Pacifica Auction Results
Three Units Left Unsold at Sunday’s Auction
Minimum bids at this riverfront condominium development to the north of Portland’s Pearl District had been reduced by as much as 65%. That was enough to generate substantial interest for the auction, but not enough to sell all units. In the end three units went unsold, failing to attract even a single bid. All unsold units had minimum bids north of $500,000.
Winning Bids at More Than 70% Premium
Bidding was fierce at the opposite end of the spectrum. Units with a minimum bid in the low 100s ended up being sold at a 48% premium. Coveted river-front units such as #611 and #309 sold for more than 70% above their respective minimum bids, ultimately resulting in price tags that exceeded market value by some definition. Case in point: unit #309, with a winning bid of 519k, resulting in a final price (after fees) of 534k. The same unit one floor up sold in early ’08 for 575k. The market has since declined by somewhere between 20-25%. Given that unit #409 had better view, unit #309 should not have sold for more than 450k, perhaps 475k. Ah, the magic of bidding wars…
Good Deals For Some Buyers
Nonetheless good deals were to be had by some buyers. The buyer I represented ended up with a winning bid that was only 26% above the minimum bid, ultimately paying less than $260 per square foot. A similar unit one floor up had sold in early ’08 for 175k more than this one.
It pays to know the market…and your competition!
