This past Sunday (March 30), 41 luxury condos of the Eight Orchids, a new European-style 157-unit high rise complex located in Oakland Chinatown, at Broadway and 7th, were auctioned off. The auction, conducted by Accelerated Marketing Partners, a professional auction company, was well attended. The ballroom of the Marriott Oakland City Center was packed with a diverse mix of buyers, about 400 ot them, based on my own count, which may of course not be reliable.
Minimum bids were pegged low: $245K for 13 of the 1 bed/1 bath units, with the highest minimum bid set at $475K for the only two 3 bed/2 bath units. The previous asking prices of the 1 bed/1 bath ranged from $520,888 to $385,888, while the 3 bed/2 bath had asking prices of $805,888 and $775,888. For all the 41 units being auctioned, the total of the minimum bids amounted to 57.89% of the total of the asking prices. The first home to be auctioned, a 1 bed/1 bath had a minimum bid of $245,000, or 47% of the previous asking of $520,888: this minimum bid has the lowest percentage compared to the previous asking. On the high side, a 2 bed/1 bath had a minimum bid of $325,000, almost 70% of the previous asking of $465,888.
The auction went on quickly and smoothly; in about an hour and a half, all 41 homes were sold. So who made out like a bandit? The developers or the buyers? Well, the total of the final bid amounts was just 17.36% above the total of the minimum bids. The buyer who did the best paid 1.54% above minimum bid: the 1 bed/1 ba had a previous asking of $545,888, a minimum bid of $325,000 and a winning bid of $330,000. The highest percentage was 43%: a minimum bid of $245,000 and a winning bid of $350,000.
As for the developers, BayRock Residential, they were able to sell 41 homes, certainly a good number compared to the 20 or so units they have sold since February of 2007. The total of the winning bids is around 68% of the total of the previous asking prices, reflecting a 32% discount.
I look at this as a win-win situation for both buyers and developers. Buyers were able to buy a unit at a high-end luxury condo complex in Oakland Chinatown at a significant discount and the developers were able to do two years’ of sales on one day, and make their complex a lot more attractive.
