what is going on at bidonthecity.com?...bs or real?

I know sb who works for them.. in nutshell BS for now

real estate auctions are almost always BS. They are designed to get you exicted and pressured to bid so that you will forget about the value and keep bidding until you win.

I disagree. I have been to many auctions where people got plenty of very good deals (and I've bought myself). But, like any other purchase, you have to understand what you are buying and what the terms are 9and whom you are dealing with).

30yrs, is that possibility (buying in a auction at a good price) happening now or is something of the past?

I watched an auction today for a 850sq condo listed at $900K, settled at around $600K but I don't know if that met the reserve price. I forgot that there's a 3% commission on top of the purchase price and you have to pay the downpayment within 48hrs!

"you have to pay the downpayment within 48hrs!you have to pay the downpayment within 48hrs!"

how convenient for gansters. it takes my bank forever to deliver on a largish transaction. a certified check counts?

The results (or actually lack thereof) at bidonthecity show that overpriced crap is generally no desirable at any price. If you analyze their results they only manage to sell 10% of what they list, generally because the best bids are below 50% off the original prices. They've just completed their $1 auction event and only 2 or 3 of the properties for sale had bids that got accepted, and that was because the sellers were realistic and accepted 50% or less OLP. The others refused and will give it another futile try at some point.

I attended yesterday's dismal and posted a report: http://malcolmcarter.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/bid-on-the-city-auction-too-little-too-late/

oops. Meant to say dismal. . . auction.

malcolmnc,

Great article! Thanks!

Good play by play. I had a customer that was interested in 555 West 23rd. If it goes to contract at $570k... Not(too)bad.

Keith (broker)
http://nycrentrant.blogspot.com/

old news
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/13510-sold-maybe

Though maybe once they get theie legs, their auctions may eventually become more ....genuine?

'til then save your time and energy.

"Thank you for enrolling to bid on apartment S-6H at 516 west 47th street. I’m reaching out to you on behalf of the seller who rejected the winning bid as being too low and continues to accept offers so please feel free to reply with your proposal.
Please let me know if you would like to view the property again."

The winning big was $525K for a small 2bedroom condo over an active railroad. Somehow, they rejected my bid of $1 too; I had the bank on standy to send a downpayment.

Crain's ran a piece today saying the bids were waaaaay off the asking price in the most recent auction:

www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100202/FREE/100209963

Discounts at Manhattan home auction hit 85%
By Amanda Fung

Published: February 2, 2010 - 3:58 pm

As it turned out Monday's so-called $1 auction of Manhattan homes generated very low bids indeed, according to one attendee at the auction held by Bid on the City, operator of an eBay-like site for apartment and residential buildings.

Approximately 10 Manhattan townhomes and apartments were sold at discounts ranging up to 85% of the original asking prices, according to Malcolm Carter, a broker at Charles Rutenberg Realty, who attended the auction held at Bid on the City's headquarters office on Fifth Avenue. Although he reported that about 16 individuals were physically present at the auction, he noted that the company said there were online bidders and 100 registered bidders for the event..

Bid on the City declined to comment.

While bids started at $1 there were bidding increments ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, depending on the property, and sellers have to approve the sales. There are also reserve prices for some of the properties. The properties ranged in size from studios to five bedrooms.

Bids in increments of $100,000 were accepted for a townhome at 9 West 126th Street near Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, which had an original price of $1.65 million. Bidding closed at $400,000, according to Mr. Carter. Similarly, an apartment at 147 West 142nd Street, which was originally priced at $445,000 was auctioned off for $50,000.

“If even one bid is accepted by the seller I would be astonished,” said Mr. Carter. “The seller would have to be insane or teetering on bankruptcy.”

Mr. Carter recorded 10 properties that were auctioned off, but it was unclear whether Bid on the City managed to auction off every property. Later this month, the company will launch its first Hamptons auction, which will feature rental properties. That auction will be broadcast live on Plum TV, a 24-hour lifestyle network.

Mr. Carter added that the latest auction was similar to one held at the Solaria condominium in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where just 21 contracts were signed for prices far short of what the developer was anticipating. So far, condo auctions have been rare in New York City unless they involve bankruptcy auctions.

ruh row

Bid on the City responded to my post, and I take them on today: http://malcolmcarter.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/bid-on-the-city-bites-back-but-doesnt-wound/

apparently the did not reply to the last argument... no. 7 in the list of 11 “Duties That Require Licensure”.
any feedback about that?

Actually no one commented on that issue, highend00. Puzzling. And btw, I've just posted a new item about the Solaria: http://malcolmcarter.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/riverdales-solaria-development-offers-some-news/

i dont know the facts but in Australia (sydney at least) the majority of properties are bought at auction (though real auctions with all participants in the room), dont know why it's different in the USA but thats the way Aussies have always bought property.

I actually participated in Monday's auction and bid on 555W23rd - got an email from them after the auction ended saying the seller had declined the offer -the seller was looking to get about $1,000/SQF which to me defeats the purpose of the auction. I'm a big fan of the auction format but if there's a hidden reserve and no actual opportunity to get a deal- why bother?

Bid on the CIty is a failing business model and a total joke. Get real. They apparently cannot generate enough properties truly to be auctioned with low reserves (the situation in Fla where active auctions have taken place frequently), which means their basic business plan is simply not working,...... so they resorted to a stupid, and disingenuous 1$ bid campaign with secret reserves in a desparate attempt to generate interest. The problem ist that this 1$ BS destroys credibility. They've evidently spent a lot of money on advertising and have nothing to show for it -- how many properties have actually changed hands through them?...

What buyer wants to pay a 3% buyer commission on an apt they cannot get a good deal on? Ridiculous

Here are today's results for the city's estate auction: http://malcolmcarter.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/citys-estate-auction-nets-1-355-million/

here is also a bit more of a psychological take behind auctions: http://theapplepeeled.com/buyers/3-strategies-to-avoid-auction-mentality-pitfalls-in-purchasing-a-home/ ... research on why "no reserve" auctions fare better, etc.

Bid on the City is a joke as several others have pointed out. Compare it to the auction for M127. They had an absolute auction for 5 of the condos, a starting bid at $599K for each. In the end, they got real prices, all over a $1MM (Malcolm covered it well in his blog). That's the way to run a real estate auction. Until Bid on the City starts doing absolute auctions, it will continue to lose credibility.

Just attempted to list my 2bd in Soho with them, but they rejected me saying that I wanted too much as the reserve. No call, no nothing, just an e-mail with sorry. Can you believe them? Anyway, at least the entire exchange happened within an hour and I did not waste much time. Their online sales proposal wasn't bad.