Half a million dollar unit auctioned for only $136,000
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A Calgary auction brought national attention to Invermere last week as all but two of the 40 units on Lake Windermere were sold.
The auction was held by the developers, Lake Windermere Pointe (LWP) Developments, as a means of reducing its debt after a very slow year for the real estate market. And it did just that; $8 million worth to be more precise.
Buyers were found for 33 of the properties within two hours.
The units sold for less than LWP had hoped but that meant buyers got good deals said Randy Klapstein, CEO of Pointe of View Developments, the parent company of LWP.
The lowest price for a unit was $136,000, well below the original listing price of half a million dollars. The average prices for the units ended up closer to $215 a square foot and both the developers and the auctioneers, Kennedy Wilson Auction Group (KWAG), are calling the American-style auction a success.
According to Rhett Winchell, president of KWAG, the method of selling has been a successful way of approaching today’s difficult housing market and allowing for a win-win situation for both buyers and sellers. Prior to the auction, LWP partner Doug McIntosh fended off speculations that the company was doing poorly and this was a last-ditch effort.
“Yes, there are a couple of other projects that are in trouble,” said McIntosh referring to other Pointe of View developments that have made the news in the past year. But he held firm that LWP was not affected by those other projects.
“This project is not a problem,” said McIntosh.
In fact, he said that the auction would offer a glimpse of the housing market as a whole in the valley.
“This sales activity will give us a barometer and possibly give the valley a barometer on the interest in the Windermere Valley,” he said.
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