Property Auction Proves Successful Strategy for Luxury Condominiums

By Jessica Fiur, News Editor

Virginia Beach, Va.—It was an unusual move, but it paid off. Armada Hoffler, a commercial development and construction company, and Accelerated Marketing Partners (AMP), a residential real estate firm, recently sold a large number of luxury condominiums on auction. More than $7.5 million dollars were generated from the sale of homes at The Residences at The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, Virginia’s tallest building. A total of 18 homes were sold in 30 minutes.

What was unusual was that AMP conducted a practice session the night before the auction where perspective buyers were taught how to bid. All bidders were required to register ahead of time, and then they were invited to meet with on-site lenders to inspect the condos.

During the auction, prices of the condos ranged from $311,000 to $750,000. Minimum bids started at $140,000 and were up to 56 percent below asking prices.

“This being virtually the only high-rise in Virginia Beach, and the tallest building in Virginia, it was difficult to comp the building,” Jon Gollinger, East Coast CEO and co-founder, AMP, tells MHN. “What we did was evaluate the area’s single family home market, population, demographics and the historical pricing over a five year period of the building itself. We applied a projected value that we felt the market would deliver. What we achieved at that sale was well within our targeted price range, and that was a wonderful outcome for AMP and Armada Hoffler. It was the range the seller was hoping for and relying on. An added bonus was that the relative depth of market was so strong that we were able to add units that we previously thought we couldn’t, resulting in more dollars achieved at the auction than was planned. Therefore the end result was a very transparent process, where the market determined value, which was solidly within the targeted price range projected two months before the sale.”

The Residences at The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center is a 40-story building that has 119 condominiums. The condominiums are equipped with gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances, oversized showers in the bathrooms. Residences receive the same perks as those who stay at the hotel there, including valet and concierge services, fitness center with towel services and an indoor pool.

“The overwhelmingly positive response Armada Hoffler received from consumers during the auction speaks to the property’s high-quality nature from start to finish,” Gollinger said in a press statement. “The auction’s results support the fact that consumers in the Virginia Beach area market feel confident about the long-term value of what they’re buying into.”