The Lumen Condos auction was held today. 19 units were being advertised, but only 16 were auctioned off. Coverage of the event is plentiful, so rather than rehashing, I’m just going to provide a few links:
Final bids averaged around 40% over the starting bids, but about 40% under the previous listing price.
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Tags: auction, condos, link_roundup, Lumen
A reader emailed me to inquire about the Lumen Condos auction that is currently being advertised on our sidebar, asking whether there are any “catches” or “gotchas” that aren’t easy to spot.
Auctions like this usually have a few things that might be described as “gotchas.” Here are a few things to look out for:
With respect to the above list, the terms and conditions for the Lumen auction state the following:
Also important to note is the clause that the seller reserves the right “to modify or add any terms and conditions of sale and to announce such modifications or additional terms and conditions either prior to or at the Auction.”
If you are thinking about buying a home at auction, I suggest attending 2-3 such auctions to get an idea of how things work and whether or not things tend to sell for prices that you think are reasonable.
The firms running these auctions are happy to provide all the fine print details about the auction to you beforehand. If you get them and there are parts you don’t understand, you may consider hiring a real estate attorney to review them and explain them to you.
Furthermore, I received an email today from the Lumen auction folks about a “pre-auction seminar” they will be holding on July 1st:
On Wednesday July 1, 2009 LUMEN will hold a pre-auction seminar for interested buyers of the remaining 19 new condos available in one of Seattle’s most unique developments. Potential homebuyers will have the opportunity to tour available condos, learn techniques for buying at auction, participate in a mock auction, pre-qualify with the seller’s designated lender and pre-register for the LUMEN public auction to be held July 11.
What: LUMEN “How to Buy” pre-auction seminar and registration
When: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 7 P.M.
Where: LUMEN Lounge, 501 Roy Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Obviously the underlying purpose of this event is to get buyers interested and excited to buy the condos, but it would probably still be a good idea to attend if you are thinking of going to the auction.
The question of whether or not the Lumen condo auction or any other real estate auction represents a good buying opportunity for you depends entirely on your unique finances, priorities, and tolerance for risk. As with any real estate purchase, the best thing you can do is take your time, do your research, and don’t rush into a decision based on emotion.
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Tags: advertisors, auction, Lumen
This weekend’s open thread touched on one example of a bank bidding nearly 25% less than what it was owed for a foreclosed home at the courthouse auction.
Well, our good friend Jillayne Schlicke over at Rain City Guide actually attended a foreclosure auction a week ago, and wrote up an interesting post on this new phenomenon: Why are Banks Setting the Opening Auction Bid Below The Principal Balance?
I attended a foreclosure auction in Bellevue, WA last week to discover if the rumor was true that banks are opening their bids below the amount owed. I received confirmation from three professional investors that yes, the banks have been doing that, it’s no secret, and there seems to be no discernable pattern. It’s not one particular bank or lender, it’s not particular types of property or in any specific area. It appears to be random.
…
Only a few of the trustee sales attracted bidders, and the rest were deeded back to the bank. Out of the 92 active sales, 25 had opening bids below the amount owed to the bank.
Jillayne has also uploaded a series of videos she took at the foreclosure auction to her YouTube page.
Interesting stuff. Anybody have any theories on this? Does this open the door to possibly getting a good deal at a courthouse foreclosure auction?
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Tags: auction, foreclosures, Rain City Guide, Schlicke
I thought I’d lump a few “sign of the times” type of stories into a single post, since it gets old after a while constantly reading (and writing) posts that are basically just slight variations on the “the real estate market is slow” theme.
Here’s another interesting piece from Kirsten Grind over at the Puget Sound Business Journal about reductions and shifts in the real estate agent job market over the last year.
Since the end of last year, about 2,800 Washington agents have abandoned the business, a decrease of about 9 percent, and hundreds more have put their licenses on hold, according to the state’s Department of Licensing.
…
“I think everyone was expecting some sort of rebound in the third and fourth quarter,” said Russell Hokanson, chief executive of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors.“But just when it seemed we were coming out, we had another meltdown in the stock market in September and October and that hit consumer confidence again.”
The article also points out an interesting trend that many agents are moving to smaller, brokerages in an attempt to cut costs during these lean times. Maybe it’s just me, but I think Kirsten Grind has been on a roll lately with interesting and insightful articles. Far better than the usual rehashed press releases we get from the Times. And I’m not just saying that because of this article.
Meanwhile, yet another Seattle condo project is headed for the auction block…
Here’s a scene that would have been unheard-of a year ago.
Back then, the condominiums at Press on Capitol Hill were selling in the $300,000s or $400,000s. But for the past couple of weeks, big red “Auction” signs have adorned the building — and bids for some of the condos inside will start at roughly half their original price when they are auctioned off later this month.
As one Press Condominiums resident Brian Gruneir noted Friday, there was an air of desperation a couple of weekends ago, when teenagers stood on nearby corners holding eye-catching red auction signs with arrows pointed toward the Press’ two buildings at Belmont Avenue and Pine Street.
I’ve been watching the county records to see how much the Seventeen07 condos ended up going for in their recent auction, but data has not yet been posted. Also, Quadrant homes is “holding off on further selling” for their “The Ridge at Gig Harbor” development, and D.R. Horton is auctioning off nearly 100 Puget Sound houses with “starting bids as low as $89,000.”
Lastly, I posted this one on the forums, but thought it was worth sharing on the front page as well. This large billboard has been on display right next to southbound I-5 in Tacoma all year. My wife took this picture last Wednesday as we drove down to my parents’ for Thanksgiving:
It would appear that sales projections for 2008 at Soundbuilt Homes were at least two times too high. Unless they are holding out some secret weapon for Christmas, I doubt they’ll be selling another 442 homes before the year is out to make use of that lonely fourth digit. Oh well.
(Kirsten Grind, Puget Sound Business Journal, 12.01.2008)
(Kery Murakami, Seattle P-I, 12.01.2008)
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Tags: agents, auction, builders, Business Journal, condos, DR Horton, Grind, real_estate_professionals, Seattle_PI
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