Developers of a waterfront townhouse community in Miami Beach that haven’t sold a residence in 10 months are hoping that an auction will prompt some much needed buying activity.
Developers of the Avanti at the Villages of Normandy Isles plan to offer their remaining six units at auction on November 3. Two of the six units will be sold regardless of price. The auction will be coordinated by the Auction Company of America (AB1144) in Miami.
Five of the auction units have 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms with total space ranging from 3,108 square feet to 3,440 square feet. A sixth unit has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with 2,790 square feet.
“The developer, in order to avoid a costly sellout period, has chosen to auction the remaining six units in the fastest way,” according to a statement by auctioneer Jim Gall.
Avanti will be the second Miami-Dade County development in a month to attempt to sell out using an auction strategy. Developers of the troubled Platinum condo tower in Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard corridor were the first in recent memory to use the auction method. Other real estate auctions occur regularly throughout South Florida although they typically offer a variety of units from various sellers.
The Platinum auction attracted big crowds of onlookers and extensive media attention but only produced nine contracts out of a possible pool of 20 sales. It is unclear how many of the nine Platinum units under contract will actually be sold as the closing date has not yet passed.
The nine Platinum units that did go under contract were residences where the developer accepted the highest offer with no minimum requirement. The absolute units sold for an average of $192 per square foot (plus a 10 percent commission) despite construction costs for replacing the exact same unit averaging more than $300 per foot.
The Avanti auction comes as a surprise given the project’s location and the fact that sales at the waterfront community started strong. The current real estate climate ultimately hurt the project.
Developers of the Avanit sold 25 of the 34 units in the complex shortly after the project was completed at the beginning of the second quarter of 2006, according to Miami-Dade county records. The project’s first closing was recorded in April 2006, and sales continued steady until December 2006 when the last deed transfer was recorded. The developers have not closed a unit in 2007, according to county records.
Owners who purchased units directly from the developer have had only slightly better success in recent months reselling their units at the Avanti.
Since December 2006, three units have been resold. In December 2006, a townhouse with 2 bedrooms / 2.5 bathrooms listed at $1.05 sold for $850,000, or $441 per square foot. A townhouse with 3 bedrooms /3 bathrooms listed for $719,000 sold for $765,000, or $323 per square foot, in January 2007. A townhouse with 3 bedrooms / 3 bathrooms listed at $899,000 closed in June 2007 for $760,000, or $321 per square foot.
There are currently eight units actively listed for sale in the 34-unit community in the Miami Beach neighborhood of North Beach. The asking prices of the available units range from $700,000 ($318 per square foot) to $1.155 million ($488 per square foot). Four more units are under contract with the asking prices between $1.015 million ($425 per square foot) to $1.115 million ($488 per square foot).
The Avanti is a gated townhouse community on the Intracoastal Waterway that features four-story residences with rooftop terraces and two-car garages. The community is located across the street from a public park and golf course. The community features the following six floor plans:
- Townhouse A (3 bed/ 3.5 bath): A/C Space: 2,178 sq ft / Total: 3,108
- Townhouse B (3 bed/ 3.5 bath): A/C Space: 2,195 sq ft / Total: 3,030
- Townhouse C (4 bed/ 4.5 bath): A/C Space: 2,685 sq ft / Total: 3,576
- Townhouse D (3 bed/ 3.5 bath): A/C Space: 2,385 sq ft / Total: 3,273
- Townhouse E (2 bed/ 2.5 bath): A/C Space: 1,927 sq ft / Total: 2,787
- Townhouse F (3 bed/ 3.5 bath): A/C Space: 2,366 sq ft / Total: 3,225
Individuals interested in participating in the auction will be required to show up with a $10,000 cashier’s check for each property that will to be bid on, according to the auctioneer’s literature. The winning bidder of each unit auction will be required to immediately post the cashier’s check plus a personal check in an amount that equals 10 percent of the auction price plus a 10 percent commission. The balance of the auction price must be paid within 45 days. The units are being sold “As-Is.”
Peter Zalewski is a principal with the consulting company Condo Vultures™ LLC and a licensed real estate broker with Condo Vultures™ Realty LLC. Peter can be reached at 305-865-5629 or by email at peter@condovultures.com.
Copyright © 2007, Condo Vultures™ LLC
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3 comments:
How come these auctions are not advertised in Miami Herald. How did you know about this auction?
Did anyone attend? How did it go? We went and looked at the properties on Friday. Very nice location between the water and a park, and walking distance to a nearby fun-looking shopping area.
It didn't look like the development itself was gated and that part of the island seems open.
The units were very vertical: rather small footprint and LOTS of stair climbing. It would be difficult to throw a get-together and get people circulating. The units are only a year old but showed lots of exterior rust; outside doors need to be re-hung with stainless-steel fitting pronto or soon they won't be able to close. But main turnoff was the stairs - if you have the slightest joint pains climbing those 3-1/2 flights of narrow stairs from the car to the bedroom would be murder.
How did the auction go? I can't find anything about on the internet.
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