Auction signs are now as common as For Sale signs used to be (in this market they still way outnumber the auction signs). Sotheby's in Sarasota held an auction Friday with 79 homes. Some sold - some didn't get a bid, despite 400 buyers from 18 states and 4 countries. Price is still King. Trophy homes and those with celebrity connections are usually the successful ones.
The success of the day was a Casey Key mansion that sold for $14 million .setting a record for a single family home in Sarasota. With 200 feet of beach and a mansion built with imported coral, and a guesthouse - it was listed at $20 million, so it was still 30% below list. As we know, and as sellers are finding out, asking doesn't necessarily equal value, and it's not what a home cost or "is worth", it's worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.
At the other end of the scale, a home in gated MiraBay in Apollo Beach, originally listed for $1.25 million, couldn't even get a bid at $400,000.
A St. Pete home met the same fate - a 5,2090 sq ft home on the water in gated Bayway Isles, originally listed at $2.4 Million, didn't get any bids at $800,000.
Sotheby's reported that 30 of the 79 homes sold - some required a minimum bid (see the last two mentioned) and others were Absolute sales - best offer gets the property. Some of the buyers weren't interested in paying more than 40 cents on the dollar.
Absolute - the last stop before foreclosure. Love it.
Reserve - An advertising ploy.
Home auctions are interesting. .40 on the dollar is not good news for the market in luxury homes in that area. Oh well.