New York Luxury Condo Auctions May Give a Better idea of Values

I have long been of the opinion that we need two things - realistic sellers and to get to the bottom of just exactly how much money the banks have poured into the black hole of sub-prime lending, credit default swaps, derivatives or whatever other strange “product,” that has caused so much money to vaporize.

With very little sales volumes, it has become increasingly difficult to put a price on luxury property. Many agents I listen to are expressing a high level of frustration with sellers unwilling to listen to the fact that their property is now worth less than it was a year ago. Combine this with a high level of desperation and the fact that there seems to be no shortage of agents prepared to accept an over-valued listing, in the hope of making a sale, that we are going no where fast.

The New York Times suggests that may be about to change, as NY developers, acutely aware that nothing is selling, have decided to bite the bullet and start placing condos up for auction with expectations of prices  around 45% less than a year ago.