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    « Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp Walk, Roll or Stroll | Main | South Waterfront Condo Sales Report »
    Wednesday
    23Sep2009

    Atwater Auction Recap: 40 out of 41 Ain't Bad

    Courtesy of Brent Wojahn, The Oregonian - Click for more photosHat tip to The Oregonian's real estate reporter Ryan Frank for his coverage of this story. Despite being ushered out of the main auction room by Accelerated Marketing, his Front Porch blog gave the world near real-time insights into what was going on behind the scenes.

    After more than a month of anticipation, guerilla marketing and widespread media coverage, the Atwater Auction is in the books. Westport Capital Partners, the business entity that wields controlling interest in the condominium development, appears to have netted more than $19 Million in sales.

    Having sold 40 out of the available 41 units at an average price of approximately $299/sf is not particularly good, but it's not bad either. As reported on PortlandWatefront.com, the aggregate sales for the South Waterfront - including John Ross, Meriwether and Atwater Place - averaged an asking price of $325/sf and a sales price of $310/sf for the past three months. Atwater Place is considered by some to be the more upscale property between the three developments in the South Waterfront and was expected to fetch a premium.

    Mark Edlen, of Gerding Edlen Development, has a residence in the Atwater. Mr. Edlen and his partner Bob Gerding, who recently passed away, are credited for many of Portland's sustainable developments - including notable projects in The Brewery Blocks such as Whole Foods, The Gerding Theater, The Henry and M Financial; The Cyan; The Ardea, John Ross, Atwater Place and The Meriwether.

    Attention now turns to the 100+ units that remain unsold. Will the auction establish a floor for prices going forward or will Portland's economic woes continue to erode home values? At $300/SF, Portland's waterfront still has relative pricing power, albeit lower than expectations at the peek of the market.

    References (1)

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    Reader Comments (8)

    So I have to ask, what got you kicked out of the auction?!?!

    Sep 20 | Unregistered CommenterLeigh

    It was Ryan Frank from The O that got the boot. Should I clarify in the post?

    Sep 20 | Registered CommenterKathy Quick

    I must have misread it over at Portland Housing Blog...can we assume he got the boot because of his live blogging?! I find it odd.

    Sep 21 | Unregistered CommenterLeigh

    I think all media was restricted from the "auction room." They were allowed to wait outside and interview, but not inside the room itself. It is curious, though. I would have thought that the auction company would have wanted the coverage.

    Sep 21 | Registered CommenterKathy Quick

    Is there a list of what the auction sales prices were, by unit? Has anyone posted that info?

    Sep 23 | Unregistered CommenterConde

    Yes there is:

    Unit No: Original Price / Minimum Bid / Winning Bid / % Drop
    119: $931,000 / $429,000 / $550,000 / -41%
    121: $849,000 / $429,000 / $462,000 / -46%
    201: $559,000 / $269,000 / $359,000 / -36%
    217: $449,000 / $199,000 / $304,000 / -32%
    233: $346,125 / $169,000 / $241,000 / -30%
    235: $346,000 / $169,000 / $240,000 / -31%
    301: $569,000 / $269,000 / $380,000 / -33%
    305: $719,000 / $349,000 / $516,000 / -28%
    309: $699,000 / $329,000 / $416,000 / -40%
    317: $459,000 / $199,000 / $319,000 / -31%
    327: $509,000 / $219,000 / $334,000 / -34%
    329: $449,000 / $219,000 / $329,000 / -27%
    331: $439,000 / $199,000 / $310,000 / -29%
    333: $439,000 / $199,000 / $307,000 / -30%
    339: $629,000 / $269,000 / $424,000 / 33%
    343: $359,000 / $169,000 / $241,000 / -33%
    347: $569,000 / $269,000 / $415,000 / 27%
    401: $579,000 / $269,000 / $395,000 / -32%
    427: $529,000 / $219,000 / $338,000 / -36%
    441: $369,000 / $169,000 / $254,000 / -31%
    445: $379,000 / $169,000 / $242,000 / -36%
    900: $677,000 / $349,000 / $439,000 / -35%
    902: $699,000 / $349,000 / $485,000 / -31%
    904: $682,000 / $349,000 / $464,000 / -31%
    908: $1,189,000 / $699,000 / $891,000 / -25%
    910: $857,000 / $399,000 / $605,000 / -29%
    912: $890,000 / $399,000 / $601,000 / -32%
    1500: $722,000 / $349,000 / $441,000 / -39%
    1502: $799,000 / $349,000 / $497,000 / -38%
    1506: $1,199,000 / $679,000 / $795,000 / -34%
    1508: $1,459,000 / $699,000 / $842,000 / -42%
    1510: $979,000 / $399,000 / $579,000 / -41%
    1512: $945,000 / $399,000 / $664,000 / -30%
    1612: $999,000 / $399,000 / $675,000 / -31%
    1900: $759,000 / $349,000 / $445,000 / -41%
    1904: $659,000 / $349,000 / $402,000 / 39%
    1906: $1,299,000 / $679,000 / $800,000 / -38%
    1908: $1,539,000 / $699,000 / $897,000 / -42%
    1910: $919,000 / $429,000 / $582,000 / -37%
    1912: $1,069,000 / $399,000 / $681,000 / -36%
    2200: $1,302,000 / $899,000 / No bids made.

    Courtesy of Ryan Frank, real estate reporter at The Oregonian
    http://blog.oregonlive.com/frontporch/2009/09/atwater_place_sunday_auction_r.html

    Sep 23 | Registered CommenterKathy Quick

    My analysis of the sale results:

    Because most condo buildings don't offer a parking place for each bedroom the value of the parking places needs to be backed out of this offering but added in when estimating the market value of a particular unit, for my analysis I used $20,000 as the value of a secure parking place. My next adjustment was for the value of Premium Finishes which I arbitrarily set at $40,000.

    Total sales: $19,160,000
    Sq footage sold: 63,251
    Parking spots sold: 67
    Premium finishes: 13 (out of 40 units)

    Result: $274 per sq foot standard finish without parking

    Weakness:
    The offering had two holes, floor wise, in the building and doubtless some units had more attractive views than others.

    This blends in one bedroom vs larger units per sq foot. It costs more to build one bedroom units on a sq footage basis as there is a higher % of expensive space.. kitchen and bathrooms.

    This ignores both location and design in what people are willing to spend.

    This ignores the fact that quick closing is required.

    Will this valuation bleed to other buildings and if so which ones?

    Does anyone have information on the REDC auction of Meriwether 6#11 on 9/20? (there is a buyer's premium of 5% on REDC sales)

    Sep 24 | Unregistered CommenterNell

    Hi Nell,

    Thanks for your comment. I'm going to need to soak on your analysis a bit (I have my head in some other stuff right now). But thanks for working the numbers ... thought provoking.

    Sep 24 | Registered CommenterKathy Quick

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