Singer Island is also close to trendy restaurants, cultural attractions, countless golf courses, entertainment and world-class shopping. Clematis Street, CityPlace with its European-inspired outdoor shopping area, infamous Worth Avenue designer shops, 150-store The Gardens Mall and brand new Downtown at the Gardens are all within a few minutes drive. The airport is just 20 minutes away and the islands of the Bahamas are easily reachable by boat or plane in just one hour. Miami’s trendy South Beach and Fort Lauderdale are also about an hour away. Singer Island’s location is also ideal for business.

For the golfer, Palm Beach County is home to more than 140 golf courses. Just minutes from Singer Island, you will find an 18-hole Greg Norman Golf Signature Course at Jupiter Country Club and an Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course at Frenchman’s Reserve. With the year-round temperate climate, Palm Beach County has an incredible reputation for being a premier golf destination.

Now’s the time to bid on one of two Presidential Suites at Starwood’s Resort at Singer Island!

Visit www.BeachResortCondoAuction.com for more information.

Because now is the time to leverage a vacation home buyer’s market in Florida! Singer Island is a tropical paradise. The Island is accessed by a bridge from the mainland. Singer Island has beautiful parks, marinas, hiking and bike paths. The aquamarine waters brought on by the Gulf Stream make Singer Island a water lovers paradise. Nearby are internationally acclaimed golf courses, a Tennis Center and Roger Dean Stadium. Singer Island is also close to shopping and entertainment at historic Clematis Street, CityPlace, Worth Avenue and the Palm Beach Gardens Mall. The island’s weekly art festivals and the Kravis Center’s first-class performances all add to the charm of living in the Palm Beaches most sought after enclave.

Check out this outstanding Resort at Singer Island Starwood Hotel Condominium auction today at:

www.BeachResortCondoAuction.com for more details.

The first record of a settlement on Singer Island dates back to 1906 with Inlet City. Inlet City was a spontaneous community of fishermen and squatters, most of whom came from nearby Riviera Beach and the Bahamas. Fishermen were attracted to the island as a place to dry the cotton nets that they used in those days, and for its proximity to the fertile Gulf Stream (the waters of the Gulf Stream are closer to land on Singer Island than any other place in North America!).

Singer Island was named for Paris Eugene Singer, the famous developer of Palm Beach and 23rd child of Isaac Singer, the sewing machine magnate (Paris also fathered a son with legendary dancer Isadora Duncan in 1910*). In 1920, he visited Palm Beach and met Addison Mizner. He agreed to pay the architect a $6,000 a year retainer for life if his work was confined exclusively to the Palm Beach area. With Mizner, he created the Palm Beach we know today with its Spanish architecture, picturesque streets and exclusive shops. Singer often took his friends on picnics to the beautiful island directly north of Palm Beach. In anticipation of the Florida real estate boom, he and Mizner planned to develop a luxurious resort (the Paris Singer Hotel) on the south end of the island and a modest hotel (the Blue Heron) on the north end with a 36 hole golf course between the two structures.
The estimated price was four million dollars – a fantastic amount in those years. Mizner was to design the hotels, but it is said Singer was so eager to start, construction of the Blue Heron was begun before the drawings were started. The opening date was set for 1926. The hotel’s service wing was the first and the last to be completed. Singer’s original plan was to finance the building from the sale of lots throughout the island. The Florida land boom was already slowing down in 1925, and the combination of 1928 hurricane and 1929 stock market crash dealt a mortal blow to Singer’s finances. The shell of the Blue Heron remained for 14 years, until Paris Singer’s dream finally came to an end when the the abandoned, incomplete hotel was razed in 1940 (the Hilton Hotel stands there now).

In 1940, the City of Riviera purchased 1,000 feet of beach on the Island for $40,000. This led to the growth of tourism in Riviera and eventual incorporation of the island north of Palm Beach Shores. In 1941, the city of Riviera changed its name to Riviera Beach. The Town of Palm Beach Shores was developed in 1947 when A. O. Edwards, a railroad and hotel tycoon, bought 240 acres on Singer Island for $240,000 and invested $500,000 in improvements. He laid out a city plan with parks, walkways and roadways (Palm Beach Shores’ northern boundary originally extended 300 ft. north of Blue Heron Boulevard). In 1948 Edwards built the Inlet Court Hotel which was later renamed The Colonnades. A year later the wooden Sherman’s Point Bridge was replaced with a steel and concrete two lane structure with a drawbridge which permitted passage through the Intracoastal Waterway. The first Sebring style race was held on the island in 1950 and ended at the Colonnades. Edwards became the Singer Island’s first mayor in 1952. When he died in 1960, his estate sold the Colonnades Hotel to John D. MacArthur in 1963.

