The Daily Soak - September 18

Sotheby's Announces Central Florida Luxury Home Auction

Stirling Sotheby's International Realty today announced the upcoming auctions of luxury residential properties in three of Ginn Resorts' Central Florida communities: Bella Collina, Hammock Beach and Reunion Resort. During the October 25 auction, the developer anticipates selling 20 homes priced from $300,000 to $3.82 million. Bella Collina is an entry-level lakeside community with a Nick Faldo golf course, Hammock Beach is a beachside resort with two golf courses and Ginn Reunion Resort is a fully-amenitized luxury golf community with three courses. Stirling Sotheby's is launching a global marketing campaign in hopes of attracting foreign buyers especially from the U.K., Europe and Canada. For more information, visit the Stirling Sotheby's website.


171 New Tampa Condos Will Be Sold As ONE Unit Next Month

Last month, HB.com reported on the pending auction of 171 unts at The Place at Channelside, a 245-unit development in an emerging Tampa neighborhood. Now the auction date has been set (October 15) and the Court has chosen Fisher Auction Company and Cushman & Wakefield to market and sell the remaing units. Don't be surprised if a private equity group steps forward, buys up the whole enchilada and rents the units for 3-5 years, because the minimum reserve price is only $17.25 million. That translates into $100,877 per unit for condos that range in size from 600-square-foot studios to a 3,600-square-foot penthouse. That's amazing considering discounted 2/2 resale units can be found on Zillow for $300,000. The $17.25 million would also include over 12,000SF of retail space. For more information, visit the Fisher Auction website.


First Book Your Hotel...Then Go Buy A Condo

Miami-based Condo.com, the website with over 600,000 listings of condominiums for sale or rent in the U.S. and 70+ other countries, just formed a partnership with Hotels.com to facilitate online booking of vacation rentals and hotel accommodations. Condo.com CEO Richard Swerdlow explained the rationale behind the new offering, "When we launched Condo.com we expected to focus exclusively on buying and selling. We learned over time however that a large percentage of our customers are looking for vacation rentals and condo hotel rooms for short-term stay." The Condo/Hotel integration will also benefit condo shoppers traveling outside of their home markets to consider a second home purchase in another city, state or country. For more information, visit the Condo.com Travel Center.