Sotheby's Auction

Do you know whyizit that the Sugar Bay Estate on Casey Key, that was reported in the newspapers as "sold" for a record $14M during the Sarasota auction in November 2007, is listed on the Sky-Sotheby's website as "backup offers needed" and showing a price of $20M? http://fl.skysothebysrealty.com/sarasota/344239/

Is it a flip?



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Gas logs??? No way worth 20 large.

The response from Sky Sotheby's:
Regarding your email and the agent who is inquiring about the 1522 & 1538 Casey Key Road: Those properties were listed collectively for $20,035,000 prior to the auction and received a contract of $14M on Auction Day. The seller was one of few who requested a longer contract term than 30 days, to close in the New Year for tax purposes. It is still pending, so feel free to pass that information on. We actually received a back-up offer on one of the parcels last week.

The response from Sky Sotheby's:
Regarding your email and the agent who is inquiring about the 1522 & 1538 Casey Key Road: Those properties were listed collectively for $20,035,000 prior to the auction and received a contract of $14M on Auction Day. The seller was one of few who requested a longer contract term than 30 days, to close in the New Year for tax purposes. It is still pending, so feel free to pass that information on. We actually received a back-up offer on one of the parcels last week.

You go girl!

Hello all. Wednesday is the seller and co-broker orientation. I just wanted to remind you- in case you plan to check out the grub Shelly.

The venue is The Palms in Destin.

I am looking forward to meeting some of you in person. If you are interested in coming, please let me know. It should be quite a turn out.
I believe the auction properties will be determined before the end of the month. I will certainly post again as I know the mix. My hopeful sellers are a mix of SFH, condos and Parcels. I'll let you know the reserve vs absolute mix, as well. Any interesting stats I can glean I will throw your way. If you have some questions, send them my way.

Hello all. Wednesday is the seller and co-broker orientation. I just wanted to remind you- in case you plan to check out the grub Shelly.

I've got previous commitments ....but I am counting on one of the agents from our "Food Logistics Intelligence Patrol (FLIP)" to post a detailed report.





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Just talked with a SS associate broker who wanted to know if I was going to their orientation tonite.

He told me they are charging $15K up front to the seller's for marketing!!!!

To put that in perspective, Anderson and Roebuck charge $10K and PAG recently charged $2500.

He did insist that there would be $1M worth of marketing and that the auction was limited to 50 properties.

50 properties X $15K = $750K

hmmmm...he wasn't sure about the buyer's premium or the co-broke split but I would be amazed if the bp was less than 10%.

I think I'll watch this one from the sidelines. We did sell 2 out of 4 that I referred to PAG with still a very good chance to sell the other 2.

15K to desperate sellers arggghhhhh predatory auctioneers.

I'm going to settle in and watch some Family Guy.






Stagflation be damned

Let me attempt to save this thread. I know, easier said than done. I am just returning home from the orientation. Firstly, yes, any property chosen for the auction will participate in the international marketing campaign (did these other auctions have an international campaign, I sincerly do not know.) Properties under 5M will pay 15K marketing fee. Over 5M, a 25K fee. Yes, that is true. I am on the sales team, and I know the commission structure and the buyers fee. A selling agent will get 3% on the opening bid and then 1% on the selling price. The buying agent will get the same cut. The selling agent can opt to do just a flat 1.5. The facts are compelling. Sotheby's is really successful at creating urgency in a market that has none. And the buyers are coming from all over the world. We are talking about end-users, so not another band aid over yet another band aid.
I know I am an optimist, and that can be annoying. But instead of trying to compare oranges to apples, I hope that you see that you get what you pay for. The last auction 58 days ago in Sarasota sold 51 of the 74 properties at the auction (stat I got tonight). Add on another 11 sales since the auction, and now you have an even more stunning stat. Consider this, you can sit out, and watch what happens, or you can bring a buyer or seller, and have a payday. And yes, the marketing budget does correspond with the sellers fee, and the dollars have already been committed. A lot of these pubs and internet media had deadlines weeks ago. I got the seller packet in digital form, so if you want it, email me and I will gladly give it to you. It covers a lot of questions... and I think it is too big to post on this forum, but I will check.
I saw some sowallers tonight-thanks for coming.