John D. MacArthur, born in poverty as the son of a preacher, became one of the greatest financiers of his day through the building of Chicago’s Banker’s Life and Casualty Insurance Company. By purchasing over 100,000 acres in this part of Palm Beach County, MacArthur became the largest landowner in the area. MacArthur ran his billion dollar empire from a booth in the Colonnades Hotel’s coffee shop. In 1976 he suffered a stroke and died 14 months later in the hotel. The hotel was razed in 1990 and the Marriott Corporation began construction of its time share resort, Marriott’s Ocean Pointe Resort, on the land.

MacArthur also owned many acres on the north end of Singer Island and he donated a large section of that land for a state park. The MacArthur Beach State Park opened in 1989 and his foundation provides funds to improve the facilities.

In the 1950′s Palm Beach County enjoyed tremendous growth and Singer Island evolved into a resort area of hotels and condominiums for winter residents. In 1952, Phil Foster Park was opened, named after one of Riviera Beach’s pioneer citizens. In 1976, to accommodate this growth and ease the access to the island, the two lane draw bridge was replaced with the current four lane Blue Heron Bridge.

SingerIsland.com was launched in 2000 and, as part of the Castello Cities Internet Network (CCIN), began promoting the island throughout the world through CCIN’s network of 117 city sites (PalmSprings.com, Acapulco.com, LagunaBeach.com, WestPalmBeach.com) as a premier South Florida destination. Today, Singer Island is experiencing unprecedented growth and practically all of its available real estate is under development.

*Paris Singer’s son was killed in an automobile accident in 1913.

See:  www.BeachResoryCondoAuction.com

Above article taken from singerisland.com
February 3, 2009

This spectacular Presidential Suite Condominium (one of two) is located on the 20th floor and offers unobstructed ocean views and is located in a Five Star Resort managed by Starwood Hotels. This resort is one of Palm Beach County’s premier beachfront resorts.

The suite has nearly 600 square feet of balconies that face the south side of Barrier Island offering matchless views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west

With 2,110 exquisitely finished Square feet under roof, this stunning 2 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath, hotel condo has an impressive living room that houses a full media room and dining area. The fully equipped kitchen is finished with granite countertops with backsplash, European cabinetry and an upgraded stainless steel appliance package. The suite has marble and wood floors, with the exception of the media room which has plush carpet and padded suede walls for beauty and sound retention. Located off the main living area are two master suites, both furnished for relaxation and comfort.

Both luxurious bathrooms are completed in marble with separate showers and tubs along with dual sinks with Kolher fixtures.

The Resort’s outstanding room service eagerly awaits your request whether it is morning coffee or hors d’oeuvres for an intimate gathering. The 24 hour fitness center has state-of-the-art equipment and an array of specialized services from personal trainers to Pilates and Yoga classes.

The 1st class spa allows you to experience the latest personal services including massages, facials and wraps in an exquisite atmosphere offering tranquility and grace without ever leaving home. There are also several Oceanside restaurants that offer fine wines and tantalizing delights, rich in style and taste along with poolside grills offering American Cruise and fresh fruit smoothies. The resort also offers two stunning, resort style pools complete with cabana services.

Register today at: www.AuctionBySeller.com to participate in the pending 5 Day Sale Condo Auction of this unique Singer Island Resort property and get a “Best Bidder” furniture included coupon with an estimated value of $50,000!

www.Beach Resort CondoAuction.com

Accepting online bids starting at $575,500
Home will be auctioned (5 Day Sale) February 22nd to the “Best Bidder”

Call Leslie at 301-536-2784 or email her at: deles@aol.com
(Pre-5 Day Sale rental discount available to registered bidders)

Please Note: Neither the bidders, nor the seller, are bound by any bid until this Singer Island Resort Hotel Condo is available for inspection, the auction is held, and both buyer and seller have contractually agreed to the terms of real estate sale.

What’s Right about the Real Estate Auctioning Business Model?

By:  Kyle Cascioli – AuctionBySeller.com

December 22, 2008

As a follow up to my earlier discussion about “What’s Wrong with the Real Estate Auction Business Model,” let’s talk about what the advantages are of pursuing this real estate sales property exit strategy. 

By definition, auctioning “best practices” produce market offers (prices) at specific (static) points in time (date).

