High-Priced Condominium Sales Slump Ended by Platinum Luxury Auctions

MIAMI, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Although an absolute auction was planned today for an ultra-luxury waterfront condominium in Coral Gables, Florida, there won't be any bidders in attendance. The seller did not get cold feet, and there was plenty of bidder interest. Enough interest, actually, that the property was placed under contract on Wednesday, two days prior to the January 27 auction date. Platinum Luxury Auctions LLC, a luxury auction firm headquartered in Miami, Florida, handled the sale.

The buyer, a retired area business mogul who is downsizing from his waterfront estate, wanted to purchase the property outright rather than compete for it at the auction. The residence was listed for $5.995 million prior to being scheduled for luxury auction. Although the contract price was not known at press time, Trayor Lesnock, president of Platinum Luxury Auctions, stated that the price was "significant."

The sale was no small achievement: there had not been a single sale for a condominium above $3 million dollars in the cities of Coral Gables or Coconut Grove since August of 2010, despite plenty of inventory listed for sale from $3 million to $10 million, making competition for luxury buyers fierce. Within the last 12 months, the average sale price in these cities for a luxury condominium that was listed above $1 million hovered near the $1.5 million mark.

"Despite fielding inquiries from all over the world for this auction, we are pleased to have placed this property under contract prior to the auction event," said Lesnock. "The agents in Coral Gables are world-class real estate professionals, and everyone has been aggressively searching for this caliber of buyer for their listing. The auction succeeded in finding him."

Within 5 weeks, the auction's marketing program generated over 11,000 hits to the property's auction website from 54 countries. According to Lesnock, a number of serious bidders had registered for the auction and placed $200,000 into escrow, as the auction terms required.

"The goal of the auction process was to sell the property, and I'm very pleased with the outcome," said P.R. Steinfurth, CEO of real estate investment firm The Styles Group and the seller of the property. The sale should close in February.

SOURCE Platinum Luxury Auctions LLC