Auctioning a property is one of the options that the real estate market for luxury properties is opting for. In the United States, auctioning a luxury home has been normal for years. This method is being implemented in Europe in recent years, as this is a comfortable, effective and above all private formula to buy and sell this type of property.
Mr. Hans Veenhuijsen brought the renowned luxury real estate agency Christie’s International Real Estate to the Netherlands and currently has a Christie’s International Real Estate agency in Marbella, on the most luxurious and exclusive coast of southern Europe: the Costa del Sol. Representing currently in Europe, through the company Hidde-James.com, the famous American auction house for luxury properties Concierge Auctions, considers the trust that its clients place in the company as a fundamental aspect of its success.
A luxury property auction system that Concierge Auctions conducts through its reliable international database, which has more than 650,000 millionaire clients and 275 billionaires, in addition to all holders of unlimited credit cards, such as American Express Centurion ‘Black’ cards. To be part of this company it is necessary to have a high economic capacity, since a deposit of € 100,000 is required to participate in any auction. This money will be refunded if the sale does not take place. The market value of a property that wants to be auctioned cannot be less than one million euros, establishing the sale price between 2.5 and 40 million euros.
The confidence of the clients towards the information provided by the company is such that sixty percent of the buyers would acquire one of its properties without having previously visited it.
To illustrate this trust in the company, Mr. Veenhuijsen, representative of Hidde-James.com, gives as an example a North American client who recently bought a luxury villa in Marbella for 11 million euros without prior visit to the property.
The auction becomes the most efficient and fair sale method since the real value is established by the market, although it is not always the one that the seller wants. You may want to sell a property for a high asking price, spending a lot of time for sale and causing doubts to the seller. To avoid this and make the sale within the first six weeks, a fact guaranteed by Concierge Auctions and Hidde-James, the asking price is set as the minimum for which the seller wishes to sell the property, going up from there.
Another example that perfectly illustrates this situation takes us to Gstaad, Switzerland: The luxury villa in the photograph was found for sale at a price of 14 million euros for four years, to no avail. Concierge Auctions took control of this operation and, as the seller set a minimum sale price of 7.9 million euros, the property was sold by the company in just a few weeks for 9.5 million euros.
These auction sales have been very well received by large property owners. Millionaires, billionaires and stars like Michael Jordan or the Kardashians have found in this formula a very private, fast and secure way to sell their properties.
The most expensive property that has ever been auctioned is in Florida, specifically in Hillsboro Beach, going up for auction for an initial amount of 159 million euros. Its owner commented after the sale that he had been pleased with the result of the auction and with the working method of Concierge Auctions, since they have the best organization in the world for the sales of luxury properties.
However, not all properties can choose to be listed at an international auction. To do so, they must have a number of unique characteristics, such as an excellent location and sufficient appeal to attract the attention of international customers. Luxury properties auctioned by Concierge Auctions and Hidde-James as their European agency, are not common. Among its exclusive portfolio you can find from a villa with its own abbey, declared a national monument in Italy; an old Palazzo on the canals of Venice, an estate on a cliff in Mallorca or an exclusive villa in Marbella with the original Picasso signature on its pool.
These are some examples that can be found in the international auctions organized by the company, with areas such as London, Brussels, Saint-Moritz, Marbella, the canals of Amsterdam, Ibiza, Zurich or Monaco being the most desired.
