Iconic Boston Condo To Hold Auction

Boston-based Longwood Towers has been an iconic luxury residence since the 1920's, over the years being called home for many celebrities including baseball star Babe Ruth.

An auction will be held on April 4 to sell off 40 units on one of the three towers. Opening bids on the properties will open almost 60 percent below previous asking prices.

The deep discounts are being offered in efforts to reduce inventory held by the property management as most if not all of the units are expected to sell in the two hour auction. Prices on the luxury condos will range from $199,000 for studio apartments up to $860,000 for three bedroom units. Upscale amenities in the building include a concierge, doorman and breathtaking views of Boston's downtown area.

Accelerated Marketing Partners is in charge of the auction, with its chief executive of the East Coast office Jon Gollinger taking the lead. Gollinger says that the auction will uncover the actual market value of the condos as Boston condo sales have dropped by 16 percent since last year.

The Longwood Towers complex is situated on four acres and was purchased in 2005 for $105 million with a $30 million renovation on the books at the time. However, the mortgage holder IStar Financial took ownership of the property last year after renovation costs proved too expensive for them to undertake. Now with IStar Financial at the helm, upgrades have been taking place; however, only 78 of the 249 units have been sold to date.

Some local homeowners and real estate brokers are not very pleased with the upcoming property auction as they believe the auction will drive prices at the complex down further than they already are, which would negatively affect the appraisals of the current resident's units. On the other hand, other residences would rather see the company sell the existing units- even at a deep discount- than seeing the company go broke.

Gollinger defends Longwood's actions by pointing out the fact that the auction has the potential to sell 40 vacant units in one day amidst a market with poor sales numbers.

Residents have mixed emotions around the property auction, including an owner of a two bedroom unit that he purchased for $1.3 million just last summer. That owner says that he understands that the current real estate market calls for drastic measures such as the dramatic reduction in unit prices at the complex, and expects prices to rise once again in the years to come.

Building executives expect some complaints regarding their decision to hold an auction, but expects most residents to be pleased to see the vacant units occupied rather than sitting empty.