I should also say, my sellers aren't desperate, and the ideal candidates being chosen will not be desperate. They want an accelerated marketing plan, and they know that they could not receive the attention that this plan will give them otherwise - and they like their odds. The average time it will take them to sell is 33 months in this market... it is a good business decision.

You know, I noticed it wasn't catered. Just some drinks in the back of the room. For some reason this really started me thinking... about Shelly.

You know, I noticed it wasn't catered. Just some drinks in the back of the room. For some reason this really started me thinking... about Shelly.

Let's hope they get that detail straightened out for the auction, Bucko!


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"..The average time it will take them to sell is 33 months in this market..."





Worse than I thought.

Yeah you are.

Thought some of you might be interested in the Auctioneer website. Some great info
http://www.decaroauctions.com

I had a meeting today with the whole team and got an update on some of the publications that hit newsstands today with our Auction ads [Overtime Magazine (pro athletes), Forbes hit today]. The buyer campaign has begun; However, not all the homes have been selected yet. And none of them have become public knowledge yet.


More seller reservations are being taken over the next ten days, and then they will close the pipeline to sort only those with the most potential. All those not chosen will get their marketing fee back in full.
It has been quite a consuming process.

I will be in Rosemary Beach this weekend at an open house. If any of you would like to come by and talk to me about the auction, please PM me. Also, if you have a seller you would like to 'nominate' but really can't speak about the auction with great knowledge, the auction officials are in town and can do either a conference call or a face to face meeting. It is a simple way to get the process on the right foot.

Thanks!

Are you drunk with power Shelly?

I actually spit out my water when I read this.

I wonder if the Sotheby's group had success at the auction.

I'm curious too if anyone who may have attended could give us the 411 on what happenned.

I attended- participated with a seller and a buyer. I don't have any stats yet, as I had a phone bidder and was caught up in the moment. It was a disappointment though-everyone I talked to was unhappy with the outcome. I think the bottom line was the buyers were not there. There were several people holding paddles that didn't raise them once. The house in Rosemary Beach did get a high bid winner (my phone bidder), but the contract is in negotiation, as it did not meet the reserve. It was exciting, and well-done- but not in terms of generating the buyers. I will likely get alo the stats and post-

I attended- participated with a seller and a buyer. I don't have any stats yet, as I had a phone bidder and was caught up in the moment. It was a disappointment though-everyone I talked to was unhappy with the outcome. I think the bottom line was the buyers were not there. There were several people holding paddles that didn't raise them once. The house in Rosemary Beach did get a high bid winner (my phone bidder), but the contract is in negotiation, as it did not meet the reserve. It was exciting, and well-done- but not in terms of generating the buyers. I will likely get alo the stats and post-

There was a condo auction in Gulf Shores AL the same day....plenty of buyers, plenty of sales--of course, they were all auctioned absolute ;-)

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Gulf Shores real estate
Sunday, May 04, 2008

GULF SHORES, Ala. A driving rainstorm didn't stop bidders from buying 44 condominium units for more than $13 million at an absolute auction that attracted more than 1,000 people to the Crystal Tower condo complex Saturday afternoon.

Amid wall-to-wall umbrellas, more than 500 registered bidders from 20 states came to look for a deal or at least catch a glimpse of the condo-buying fever evident on West Beach in Baldwin County.

The lowest unit sale prices were $275,000 and the highest purchase price was $350,000, which included the 10 percent buyer's premium added to the bid amount, according to the National Auction Co. based in Gadsden.

"My brothers and I had not intended to go that low," said Collier Merrill, the developer of the 170-unit Crystal Tower on West Beach Boulevard. "But we wanted to move some product and in an hour we sold 13 million dollars' worth."

