A recent reappraisal placed the land’s value at $95 million, a steep drop from the previous assessment of $130 million. The first appraisal came during the height of the real-estate boom, said deputy state land commissioner Jamie Hogue.
And like any bottom-line business, developers weren’t interested in buying property at the market’s peak. Tempebased SunCor Development, for one, said it would only consider buying it if the price was slashed 40 percent.
The new appraisal may now be more in tune with the market, but it’s still $17 million more …

Ghost bidding, or manufacturing bids to get a higher price for a property is widespread in the auctioneering business, it was alleged last night on RTÉ’s Prime Time programme.
Two anonymous contributors to the programme – both former estate agents – said it is common practice for auctioneers to “bid up” a property to the price they think a buyer can afford, even if there is no competition for the property.
The programme also claimed that auctioneers will often sell a property below its asking price simply to improve turnover; that they …

The city will turn to Internet auctions to sell its extra land, a lucrative alternative to the old ways of either requesting offers from developers or just sitting at a table and hashing out a deal.
Selling land online is a new idea for governments in Palm Beach County, city finance officials say.
“As far as I know, we’re going to be the first,” said Nora Laudermilk, the city’s procurement official. “I just thought it would be the best way to get the maximum price.”
The city-turned-auctioneer technique promises to drive already high …

Only 48 per cent of the properties offered for auction in Sydney on the weekend were sold.
This puts Sydney’s auction results in line with the national clearance rates, which have decreased in recent months. However, the median price was $615,500 compared to a median of $570,000 three months ago.
Slightly over a third of the 324 properties were sold at auction, ranging from a $171,000 house in Tregear in the western suburbs to a $6.8m house in Vaucluse.

Press Release
This past 18 months has seen the commercial and industrial property market in South Africa transform into a sellers market with unprecedented interest being shown from the investor public. The C and I Market is an abbreviation for the Commercial and Industrial market and includes all investment property within these 2 sectors, either for rental return or for owner use.
‘One can attribute the revival in interest in this sector to numerous factors- said Alon Kowen, Managing Director of Auction Alliance. Besides the positivity in the economy, the retail …

The value of properties that were sold at auctions this year hit its highest level in seven years.
According to property consultant Knight Frank, some S$320 million worth of properties changed hands at auctions in 2006.
This was the highest since the last market peak in 1999.
All in, for the whole year, about 175 properties were sold at auctions – up from 163 in 2005.
Altogether some 1,838 properties were put up for auction – some 24 percent less compared to last year.

In the auction of 38 plots located at Dugri Phase 1 and 2, Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) today earned a profit of 22 per cent.
About 40 bidders took part in the auction held at the PUDA office. Against the reserve price of Rs 6.48 crore, the department earned a profit of Rs 7.98 crore. The plot size ranged from 100 square yards to 500 square yards. The reserve price was fixed at Rs 12,00-13,700 per square yard, depending on the plot size.
PUDA Estate Officer Jeet Ram said the maximum …

A 7,353 square meter luxury residential site at the Peak in Hong Kong fetched 1.8 billion HK dollars (231 million U.S. dollars) during a public land auction in Hong Kong on Tuesday, setting a new record price per square foot for land in the city.
The final price for the 79,148 square foot site is equivalent to an accommodation value of 42,196 HK dollars (5,400 U.S. dollars) per square foot, scratching the previous record of a land site at South Bay Road near the luxury residences-rallied Repulse Bay in 1997.
The site …

Press Release
A custom-built two-story beachfront condominium in Orange Beach sold for $1,017,500 Saturday, Dec. 16, with J.P. King Auction Company managing the sale.
More than 35 people – including six registered bidders – gathered at the Perdido Beach resort for the auction, listening to live music and enjoying hors d’ oeuvres as the auction hour approached.
Purchasing the condominium was Jim Hubbard, of Crestview Properties LLC, of Birmingham, Ala.
“People keep saying it’s difficult to sell real estate along the gulf coast, but we continue to find that using the auction method for …

Mazad, the auction house of Dubai Properties, raised over Dh250 million ($68 million) within the first hour for 11 select DP lots during its third public sale, which took place on the last day of Cityscape 2006.
The auction was attended by 200 investors from the UAE and across the region.
Dubai Properties sold exclusive residential and commercial units as well as lands in a number of Dubai Properties projects, including Culture Village and The Executive Towers at Business Bay.
Shahab Lutfi, director of business development said: “We are delighted with the outcome …