The auctioneer strikes again
Another arguably ill-conceived luxury condo complex is hitting the auction block.
This time the address is 20 South Ave., a stylish mid-rise sandwiched between the Natick center commuter stop on one side and the rear of the police and fire stations – complete with parking lot views galore – on the other.
It’s a project I am somewhat familiar with. I live half a mile away in a fixer-upper village colonial that cost less than half what 20 South’s developers at one time hoped to get from prospective buyers.
I also cited the project in a story I wrote for the Globe last January about condo developers who were plunging ahead, despite the economic hard times.
At that time, the project’s builder had already abandoned hopes of selling his units for more than $600,000 and was looking farther down the price scale.
It is just the latest such condo auction locally, a tactic to move units in a still slow market that is slowly picking up speed, both in downtown Boston and the suburbs.
The Nouvelle, a downtown Boston condo high-rise built at the Natick Collection, recently auctioned off 42 of its 215 units. One unit literally came with a $1 million-plus discount, selling at $570,000, down from the original, $1.6 million selling price.
It’s not clear yet what the pricing will be for the 20 South auction. In a twist, two units will be sold for whatever the high bid happens to be, with no minimum.
But it’s shaping up to be another example of a bubble-era condo project gone south.