The Merrill family had planned to sell 30 units at absolute auction or with no minimum bid, and instead sold 44. They kept about 20 for rentals, Merrill said.

"Considering the weather, we had a lot of people come out," Merrill said. "There was a lot of buzz about it and it's a nice product with good amenities."

The developer held back about 70 of the 170 units when presales were released in 2004. At that time, the units were selling in the high $400s to high $600s, according to agents and the developer.

The 20-story complex is not on the gulf-front or on Little Lagoon, but does have water views and an enclosed, air-conditioned skywalk across the road to a private beach club and swimming pool.

Vernon Jackson of Daphne had hoped to buy a unit for $225,000, but was happy to get one for $250,000. While he plans to live there full time, he admitted he didn't know how he was going to explain his sudden purchase to his girlfriend. It took him less than 10 minutes to walk away an owner.

The auction started an hour late, at about noon, thanks in part to the heavy winds, lightning and battering rain. But it was mostly due to the long line of folks waiting to register to bid. The bidders were required to bring $10,000 in certified funds for each condo they bid on, according to William Bone, president of the National Auction Group. The auction staff ran out of forms and auction paddles and scurried to make some temporary forms.

Four condo units were sold before the auction started, Bone said. The bidders came from as far as Reno, Nevada; Texas, Chicago, New Orleans and even a buyer in Georgia who made his successful bid via the Internet.

About a dozen disgruntled, would-be bidders demanded and received their checks back after the auction start was delayed.

"They must not be serious bidders," Bone commented. Pointing to the crowd, he added, "This was a huge win for every developer on the Gulf Coast. It demonstrates a pent-up demand."

While many Realtors and their clients waited on edge for the prices to drop to their satisfaction, there were lots of individual investors who took the leap and bid.

One such buyer was Jim Gauntt, who drove to Gulf Shores from Atlanta and went back home a first-time owner of a two-bedroom condo unit for $270,000. He didn't care that it wasn't on the beach. "It's got nice amenities," he said.

Tuscaloosa physician A.B. Reddy bought an interior unit for $250,000 and plans to rent it out, he said.

The crowd and the fact that units were selling for $250 per square foot was "fabulous," said Bob Shallow, owner of REMAX Paradise in Orange Beach, who came to see what the units would command. "You have 1,000 buyers out here. This is sweet. It shows the market is there. This is the best thing that could happen to the real estate market today."

The sales prices helped to establish a bottom to the unit property values, according to Realtors.

"The crowd is phenomenal," said Patrick Daily, owner of REMAX of Orange Beach. "People are ready to buy."

All of the units were brand-new, faced the gulf and had balconies, but the sought-after units were the corner units on floors seven and up, which sported the best views of the Gulf of Mexico.

Some units were furnished. The complex amenities include an indoor pool, two outdoor pools, two spas, a sauna, fitness center, game room and media room. The monthly condo association dues are about $500 a month, Realtors said.

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http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1209892616188940.xml&coll=3&thispage=2


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Absolute auctions seem to be the only way to go as far as auctions go.

Makes sense to me...

I attended- participated with a seller and a buyer. I don't have any stats yet, as I had a phone bidder and was caught up in the moment. It was a disappointment though-everyone I talked to was unhappy with the outcome. I think the bottom line was the buyers were not there. There were several people holding paddles that didn't raise them once. The house in Rosemary Beach did get a high bid winner (my phone bidder), but the contract is in negotiation, as it did not meet the reserve. It was exciting, and well-done- but not in terms of generating the buyers. I will likely get alo the stats and post-

It was successful in one aspect....at least the folks now know what their properties' market prices ain't.


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Collier Merril is mentioned as the developer of the Gulf Shores property auction in the story above. I've seen him in SoWal over the years. Does he have anything here ready to go on the auction block? Also, wonder if this will cause a shortage in his campaign funding this year. He's an active and top tier player in the Northwest Florida and Florida campaign funding game.