Malden condos go on the block
In another sign of a slumping housing market, some condos in Malden are set to go on the auction block tomorrow.
According to the marketing company for the Residences at the Stone Gables, the 28 units set for auction can be described by adjectives rarely heard together in the local real estate market: The condos are both "luxury" and "entry-level."
Stone Gables is the redevelopment of an elementary school in Malden, but the auction will be held at the Sheraton Colonial Center in Lynnfield.
The condos up for auction are valued at between $249,000 and $419,000, Sue Hawkes, managing partner of TCC, the project's marketing firm, said in a statement, and minimum bids will range from $170,000 to $$255,000.
"Recent residential auctions at sites including Folio in Boston have focused on high-end luxury urban condos and retirement communities," Hawkes said in her statement. "But this is the first time we've offered entry-level homes at auction."
Auctions have become more popular as the supply of homes for sale has increased.
The number of condos up for sale statewide was up 13.7 percent from 14,581 units in December 2005 to 16,581 in December 2006, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported recently.
Still, while prices for single-family homes in December fell 5.4 percent, the median selling price for a condo in December was $270,000, up 1.9 percent from the same month a year ago, the realtors group said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
