No but minimum bids look pretty high in some cases (some of these units were previously listed at 10 - 20% higher than reserve), so unlikely that they even received offers at the minimum bids. Looks like a bit of a gimmick vs. true auction model to me, just like the minimum bid auctions going on in the hamptons resulting in nearly no sales. Only way to have a worthwhile auction model is no reserve and no one seems to have the balls to try this.
No -- I looked at the terms of the auction (buyer pays 3% broker fee and seller pays 3%, no real opportunity to negotiate contract, high minimum bids, etc.) and the results of past auctions and decided it wasn't much of a deal. The fee is no less than a normal broker, the sales prices aren't lower than a normal broker, and the process of buying is less friendly to the buyer than a normal broker would be. This might be mildly beneficial to a seller (they get the buyer to chip in half the commission, after all) -- but on the buy side it seems like a losing proposition. So:
For a seller in a hot market -- maybe an interesting idea, if they can find buyers who will bid.
For a seller in a slow market -- almost certainly a waste of time.
For a buyer in any market -- I don't see any benefit whatsoever.
anyone have any bid on the city.com experience?
No but minimum bids look pretty high in some cases (some of these units were previously listed at 10 - 20% higher than reserve), so unlikely that they even received offers at the minimum bids. Looks like a bit of a gimmick vs. true auction model to me, just like the minimum bid auctions going on in the hamptons resulting in nearly no sales. Only way to have a worthwhile auction model is no reserve and no one seems to have the balls to try this.
No -- I looked at the terms of the auction (buyer pays 3% broker fee and seller pays 3%, no real opportunity to negotiate contract, high minimum bids, etc.) and the results of past auctions and decided it wasn't much of a deal. The fee is no less than a normal broker, the sales prices aren't lower than a normal broker, and the process of buying is less friendly to the buyer than a normal broker would be. This might be mildly beneficial to a seller (they get the buyer to chip in half the commission, after all) -- but on the buy side it seems like a losing proposition. So:
For a seller in a hot market -- maybe an interesting idea, if they can find buyers who will bid.
For a seller in a slow market -- almost certainly a waste of time.
For a buyer in any market -- I don't see any benefit whatsoever.
There have been some previous discussions on this. You might want to look at those also:
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/search?search=bidonthecity
Zoe