Luxury real estate auctions increase as vehicle for selling local properties
<p>Endless Sky Estate on 20 acres on Lion Mountain near Whitefish will be auctioned by Concierge Auctions of New York City on Tuesday. The home has been for sale for $11.3 million since it was built in 2005.</p>
New York City-based Concierge Auctions will take local auctions to a new level on Tuesday when Endless Sky Estate in Whitefish sells to the highest bidder in an event that promises to be as sophisticated and luxurious as the home itself.
The 10,200-square-foot home on 20 acres of Lion Mountain property was built for the owner by Martel Construction on speculation in 2005 and was listed for $11.3 million.
The house has views of Whitefish Lake, Whitefish Mountain Resort and mountains beyond, with 2,000 square feet of deck from which to enjoy the vista.
The home is built of Douglas fir timbers and local stone, with custom features such as an 860-bottle wine cellar, a home theater, a library with a fireplace, and outdoor spa.
Though the property is eight years old and has been vacant since construction, “it looks brand new,” Glacier Sotheby’s International Realty listing agent Lorri Nelson said. “It’s been meticulously maintained.”
Home auctions such as those conducted by Concierge Auctions are not usually held because the owner is under financial duress or in foreclosure, Laura Brady, Concierge Auctions president, said.
“Most of our sellers are in a positive equity position,” she said. “They just have other opportunities they want to move on to — time is usually the biggest factor with our sellers.
“When we first started in 2008, the seller profile was slightly different. A lot were in a stressful position. Times have changed since the economy adjusted. Now sellers are choosing to sell at auction in hopes of accomplishing timeline goals.”
Auctions in luxury real estate are a growing trend, Brady said.
“Auctions have been going on forever with other items — fine art, antiquities. In that realm, we’re selling unique, one-of-a-kind properties.”
Whether the buyer or the seller will secure the best deal in an auction is anyone’s guess until the final bid is confirmed, Brady said.
“The sellers understand that and are willing to take price away in order to have the property sold and move on,” Brady said. “This [Endless Sky Estate] is an amazing property, and we’re confident it will bring a fair price.”
Brady said the number of bidders in similar auctions is usually anywhere from five to 10, but the number for this auction wasn’t known until Saturday when the registration closed. Potential bidders had to put down $100,000, which was placed in escrow, in order to participate.
The auction will be conducted both in person and by phone. Brady said high-end property sales are usually leisurely affairs lacking the frantic bidding or frenzied pace generally associated with auctions.
“These are big purchases for the buyer, so we try to make it a sophisticated-type execution,” Brady said. “Everyone is comfortable, everyone has time to confer so the buyers should not be nervous about participating.”
This will be the second auction conducted by Concierge Auctions in Whitefish. A home on 3.5 acres on Whitefish Lake went for $2.48 million on Aug. 6, 2010, also in cooperation with the Glacier Sotheby’s office. There were eight registered bidders for that auction.
“It was really neat,” Brady said of the auction. “We had a white tent set up overlooking the lake, great attendance, great food. It was an idyllic day in Whitefish.”
Nelson was also at the 2010 auction, for which Endless Sky co-lister JoBeth Blair was the listing agent. Nelson echoed Brady’s assessment of the process.
“They didn’t pressure anyone,” she said. “If they needed time to make a phone call or confer, they would stop the auction and give them the time they needed. It was a very relaxed atmosphere.”
In June, another auction company, Grand Estates of Charlotte, N.C., sold a 6,300-square-foot home on 20 acres near Whitefish in the gated Elkhorn community. Seven bidders participated in that auction; the final sales price was undisclosed, though local real estate agents confirmed that the home secured the highest sales price in the Elkhorn subdivision in five years. Bill Milner of Clearwater Montana Properties was the local agent.
The luxury real estate market is rebounding, but slowly, Nelson said. She is seeing renewed interest in upper-end homes, with two high-end homes under contract recently — a $5.5 million lake home in Whitefish and a home in Elk Highlands for just under $3 million.
“The things that attract buyers are still here, and buyers are more comfortable with where the market is at,” Nelson said.
She said there were several showings of Endless Sky Estate, but prospective buyers chose other properties.
“Going through the auction process puts the focus 100 percent on this home,” she said. “That’s part of the appeal.”
For more information on Endless Sky Estate, visit www.whitefishluxuryauction.com or www.conciergeauctions.com.
Business reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.