In my earlier piece on “What’s Wrong with the Real Estate Auctioning Model?” I explained what I believe is wrong with the traditional property listing model.  In the traditional listing model, sellers typically overprice their property and passively wait for the market to engage them. National Association of Realtor studies consitantly report that over 80% of sellers dictate the listing price of their home to their agents prior to listing.  This implies that less than 20% of all real estate agents are either trusted regarding their pricing recommendation or disagree with their clients perception of value.  The apparent acquiesence of real estate professionals to sellers regarding the value of their homes (listing price) in the majority of cases is fine in a good market, but disasterous in a poor one.  This is even more exacerbated in this downcycle by the unprecedented (structural) economic events (Circa 2008), and those events debilitating effect on residential property values in both the short-term and foreseeable future.

This approach does neither the client nor agent any good as the property languishes on the market, as both client and agent chase the market down through price reductions in utter frustration (Circa 2008).  By the way, this traditional real estate listing pricing model is known as a “Dutch Auction,” an auction where the seller starts high and takes the first lower acceptable offer.

In my opinion, the biggest single advantage to the auctioning approach is    that it produces “true market” offers more quickly, regardless of market conditions.  The auctioning approach changes the dynamic of making an    offer to the favor of buyers.  Instead of a seller pricing a property high and challenging buyers to “make offers,” auctioning allows the seller to price low and empower buyers to challenge them (sellers) to “accept their offers.”  This is a dynamic that accomplishes two things.  One it creates a comfort zone for buyers to engage sellers directly and “make their best offers” for the property without feeling as though they are wasting their time or insulting the seller.  Two, auction methodology also intrigues and attracts the “fringe” buyer that is capable of purchasing but is perhaps not actively looking at properties (and likely not represented).

Fee structure aside, the auction model can increase the likelihood of a direct sale to an unrepresented buyer and potentially reduce transactions fees (commissions).  The auction process also compresses the property sales cycle, flattens the lines of communication between buyers and sellers, produces more qualified buyers than the traditional listing process, increases the sellers’ return on investment (ROI) on their advertising, and is a true indicator of a properties market value.

Let’s discuss these advantages individually.

First, the auction models “proactive” marketing approach targets the consumer directly in addition to the real estate brokerage community.  Whether it is that those who attend auctions are more likely to be direct buyers (unrepresented), the consumer targeted advertising campaign promoting the auction, the current resistance or the Realtor community to embrace the auctioning model as a legitimate sales mechanism, or a combination of all of the above, most bidders today are represented by agents (they have attorneys).  In these cases, the seller saves money on fees and can be more competitive on sales price.  Thus, another advantage to the auction/5 Day Sale model is that it is more likely to result in a direct sale.   

Second the auction process compresses the property sales cycle because the auction is held on a specific date.  The property is intended to be sold on that date, thus creating a sense of urgency for the interested buyers.  When compared with the traditional real estate “Dutch Auction” listing approach described above, the auction model generates a timely sale, which allows the seller to benefit by avoiding additional carrying costs, exposing themselves to increased market pricing risk, and a shrinking buyer pool, given our deteriorating national economy and tightening credit at the retail mortgage levels.

The theory of the “Time Value of Money” applies to real estate transactions as well as cash.  In a market such as ours (Circa2008) a sale today is worth more than a sale tomorrow for most sellers.

Third, the auction model – while relying upon the support and counsel of real estate/auctioning professionals – promotes direct dialogue between sellers and buyers.  This facilitates the constructive exchange of information (unfiltered by intermediaries), and the process is a more consumer friendly one from the buyers perspective.  This process also allows sellers to benefit by having “the market speak directly to them,” as bidders share what they like about the home, do not like, and what competitive properties they may be considering.  It’s one thing for the sellers’ agents to “debrief” clients after getting showing-feedback from a buyers’ agents on a showing they (sellers’ agents) often don’t attend, but it’s very illuminating for a seller to get direct feedback from buyers in real time.  Seller’s gain near perfect information regarding bidders’ interest, and often, a rapport develops between buyers and sellers during the inspection process that can be helpful when finalizing the terms of a sale.

Fourth, those attending auctions under formal auction models (where bidders are required to post “good funds” earnest monies to be eligible to bid), or less formal auction models such as the 5 Day Sale, those participating in real estate auctions are usually financially qualified and more likely to be all-cash buyers.

Fifth, when run correctly the auction model is the best real indicator of a given properties true “market value” at a given point.  Appraisals, comparative market analyses, brokers’ opinions of values, they are all “well-informed guesses” based on historic sales data and a given real estate professional’s market perceptions and value opinions.  The auction model identifies a pool of buyers at a specific date (static point in time) and then facilitates their (buyers) ability to compete for the subject property.

