Dallas Condos Up for Auction

In my previous blog post I was discussing the creative selling and financing tools builders are using these days to move units.  We discussed bulk purchase as a popular financing vehicle for pre-construction condos and how it is a viable method for builders to meet early pre-sale requirements and hit the sales path with “50% SOLD”.  As a post financing strategy it doesn’t make as much sense because the buy/investor does not typically close on the contract. 

I mentioned the real estate auction as a useful strategy for selling units on the back end.  The auction, like other sales strategies, has been around forever and is not a sign of distress necessarily.  It is a great marketing tool and can create a great buzz about the property early on or towards the end of the sales cycle.  For example, Sheldon Good and Company, with whom NCO is partnered, offers these types of auction services and is one of the most prestigious companies in the country. 

Sheldon Good is currently planning an auction for 15 luxury condominiums in Centrum Tower which is located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, TX.  These units have typically sold for around $500, 000 to $2,000,000.  The opening bids will be anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000, so it is obviously a great way to potentially acquire a luxury condo for a fraction of what the market value is.  Sheldon Good will be holding open houses from April 21st to May20th so interested parties can learn more about what they will be bidding on.  The market for luxury condos for sale is tougher now and sellers are turning to more creative methods. 

Too many people get caught up in the gloom and doom theories and view these types of strategies as an obvious sign of a market turning south.  This is not necessarily the case, or at least not to the magnitude that people think.  The Dallas condo market is actually quite strong and the uptown/downtown are continue to be redeveloped.  Fewer people in Dallas now are following the “sprawl” and more are looking back to the core of the city.