Auction of 41 Condos Tops $20M in Sales

[IMGCAP(1)]MARINA DEL REY, CA-The auction of 41 units at the Element condominium project by a court-appointed receiver generated sales of more than $20.5 million and sold all of the units within two hours, according to receiver Taylor B. Grant of California Real Estate Receiverships, which oversaw the auction at a Ritz Carlton Hotel near the Element project site at 4141 Glencoe Ave. The units were auctioned off via a system developed by Los Angeles-based Intellimarket, which employs a simultaneous electronic auction that allows prospective buyers to view the highest bid that has been submitted on each home or condo unit at one time, rather than one at a time as in a conventional sequential auction.

[IMGCAP(2)]Sales prices were 33% over the opening asking prices, according to Grant, who notes that some 525 bids were received in two hours. “We think the results tend to indicate an emerging rebound of housing in Southern California,” Grant observed.

According to Dan Lee of Intellimarket, more than 600 attendees turned out for the auction and the sales prices were “at or above the prices achieved from nearby new construction condominiums that are selling conventionally.” He says that the Element sales worked out to an average of $415 per square foot, with a maximum of $563 and a minimum of $347 per square foot, compared with sales prices in the range of $390 to $410 per square foot for most of the local new competition.