Sixth, the auction format increases seller’s return on investment (ROI) on his/her advertising dollar.  In a soft market, all properties become commodities (with many substitutes) and a seller’s given real estate ad that advertises prices near or above the market gets lost in the crowd of similar real estate offerings, regardless of advertising medium (print, online, etc.).  The fact that the auction format begins with a significant “discount-to-market” via “starting bid price” distinuishes the property from all of its competitors, garners viewing, gets clipped by potential buyers, has increased shelf-life, and is therefore more effective in generating market interest.  If the advertising is more effective in generating above market interest based on pricing, then the return on investment (ROI) is greater than traditional real estate advertising with offerings priced at or above market.

In closing, anyone considering pursuing an auction or 5 Day Sale strategy for his/her home should weigh the “cost-benefit” of conducting that sale, given both the price point of his/her  property and price expectations.

For more information on our auctioning and 5 Day Sale online real estate auction platform resources, expertise, and consulting, visit our websites at:

www.AuctionBySeller.com  for sellers and …

www.AuctionByRealtor.com for agents.

© 2008Barrett Associates, Inc     All Rights Reserved

One day several years ago while I was director of real estate services for a “start-up” residential real estate e-commerce venture that failed, a key investor in the company asked me the question: “How do I sell a home for free?”

Being an adjunct professor of real estate in the business school of a prestigious university, a veteran of both the commercial and residential markets, and a frustrated member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), I surprised myself by having to stretch for an answer. In a flash it came to me … and I replied to the investor that you can “auction the property.”

After all, at a traditional auction the seller pays the auctioneer to promote and manage the auction process, but no fees or commissions are usually paid to the buyer or the buyer’s representative(s) if he or she has one, which is not always the case.

Along with my role at the time in helping to “shape our real estate e-commerce business model,” and interest in verifying my naïve assumption that auctioning is a way to sell real estate for free, I decided to research the subject further.

I came across a book entitled “How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days (Bill Effros; Workman Publishers, New York), a “consumer-centric” work targeting the “do-it-yourselfer (For Sale By Owner).” The book does an excellent job in both explaining the process of auctioning and the fundamentals of running an auction on your home in 5 Days in order to get buyers to competitively bid on your property.

After reading the book in 2007, I decided that it would be a good exercise for my students to combine our study of real estate theory at the university with contemporary real estate practice. I solicited student volunteers to help document a 5 Day Sale/ Home Auction. We found a seller in Denver online who was in need of help in conducting his auction, and we offered to help in exchange for the right to videotape and document the effort as a case study. This auction/5 Day Sale was successful and you can view the video and review our case studies at: www.AuctionBySeller.com .

My curiosity peaked; I continued to research auctioneering industry practices and even joined our state auctioneering association. While not all auctioneers sell real estate, those that do must hold real estate licenses in their given state of operation. While all states require real estate practitioners to be licensed (and therefore regulated), not all states require that auctioneers be licensed.

Auctions can take many forms. On the one end of the spectrum, there is the “absolute auction” that results in a sale regardless of price as long as the minimum disclosed bid level is met (assuming there is one). On the other end of the spectrum, there is the auction with an “undisclosed bid.” In each of these approaches, the point is to start your bidding at an either artificially low – or minimal acceptable – price point so as to engage as many potential buyers available in a market at a given point in time, and then to bid those potential buyers competitively to find the “best buyer” for the property. “Best buyer” is usually defined as most competitive bidder that meets or exceeds the seller’s minimal acceptable price (reserve).  

By definition, auctioning “best practices” produce market offers (prices) at  specific (static) points in time (dates).

I have since volunteered academically to assist and objectively document multiple real estate auctions and/or 5 Day Sales, all of which have been successful (generated offers), but not all of which resulted in the sale of the property at that time. That said, they all provided “perfect market” feedback directly from buyers to sellers regarding the given properties’ features and those buyers perception of market value. For the record, I believe the auction methodology is a valid and legitimate real estate sales strategy. I am particularly impressed with the fact that auctioning is a much more “proactive” sales strategy than is the traditional listing of real estate, which I believe to be a passive sales strategy.

The question then becomes, is auctioning a cost effective method for  selling real estate when compared to traditional methods of selling real estate?  The fact is that it takes time, money, and effort to run an auction, sell the property yourself, or list it for sale with an agent.

Most auctioneers will charge a significant auction marketing fee to cover promotional costs and their time. Additionally, many auction firms charge a “buyers premium,” a fee that the buyer pays to the auctioneer “net” of their offer to the seller. This means that while the seller pays no fees directly, the buyers’ offers are “net” of any auction and buyer’s agent fees. Auctioneers’ “buyers premiums” for real estate transactions range from 5% to 10%, depending upon whether the bidders are represented by real estate agents or not.

