"This auction will serve as an indicator of the state of the local real estate market," says Jon Gollinger, co-founder and East Coast CEO of AMP. The company specializes in the development and implementation of both accelerated and conventional marketing and sales programs.

Condo auctions are becoming increasingly common in Florida as developers attempt to relieve themselves of remaining inventory on completed or converted projects. Barrus believes auctions are more effective in scenarios where units are sold in dozens of units, rather than hundreds.

"It allows you to sell smaller numbers of units, but may not work as well in cases where two-thirds of a building hasn't sold," he says. "It seems to be a good answer for projects like Esplanade or Solaire, where we've paid off the bank and the equity partner and we're just trying to sell those remaining units that represent the developer's profit so we can move on to the next project."

Barrus adds that condo buyers respond better to auctions because they can let the market decide pricing, rather than putting their faith in developers. "When people get into an environment where they can determine the price, they feel more confident," he says.