not the answer. Granted there are developers that have deeper pockets than others and construction terms vary from one project to another. But more often than not, the price was set too far above what the market was willing to absorb and aggressive cuts were nowhere to be found. Adjust the price, and properties should sell. Of course, it helps to know what the market is doing to stay ahead of your competition too!
Get the Realty 3.0 RSS Feed and Follow us with you favorite RSS reader.
*image from