In an effort to boost occupancy at The Alameda, units sold at an auction
Some buyers had a look of stunned pleasure as they became owners of new Santa Fe condominiums Sunday.
“We totally didn’t expect this. We thought there would be a million more people,” said Grace Agnew, as she and Marty Dobyns waited on final paperwork for a 645-square-foot unit they bought partly as an investment, but mostly as a home for their 22-year-old son.
Trish Parker and Ben Coffey, a young couple who moved to Santa Fe less than a year ago, downplayed their chances of a winning bid before the auction started, noting that only 20 condos were on the sales list when they took their seats. “We didn’t have a real good shot to begin with, because there’s a bunch of Realtors here,” Coffey said, but the two walked away with an 874-square-foot unit for less than $150,000.
What turned out to be a pleasant surprise for these two local couples was a stark reflection of the current downturn in home sales, both locally and nationally. With a total of 145 units built and only about 30 already sold, The Alameda condominium development on Vegas Verdes Drive on Santa Fe’s south side was looking for more residents.
Deborah Olson, an agent with Barker Realty, which has been handling sales of the condos, stressed that the auction was not a bank-forced sale. “They’re trying to get the occupancy up, get some momentum going,” she said. The Alameda is a project of MKaplan Cos., a developer based in Houston.
As she went over the listings with Karen Wolfe-Mattison, a fellow real estate agent and developer considering buying a unit for a rental, Olson praised the amenities. “There are the movie theaters nearby... and a drive-up Starbucks,” she said.
Although 45 units were advertised for the auction, bidders got a list of only 20 properties in the order they’d be going up for bid. Those listed units were the ones that prospective bidders had registered as their choices, according to Rhett Winchell, president of Kennedy Wilson Auction Group, the California-based company that handled the auction. Of those, five were withdrawn during the sale because no one offered the minimum bid.
As the list dwindled, though, Winchell worked the audience, conferring with unsuccessful bidders on what size unit they were looking for. As a result, an additional 10 were added to the list and auctioned off.
That’s how Parker and Coffey got their purchase. “We’re looking for affordable housing in Santa Fe,” said Coffey, who moved here for a job with Bicycle Technologies International, a bicycle and bicycle parts distributor. Parker, a schoolteacher, said the two have been renting and wanted to buy. “They’re definitely first-class. They’re beautiful,” she said of the condos.
Lorraine Pacheco, a Santa Fe resident, was at the auction with her brother-in-law. “They’ve wanted a place here forever,” she said, adding that her sister and husband live in California and have a second home at Lake Havasu. She seemed to have some hope, though, that they’d end up making Santa Fe a more permanent home.
“I have two salons at the Kingston retirement home,” she said, noting that it’s just across Arroyo Chamisa from The Alameda. “I could go have lunch there.”
And, she added with a twinkle in her eye, “I need a work-out room.” The Alameda has a heated pool and fitness center.
Her relatives walked away with the fourth condo sold, a 1,171-square-foot unit.
The units ranged from 645 to 1,275 square feet, with original list prices from $199,900 to $310,605. Minimum bids were set from $120,000 to $199,000. Many of the units sold for less than $10,000 above the minimum, with contested bidding for only a few of the more popular units rising $20,000 to $30,000 over the opening bid.
It was all over within an hour, with senior auctioneer Dean Cullum keeping a fast pace. “It went OK,” he said afterward. “People set the market.”
He said he grew up in the auction business and has a lot of experience in keeping the patter going without a trip of the tongue. He did allow, though, that Santa Fe’s altitude and dry air did present a little extra challenge, met with a couple of sips of lemonade during the auction.
“I hydrated before starting up,” he added.
