Downtown condos to be auctioned

[llkltk]

Plus, there is no guarantee that these condos will sell that low at auction. An auction is meant to get the highest bidder, and I'm sure their will be plenty of bidders showing up.

[atxcio]

I also don't think anything will go that low at auction.. that would be one heck of a deal if so. With today's mortgage rates, the payment on an $80K condo in the Brazos loft with 10% down would be $398/mo! Property taxes would be about $1800 per year. Not to mention the $8000 home credit. Don't know what the HOA in the building costs, but that would be ridiculously cheap for being within walking distance of Whole Foods, 6th street, Ladybird lake, etc...

[inthecut]

Well, we have simply a lack of access to financing.....i know, sounds like a Cool Hand Lukish "What we have here is a failure to communicate", but thats it......First the builder has to build, and then he has to pay off the construction loan....in the interim, his city may have overbuilt, or financing for his buyers may have tightened.....keep in mind that builders work on small margins, and have little skin in the game...take away the prior easy access to financing, and you have to project breakdowns like these......same for office and retail.......even fully leased, some builders cannot pay off their loans come due.......huge overhand of everything...residential and commercial......it should take at year a year or two for matters to realign.....AND, after that, you will not see the same rapidity of buildout in the past 5-7 years in the Austin metro, as well as all other formerly fast-growing sunbelt cities..Lenders of first and last resort will be more skitish, qualification ratios for buyers, builders, and sellers will be tougher, and things will all round be more conservative and pragmatic.....growth will continue in Austin, but more planned, realistic, and slower......

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by inthecut

Well, we have simply a lack of access to financing.....i know, sounds like a Cool Hand Lukish "What we have here is a failure to communicate", but thats it......First the builder has to build, and then he has to pay off the construction loan....in the interim, his city may have overbuilt, or financing for his buyers may have tightened.....keep in mind that builders work on small margins, and have little skin in the game...take away the prior easy access to financing, and you have to project breakdowns like these......same for office and retail.......even fully leased, some builders cannot pay off their loans come due.......huge overhand of everything...residential and commercial......it should take at year a year or two for matters to realign.....AND, after that, you will not see the same rapidity of buildout in the past 5-7 years in the Austin metro, as well as all other formerly fast-growing sunbelt cities..Lenders of first and last resort will be more skitish, qualification ratios for buyers, builders, and sellers will be tougher, and things will all round be more conservative and pragmatic.....growth will continue in Austin, but more planned, realistic, and slower......

I thought this project was already done. What does a lack of financing have to do with it all?

[twange]

Originally Posted by Jennibc

I thought this project was already done. What does a lack of financing have to do with it all?

This project has been done for about a year. After a little research, I think part of the problem is the units themselves. The building was originally built in 1948, everything has been refurbished and actually seems very nice. It's not a highrise but sort of just blends into the neighborhood. Plus, Brazos is getting a very nice makeover starting this year so I think there will be more to walk to in the general area.

The problem(in terms of luxury condo expectations) is that there is no pool/clubroom, on-site parking(you do get a covered space but valet is needed) or freight elevator. It does have a rec center but no pictures were provided on the website. In other larger cities, these might not be major negatives but here, I think folks expect everything for that kind of many. And I suppose they should.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm laying out cash like that, I want all the fixins'.

[jobert]

has anyone been in these condos? It's a refurbished old building with 8 ft ceilings and exposed ductwork in the hall. They are claustrophobic, with small floor plans and it is no wonder people will not purchase them if they have other options. These condos would only be appealing to those who are nostalgic and/or midgets.

[dguild]

I know it's not in Austin, but this company did a similar auction in Seattle recently for some condos built out of an old high school, deeply discounted from the previous asking price.

Queen Anne High School condo auction*|*The Seattle Condo Blog

Could give an idea of what to expect. Somebody posted the results in the comments of that article. Everything was bid up a good bit from the minimum bid. (Penthouse was bid up the least) Here's a direct link

http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/ima...on_Results.pdf

[inthecut]

Seriously, its a reflection of the tighened loan standards.....and those who still are willing and able are more picky about what they purchase...and will walk if they sound as bad as jobert is saying...on the other hand, if loans were as readily obtainable as in the past, these(brazos) would surely have been snapped up per location/investments......

Simply a sign of the financial times....

[AustinExPat]

Originally Posted by jobert

has anyone been in these condos? It's a refurbished old building with 8 ft ceilings and exposed ductwork in the hall. They are claustrophobic, with small floor plans and it is no wonder people will not purchase them if they have other options. These condos would only be appealing to those who are nostalgic and/or midgets.

I looked at them last summer when I was shopping for a downtown condo. I wasn't impressed. The interior finishes were nice, and a small floor plan was what I wanted, but the amenities were disappointing and the location not that great. The lobby still looks like the lobby of an office building, which is what it was in its second incarnation. At least they could have restored the lobby to something like the way it would have looked when it was the Commodore Perry Hotel. (I didn't see it back then, but nothing about the new lobby says "hotel".)

[killer2021]

Originally Posted by AustinGuy

20 units isn't a ton of inventory to clear, so this auction may generate some solid interest.

You do realize that fire sale foreclosures make all the other housing values plummet in the area right? The price of sale at the auction shows what buyers are willing to pay at that present time. If the price is lower than the surrounding area other sellers and buyers will see this and lower their prices.