SpongeG
08-02-2007, 05:18 AM
By JASON RONALD
Observer Reporter
Aug 01 2007
An entire subdivision sold to the highest bidders at an unreserved public auction in Surrey and simulcast in Quesnel Thursday.
The lots were sold by Richie Bros. Auctioneers on behalf of Keldon Ratzlaff of Hardwood Homes.
Thirty-eight lots sold to people throughout B.C., a buyer in Australia, another in the Netherlands and more were left wanting.
“There were a lot of people who left disappointed because they weren’t able to get a lot,” Kieran Holm, area manager of real estate auction division with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, said.
There were 29 buyers in total, 16 were in Vancouver and they bought 23 lots, the nine buyers in Quesnel bought 11 lots, the Australian buyer bought two lots, as did the one from the Netherlands.
The lots sold in 45 minutes – some people bought two lots, others three lots, Holm said.
He added the buyers from the Netherlands was very excited about their purchase.
According to Holm, typically outside markets recognize an undervalued market.
“Outside market says, ‘wow, that’s a great price,’ and they are the ones who start to accelerate the [re-evaluation] process,” Holm said.
The same thing happened in Kelowna and Calgary, he added.
Holm said many builders were interested in the lots, but the prices were too high for them.
The average price of the lots was $27,500, the high was $45,000 and the low was $24,000.
According to Dorothy Friesen, executive officer of B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, the average price of lots in Quesnel this year is $39,500.
Real estate appraiser Gene Andres, from North Cariboo Appraisals, assessed the properties for the auction.
He said it was a good thing all the lots sold, but they didn’t sell high enough to be profitable for the developer.
“They didn’t sell below what I would have expected,” Andres said.
He doesn’t think it will affect Quesnel’s real estate market in the future, partly because it is an unusual way of selling.
Andres added if the developer would have sold them individually it could have taken a few years and that would add to holding costs.
Holm said real estate is the fastest growing category in auction, which is a different model of buying homes, but it is gaining acceptance with both buyers and sellers.
http://www.quesnelobserver.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=27&cat=23&id=1036769&more=0
Observer Reporter
Aug 01 2007
An entire subdivision sold to the highest bidders at an unreserved public auction in Surrey and simulcast in Quesnel Thursday.
The lots were sold by Richie Bros. Auctioneers on behalf of Keldon Ratzlaff of Hardwood Homes.
Thirty-eight lots sold to people throughout B.C., a buyer in Australia, another in the Netherlands and more were left wanting.
“There were a lot of people who left disappointed because they weren’t able to get a lot,” Kieran Holm, area manager of real estate auction division with Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, said.
There were 29 buyers in total, 16 were in Vancouver and they bought 23 lots, the nine buyers in Quesnel bought 11 lots, the Australian buyer bought two lots, as did the one from the Netherlands.
The lots sold in 45 minutes – some people bought two lots, others three lots, Holm said.
He added the buyers from the Netherlands was very excited about their purchase.
According to Holm, typically outside markets recognize an undervalued market.
“Outside market says, ‘wow, that’s a great price,’ and they are the ones who start to accelerate the [re-evaluation] process,” Holm said.
The same thing happened in Kelowna and Calgary, he added.
Holm said many builders were interested in the lots, but the prices were too high for them.
The average price of the lots was $27,500, the high was $45,000 and the low was $24,000.
According to Dorothy Friesen, executive officer of B.C. Northern Real Estate Board, the average price of lots in Quesnel this year is $39,500.
Real estate appraiser Gene Andres, from North Cariboo Appraisals, assessed the properties for the auction.
He said it was a good thing all the lots sold, but they didn’t sell high enough to be profitable for the developer.
“They didn’t sell below what I would have expected,” Andres said.
He doesn’t think it will affect Quesnel’s real estate market in the future, partly because it is an unusual way of selling.
Andres added if the developer would have sold them individually it could have taken a few years and that would add to holding costs.
Holm said real estate is the fastest growing category in auction, which is a different model of buying homes, but it is gaining acceptance with both buyers and sellers.
http://www.quesnelobserver.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=27&cat=23&id=1036769&more=0
