Another Manhattan luxury unit to be auctioned

It first went on the market in February of 2007. The price: $1.5 million

On Nov. 15 last year, the price was reduced to $1.149 million, and it was cut again, to $995,000, last February. The one-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath unit on Central Park South went under contract a couple of weeks later, but the deal fell apart within days.

Then, the 1,026-square apartment in a white-glove building was taken off the market in October.

Now Apartment 8C at 110 Central Park South, which is being sold furnished can be yours at an auction on Dec. 17.

My client just lost a bidding ‘war’

What, after all, is a bidding war but a form of auction?  Yet buyers are terrified of them, and many won’t consider making an offer on a property that already has attracted at least one other.

When you think about competing offers, they are arguably the most accurate indicator of market value.  Among numerous exceptions are those in which one of the bidders has a particular motivation – e.g. if his or her mother lives in the building.

But if someone is bidding only because the place is particularly appealing after a search, then the fair price almost invariably prevails.  The market is the market.

Consider the tribulations of my buyer in his attempt to purchase the apartment pictured below.

Lots of charm from a high first floor make this unit appealing.

My client – call him Dave – saw the place a week ago during a crowded open house.