The real estate markets haven’t strengthened enough to guarantee a sale of a high end property simply by listing it the traditional way. Andrew Osinski, former managing director of the Global Asset Management division at Lehman Brothers realized it the hard way after listing his Darien, Conn. home thirteen months ago. He had used the services of Kelly Associates earlier and went back to them and their Doug Milne evaluated the property and decided on an asking price of $12.5 million. The 7,000 square foot waterfront house was expected to find a buyer soon as a similar house in the area was sold within a week of being listed.
The sale simply refused to materialize. As months went by interest in viewing also dried up. Milne ultimately called up to explain an offer from Concierge Auctions who felt confident about selling the two-acre, French Norman-style estate. The home owner finally negotiated with the auction house and a contract was finally signed early this month. 12 viewings have already taken place and the New York based luxury real estate auction house has fixed June 25 as the date for the auction of the house located at 17, Tokeneke Trail.
Laura Brady, vice president of marketing for Concierge Auctions explained that they don’t deal in distressed properties or foreclosures but work with luxe broker firms like Sotheby’s International Realty. They generally take up high end homes that have filed to find a buyer through the traditional method or home owners who want to skip the traditional channel all together. Their aim is to maximize the value of the property and identify what the property is really worth. They work more like a fine arts or antiquities auction. They have a successful track record and are confident enough to almost guarantee the sale at a fair value. With the uncertainties involved in listing a property, it is becoming a popular method of home selling among posh home owners.
Via: blogs.forbes
