Sheldon Good & Company held two auctions yesterday at the Roosevelt Hotel of 26 condominium apartments in the New Amsterdam building in Washington Heights in Manhattan and 25 new condominium apartmentsin the East River Tower in Astoria, Queens, according to an article by Joey Arak today at ny.curbed.com.
"Both auctions were 'bidder's choice,'' the article continued, "meaning the winner of a round of bidding had the pick of any remaining apartment in the auction pool, and first up was the no-frills New Amsterdam. Only six of 26 apartments were guaranteed to sell yesterday, but this was being billed as a "closeout," so few expected the developer to call it quits after six rounds (the building had been on the market for over two years). All of the available apartments were listed on two large projection screens, with the units sliding over to the 'Sold' column after winning bidders claimed them."
When bidding reached $400,000, a man seated at the dais would walk up to the auctioneer, who then announced that the developer had removed all restrictions on the penthouses. "Needless to say," the article said, "the four penthouses were the first to go. They had been asking $642,400 to $838,760, and including the 10% buyer's premium and a $30k parking space (11 spots were offered to winners), the priciest one - a 3BR/2.5BA at 1,488-sq.ft. - went for $503,000. Winning bidders had to immediately announce their selected unit and whether or not they wanted a parking spot.
"Despite the auctioneer occasionally baiting the crowd by saying the developer could call it quits at any moment," the article added, "the gavel banged on 25 of the 26 apartments, for an average of just over $300 per square foot. The 26th unit has a rental tenant in place with an option to buy the apartment, and it eventually was removed from the auction pool. However, buyers were invited to come forward and cut a deal on the side, and it appears that may have happened because the press release says all 26 units were sold for a total of $8.5 million including premiums and parking. The cheapest 1BR/1BA went for $211,000."
The auction guaranteed that 15 units would be sold, and up to 25. Buyer's premium was 6%, and parking spots could be had for $10,000 (uncovered) or $15,000 (covered).
"The winning bid was $560,750 ($601,500 after everything got added up)," the article said, "and the same bidder won the next round with the same amount. In both cases he took the highest-floor 2BR/2BA available, and these units were once asking $870,000 and $830,000. After a few more round of bidding in the low $500s for the biggest available units, the developer removed some high-floor units from the auction pool and slapped hidden reserve prices on the remaining two-bedrooms, leading to some audible groans in the audience. Five apartments were sold free-and-clear of any restrictions before that happened, and a slew of 1BRs/1BAs were added to the auction pool. In all, 19 apartments sold before the developer pulled the plug, but only the promised 15 without reserves. The total for the units sold, including premiums and parking, was $8.3 million, and the cheapest unit went for $333,000 with those extras added, which is $68,000 below the lowest asking price."
"Was the pulling of the 'premium' units a panic move? Not according to Sheldon Good COO Mark Troen. The goal in the East River Tower auction [shown at the right was not a closeout, but rather some momentum building. They wanted to set a 'price floor' for the developer to work with, get the 74-unit building to 30% sold for FHA requirements, and generate more interest," the article said.
Mr. Troen told Clare Trapasso of The New York Daily News in a January 13, 2001 article that he believed buyers "shied away from the 18-story tower at 11-24 31st Street because of its hefty prerecession prices," adding that many buyers were having a hard time securing financing."
"Both auctions were 'bidder's choice,'' the article continued, "meaning the winner of a round of bidding had the pick of any remaining apartment in the auction pool, and first up was the no-frills New Amsterdam. Only six of 26 apartments were guaranteed to sell yesterday, but this was being billed as a "closeout," so few expected the developer to call it quits after six rounds (the building had been on the market for over two years). All of the available apartments were listed on two large projection screens, with the units sliding over to the 'Sold' column after winning bidders claimed them."
When bidding reached $400,000, a man seated at the dais would walk up to the auctioneer, who then announced that the developer had removed all restrictions on the penthouses. "Needless to say," the article said, "the four penthouses were the first to go. They had been asking $642,400 to $838,760, and including the 10% buyer's premium and a $30k parking space (11 spots were offered to winners), the priciest one - a 3BR/2.5BA at 1,488-sq.ft. - went for $503,000. Winning bidders had to immediately announce their selected unit and whether or not they wanted a parking spot.
"Despite the auctioneer occasionally baiting the crowd by saying the developer could call it quits at any moment," the article added, "the gavel banged on 25 of the 26 apartments, for an average of just over $300 per square foot. The 26th unit has a rental tenant in place with an option to buy the apartment, and it eventually was removed from the auction pool. However, buyers were invited to come forward and cut a deal on the side, and it appears that may have happened because the press release says all 26 units were sold for a total of $8.5 million including premiums and parking. The cheapest 1BR/1BA went for $211,000."
The auction guaranteed that 15 units would be sold, and up to 25. Buyer's premium was 6%, and parking spots could be had for $10,000 (uncovered) or $15,000 (covered).
"The winning bid was $560,750 ($601,500 after everything got added up)," the article said, "and the same bidder won the next round with the same amount. In both cases he took the highest-floor 2BR/2BA available, and these units were once asking $870,000 and $830,000. After a few more round of bidding in the low $500s for the biggest available units, the developer removed some high-floor units from the auction pool and slapped hidden reserve prices on the remaining two-bedrooms, leading to some audible groans in the audience. Five apartments were sold free-and-clear of any restrictions before that happened, and a slew of 1BRs/1BAs were added to the auction pool. In all, 19 apartments sold before the developer pulled the plug, but only the promised 15 without reserves. The total for the units sold, including premiums and parking, was $8.3 million, and the cheapest unit went for $333,000 with those extras added, which is $68,000 below the lowest asking price."
"Was the pulling of the 'premium' units a panic move? Not according to Sheldon Good COO Mark Troen. The goal in the East River Tower auction [shown at the right was not a closeout, but rather some momentum building. They wanted to set a 'price floor' for the developer to work with, get the 74-unit building to 30% sold for FHA requirements, and generate more interest," the article said.
Mr. Troen told Clare Trapasso of The New York Daily News in a January 13, 2001 article that he believed buyers "shied away from the 18-story tower at 11-24 31st Street because of its hefty prerecession prices," adding that many buyers were having a hard time securing financing."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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