We already know what’s wrong with the traditional real estate listing model where we start by overpricing our property and listing it. This approach does neither the client nor agent any good as the property languishes on the market as both client and agent chase the market down through price reductions in frustration together, (Circa 2008). By the way, this traditional real estate listing pricing model is known as a “Dutch Auction,” an auction where the seller starts high and takes the first lower acceptable offer.

So … what then is wrong with the auctioning model?

In its current form, the traditional auctioning model has the potential to lead to “conflicts of interest” between sellers and auctioneers.  Additionaly,  they are just as expensive as – or more so – than the marketing costs associated with the traditional listing of real estate. That additional expense is often justified, given that the auction approach produces timely sales, but if that sale involves an auctioneer producing a buyer represented by an agent earning a full fee, then those combined fees – while paid by the buyers – reduce those buyers’ effective purchasing power “net” to the seller.  In  such a case, the seller achieves a lower effective sales price.

Whether it’s an auction or a traditional listing the buyer always bears the cost of fees, this is because all fees are paid for from the proceeds of the sale.

Is there an alternative consumer-friendly auctioning business model for sellers and agents alike?

Yes … through our online real estate auction platform resources, expertise, and consulting.  We advocate, assist and support seller’s and sellers’ agents while chatging no “buyers premiums.” 

Check us out at   http://www.AuctionBySeller.com  for sellers and http://AuctionByRealtor.com for agents.

© 2008Barrett Associates, Inc     All Rights Reserved

Do you think the auctioning of homes will become more common way of selling higher-end homes in the U.S.?

Comments welcomed!

Remember this famous line from the 1976 Oscar Award winning movie “Network” staring Fay Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall?”

In “Network,” Peter Finch played an evening news anchor (Howard Beale) who, upon learning that he is about to be fired for low ratings, announces that he will commit suicide by “blowing his brains out” during an upcoming newscast. The fictitious network (UBS) fires him, but only after allowing him to apologize and bid farewell to his audience. Ratings skyrocket, and news executives decide to keep him on the air. In the movie, there is a landmark scene in which anchor Howard Beale sets viewers on a rage with his impassioned plea that they (viewers) open their windows during a lighting storm and shout out that they are “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”

Just as Beale criticized network TV for dictating to consumers what programming they needed, today’s consumers are angry about their lack of choices and the feeling that the residential real estate industry is dictating the terms for buying and selling homes.

And rightfully so!

What did the residential real estate establishment do to incur the wrath of today’s home buyers and sellers?

• The National Association of Realtors (NAR) failed to embrace leading technology quickly enough, has resisted new business models favorable to consumers, and continues to flex its lobbying power as the world’s single-largest trade organization

• The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) didn’t do enough to combat predatory lending practices. Instead, they lobbied to preserve the status quo in residential lending and turned a “blind eye” for the need to license mortgage originators and brokers. Furthermore, they failed to use their political influence to promote the mandatory disclosure to consumers of yield spread premiums (YSP) in “good faith estimates (GFE)”

• The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) committed a multitude of sins including overbuilding, promoting disposable housing through urban sprawl, and enabled their home-buying consumer to bite off more than they could chew in purchasing power through builder-subsidized financing

• Both the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) failed to properly regulate the secondary mortgage markets via Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

So where does this leave the once-venerable residential real estate industry today? In a colossal economic mess with REALTORS® striving to find creative marketing approaches, mortgage bankers and brokers wondering what happened, homebuilders in a quandary, and federal regulators assigning blame!

But alas, every cloud has its silver lining and the silver lining today empowers the innovative real estate agent and home seller like never before!

New models are embracing the informed and proactive residential real estate consumer through:

• Transparent listing data readily available to conduct property searches online
• Online automated property valuation models (AVM’s)
• Current market price trending data
• Home auctioning
• And others

Until today!

Empowered by online technology tools, new millennium real estate consultants and sellers are taking matters into their own hands and exploring innovative property sales methodologies like auctioning. With the help of online technology platforms and new business models, real estate agents now have more sales options than ever before to offer their clients.

But perhaps the most intriguing of all emerging approaches to compressing the real estate sales cycle and generating “market” offers directly from qualified buyers is auctioning.  

Visit www.AuctionBySeller.com and learn more about home auctioning and how it puts sellers and buyers together and saves both time and money.

Kyle Cascioli
real.estate.professor@hotmail.com

© 2008Barrett Associates, Inc     All Rights Reserved