Galveston Condos Surprising Sellout At Packed Auction

Houston Business Journal, June 11, 2010
by Jennifer Dawson

A June 6 condo auction in Houston indicates Galveston property values are weathering the economic storm.

All 27 high-rise condominiums in Palisade Palms offered for sale at auction were snapped up. (See “Condo units go on auction block to measure island property prices,” May 14.)

The Falcon Group took this novel approach to move unsold inventory and establish what units are currently worth in the two-tower, 288-unit property.

Units with two to four bedrooms ranging in size from 1,044 square feet to 2,767 square feet that were previously priced from $299,000 to $1.35 million carried an auction starting price of $125,000 to $375,000.

The average unit sales price of $489,801 was higher than Falcon Group anticipated, according to auctioneer Kennedy Wilson Group Inc.

The auction in the Omni Houston Galleria hotel at 4 Riverway attracted a standing-room crowd of more than 600 people, Kennedy Wilson reports.

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