Concierge Auctions Estates Sale 2010 Results Wrap-Up

We've covered a lot of Concierge Auctions homes as estate of the day properties. How did they fare? After ace real estate commenter "Spectacular Bid" let me know that the final price for Topridge, a property once listed for $9.8 million, was just $2.25 million, I was inspired to head to the Concierge Auctions website to see what I could find out about other homes we looked at. Not all of the final sale prices are listed but enough are to give a look at what real estate auctions mean for luxury home sales.

Concierge Auctions sold the Rockland estate in Fairplay, Maryland in June. The 25-plus-acre equestrian estate was originally listed for $2.75 million. The property includes a 8,600-square-foot mansion as well as a turnkey horse farm with fenced pastures and had a reserve of $1.325 million and a pre-sale estimate of $1.325 million to $1.8 million. It sold for $1.5 million.

Teton Valley Ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, once offered for $47.4 million went to auction on July 16. The price was kept confidential on this one but it is listed as sold.

In July Concierge Auctions auctioned off a Lake George, New York home with 528 feet of shoreline. The home was originally listed for $1.395 million and had a published reserve of $850,000. It sold for $977,000.

In April Concierge Auctions offered two homes in the Strand at Headlands development of Dana Point, California. The homes, previously offered to $15 million, sold at bidder's choice with a reserve of $6.9 million and a pre-sale estimate of $8 million to $11 million. The high bidder was to choose one of the available houses and only one house would be sold. The Concierge Auctions website shows that 7 White Water Lane was sold. The price is not listed.

The January 18 auction of Cher's home in the exclusive Hualalai Resort in Hawaii brought in $8.72 million (it was expected to fetch between $8 and $12 million). The January 18 auction included the successful sale of five properties in Kona, Hawaii, for a total of more than $19.4 million.

Fawn Hill Farm, an estate with a working farm across 34 acres in New Vernon, New Jersey went up for auction on November 12. The property which was once listed in its entirety for $22.5 million sold for $6.425 million. The main residence was originally built in the late 1930s and has 21 rooms including seven bedrooms.

At the same auction that sold off Cher's Hawaiian home, a property at 72-3209 Ka Nehe Place in the Kuki'o Golf and Beach Club and Residences, which was selling absolute was purchased by a buyer from Beverly Hills for $4.95 million.

Feilcity Farm in Wawa, Pennsylvania was auctioned off on June 9 through Concierge Auctions. The home is a 15.8 acre estate located a half hour's drive from Philadelphia. It was originally listed for $3.7 million and sold for $1,567,500.

In August Concierge Auctions went back to Hawaii for another on-site auction selling off Pueo Point, an ocean bluff residence and adjacent lot located on the North Shore of Kauai. The residence includes three bedrooms, an office, gourmet kitchen, maple hardwood floors, custom teak cabinetry and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Every room offers ocean, garden or sunset views and the exterior of the home features a saltwater pool and spa, private shower, protected dining area, limestone lanais and ipe decks. The residence was once offered at $9.8 million and sold for $4.65 million.

In September, Concierge Auctions sold a home in Vail Valley, Colorado. The home is more than 11,000 square feet. It was once listed at $9.5 million and sold for $4.62 million.

In September, Concierge Auctions sold a bank-owned home on 1.6 acres in Kuki'o, home to the Kuki'o Golf and Beach Club in Hawaii. 72-3203 Punaloa Place is a 5,795-square-foot residence with a midnight blue vanishing edge pool and spa, inlaid limestone deck, and a 200 square foot "Pai Pai" – a thatched bamboo trellis, and an outdoor stainless barbecue grill. It sold for $3.74 million.

In March, Concierge Auctions sold a home in Kealia Kai perched atop Paliku Point on the island of Kauai. The estate was previously offered for $9.995 million and was auctioned with a reserve of $2 million and a pre-sale estimate of $3 to $7 million. It sold for $3.192 million.

One of the most interesting Concierge Auctions properties in 2010 was Tulip Hill in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The home dates back to before the Revolutionary War, a Georgian plantation house built by Samuel Galloway circa 1756. It is on nearly 52 acres that includes water frontage and pier and includes terraced gardens and manicured grounds. It was previously offered for $7.5 million and had a suggested opening bid of $1.65 million. It sold for $2.5025 million.

A property on Whitefish Lake in Whitefish, Montana was auctioned off on July 12. The 3.5-acre estate with over 400 feet of frontage on Whitefish Lake was originally offered for $11.5 million but sold for $2.4765 million.

In August a cottage in Coronado went up for auction. The three-bedroom home was originally listed for $2,899,000 and sold for $1.692 million.

Also in September, this "Rustic Zen" home in Evergreen, Colorado went up for sale. It was previously listed for $2.75 million but the auction had no minimum bid. It sold for $1.9 million.

In November Concierge Auctions auctioned off 39 Cavalry Road, a lakefront estate on more than two acres in Weston, Connecticut. It was previously listed for $2.975 million but the five-bedroom home sold for $1.815 million.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mm Jan 4th 2011 9:59AM
Regarding Topridge...Wow!
It sold even lower than my previously posted expectation...
"Depending on reserve, it could/should sell for $3.75-$4.25MM at auction in this economy (given the tax responsibilities that come with the property)."
Spectacular Bid Jan 4th 2011 4:53PM
re: Topridge
When I dug up the final auction price I too was shocked. Yes the Tuxedo Park market is a bit saturated and asking prices dropping a bit. However this is so rock bottom (and a massive loss) as to make no sense. The sellers per Zillo paid $7M for the property and were asking $8M for it through the Sotheby's affiliate in TP prior to the auction.
I can only guess that maybe an mortgage balance is to be assumed on top of the auction price. I didn't request the original bidders kit which would've disclosed that. Other auctions have done similar techniques so *for example* an outstanding $4M mortgage is assumed on top of the $2.25M. If that isn't the case here then something is really, really odd.
Sub $3M is/was giving it away.
trayor Jan 6th 2011 8:34AM
The media is a funny thing, and perception is reality. Concierge knows this, and so they use statements like "Previously offered to $9 million, now selling at or above $2.5 million," because they know it creates a tremendous perception of value differential for prospective buyers (aka "a great deal!").
The truth, however, is although the property was once offered for $9 million (e.g. in 2006 or 2007), it may be currently listed for $4 million. If this was considered, the sale-to-list ratios shown above would be much better. This is true for most well-executed (emphasis on "well-executed") luxury auctions.
The media, however, does not want to consider this, and rather goes for the more sensational and negative approach. If not sold at auction, most of the properties above would have languished on the market for another 18-24 months, been reduced at least 25%-50%, and then sold at a discount to those reduced prices on the open listing market. That's how clearing inventory and how markets work.