12 Responses to “1850 South End Auction Results” »»

1. Mary
   Comment by Mary | 06/29/09 at 7:17 am

   Nice work John,

   Makes sense they didn’t sell for below minimum bid price, hence the word minimum. It will be interesting to see what Susan considers “market rate”….

2. JohnF
   Comment by JohnF | 06/29/09 at 7:35 am

   Mary, I guess will find out what she means by “market rate” in the next 30-45 days when the units close.

3. condobuyer
   Comment by condobuyer | 06/29/09 at 7:40 am

   I would love to hear from people actually there who were observing. I’ve never heard an auction spokesperson say the sales were below expectations. They always claim everything was above expectations. Time will tell the story I guess…maybe she’s right or maybe she’s embellishing…

   We attended the Folio auction and while it was busy and many properties sold…I remember nothing sold at “market rate” e.g. for the prices that pre-construction buyers had paid before the auction. They also claimed success probably b/c the threshold for defining it had changed!

4. Mike
   Comment by Mike | 06/29/09 at 8:03 am

   Well, of course the units sold at “market value” – that many units selling pretty much define “market value”. The real question is whether “market value” was what the sellers were hoping it would be.

   Market value is the price at which transactions occur (as opposed to asking price, etc.), so these sales will have a pretty powerful impact on market value for similar units in a similar area. Looks like Bradley’s beloved South End is going to see something of a trial by fire to see if market values there are really holding up the way he claims.

   Mike

5. Trudy
   Comment by Trudy | 06/29/09 at 8:31 am

   I attended, it was interesting. Most units I made notes on went for about $70-100k over the minimum bid price, though a few toward the end went for closer to minimums. The lowest winning bids overall were around $270k, the highest was about $360 and change – and that one had a minimum bid of $325 (I think that was the smallest ’spread’ between min. bid and final sales price).

   After looking up the results of the Broadluxe auction, where many units went for not much more than minimum bid, I expected the same would happen at the 1850. I definitely thought that the smallest units, around 700SF, on the Albany St side of the building, would end up selling at closer to minimum bid (which was $175k), so I was surprised at the final outcomes on those.

6. condobuyer
   Comment by condobuyer | 06/29/09 at 8:41 am

   Hi Trudy,

   Thanks for the insight. They were originally marketing these for about $500/sq ft. Sounds to me like they sold around $350/sq ft or less…does that sound accurate? I think the largest unit was just over 1100 sqft and I am assuming that went for 360K Did you do any sq ft analysis?

7. JohnF
   Comment by JohnF | 06/29/09 at 8:43 am

   Trudy, thanks for the update, very interesting.

8. Trudy
   Comment by Trudy | 06/29/09 at 9:06 am

   Condobuyer, no, I didn’t do any kind of SF analysis or anything like that… sorry. I got lazy with the note-taking toward the end, and I also realize now that I didn’t make a note on unit 507, the largest, which had a minimum bid of $395k — so obviously, contrary to what I said in my earlier post, that one went for the most.

   I was originally intending to bid, then ultimately decided not to; there were things I didn’t like about the units; I wasn’t too keen on the location and the public transport options for getting to my job; and this may sound weird but I wondered what it would be like, should the units go for very low prices, to be one of the auction buyers sharing a building with 25 neighbors who’d bought for much more. It seemed to me it could be… awkward (?) or make for strained relations in the building…

   But since I’d already registered and had the cashier’s check, etc, I decided to attend anyway just out of curiosity, and it was really interesting to see how it all worked.

9. paula & Sue
   Comment by paula & Sue | 06/29/09 at 11:07 am

   Trudy, I think I speak for many readers when I say that I would love to hear more on your trials and joys in your progress of buying a Boston condo. The more we as buyers share the more we will learn.

10. condobuyer
    Comment by condobuyer | 06/29/09 at 12:11 pm

    I just got some data on the auction. On average the units sold for 26% less than the “last asking price” apparently.
    The range was 16% to 38% less than last asking. It seems that pre-auction they were asking for b/w 500-540/sq ft. The units sold b/w 300-400/sq ft with the average around $370/sq ft.

11. Mike
    Comment by Mike | 06/30/09 at 3:19 am

    But Copndobuyer, 26% below last asking? That’s not possible. It’s the untouchable South End! Just ask Bradley. Your math must be wrong.

    -grin-

    Mike

12. Bradley
    Comment by Bradley | 06/30/09 at 3:40 am

    LOL… now now… like I said before, I don’t consider Albany Street to be the real South End. But I will say that I’m quite impressed with the auction results. Not bad considering the location! Some lucky owners now get to be reasonably close to all the amenities that the South End has to offer.

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