Property Auctions

THE MANY BENEFITS OF AUCTIONS

Auctioning luxury real estate is the most normal thing in the world in the United States. Even within Europe, this efficient and comfortable way of selling is now being embraced by buyers and sellers within the highest segment of the international housing market. Hans Veenhuijsen represents the American auction house Concierge Auctions with his company HiddeJames. He explains why the auctioning of highvalue real estate is taking such a flight.

SIX FIGURE HOMES ARE GUARANTEED TO BE SOLD WITHIN SIX WEEKS AT MARKET LEVEL

Hans Veenhuijsen brought Christie's International Real Estate to the Netherlands, now has a Christie's real estate agency in Marbella, on the most expensive coast of southern Spain – the Costa del Sol – and represents the American superpower in real estate auctions Concierge Auctions in Europe with the company Hidde-James.com. Stars like Michael Jordan, the Kardashians, millionaires and billionaires choose to auction off their residences because they want absolute integrity and privacy in addition to realistic prices and maximum efficiency.

WE START WITH THE AMOUNT THAT THE SELLER WANTS TO RECEIVE AS A MINIMUM AND THEN GO UP FROM THERE

In their view, the possibilities offered by an ordinary real estate agency fall short. They don't want to have to wait months or more for sales and be on display in a store window that whole time. Concierge Auctions guarantees sales within six weeks at a price that is in line with the market.’

Veenhuijsen is not surprised by my sceptical look, because that is quite something. He explains: ‘We can rely on an international database containing the data of 650,000 rich to very rich people, including 275 billionaires, but also all holders of an unlimited credit card, such as the American Express Centurion ‘Black’ card. We present our exclusive range of properties within this network. For each object we auction, we are in contact with thousands of people regarding purchase opportunities every week. Usually there is already so much interest there that we can confidently guarantee that sales will not take longer than six weeks.’

You have to have deep pockets to belong in this exquisite company. If only because you are expected to deposit €100,000 before you can even participate in an auction at all. Veenhuijsen: ‘We do this as a precaution. It's a vote of confidence. If the sale does not go through, that deposit will be refunded immediately.’ Veenhuijsen says that sixty per cent of buyers have so much confidence in the information provided that they would buy a house without visiting it on location. Like the client from New York who bought a villa in Marbella last year for €11 million without having visited the house. ‘It says something about the relationship of trust we have with our clients.’

REALISTIC

During our conversation, Veenhuijsen is informed that an impressive villa in Mallorca has just been sold for €5.1 million, including 12% commission payable by the buyer. ‘The seller's broker initially asked for €5.95 million, but brokers always aim high’, says Veenhuijsen.

‘During the run-up to the auction, we were able to determine the value of the property by reactions from brokers and buyers at around €3.5 million, so in consultation with the seller, we set the lower limit at €3.75 million. Eventually there were four bidders and it was awarded to an American millionaire for net €4.6 million, excluding commission. An auction is ultimately the fairest and most efficient selling method, because the actual value is determined by the market. So the price we realise for an object is always realistic, but not always what the seller hopes for.

There is a danger when a property enters the market at a high price and remains unsold for a long time. Nobody knows where that leads and how far you have to drop to sell it. That takes time, creates a lot of uncertainty and you lose control of the sales process. We start with the minimum amount that the seller wants to receive and then go up from there. The entire sales process takes no longer than six weeks. Our clients experience our approach as very pleasant and confidence inspiring.’ He has another telling example, this time in Gstaad. ‘This chalet was for sale for €14 million for four years, with no result at all. The seller wanted to finalise it and gave a minimum sales price of €7.9 million. We sold it for €9.5 million within a few weeks.’

SHORT SELLING TIME

The properties offered at Concierge Auctions are not your run-of-the-mill homes. The house with the highest yield ever at auction is located on the seafront in Hillsboro Beach, Florida and had an original asking price of €159 million. The owner was very satisfied with the auction result and the working method of Concierge Auctions: ‘I chose Concierge Auctions because they have an incredible network of potential buyers. And I am no less impressed by the way they work, their attention to detail and their business acumen. In my opinion, it is the best sales organisation in the world for luxury, unique residences at the absolute top of the market’.

Hans Veenhuijsen emphasises that Concierge Auctions, and therefore his European agency Hidde-James, uniquely combines the advantages of the traditional brokerage profession with all the advantages of an auction: the competition, a realistic yield and the guaranteed short selling time. The original American Concierge Auctions was founded in 2008 and operates worldwide with agents in 29 countries. The average yield of a house is approximately €4 million and most houses are sold in the price category of €2.5 to €40 million. So far, approximately €8 trillion in bids have been submitted via the digital auction site, which is also active 24 hours a day.

INTERNATIONAL BUYING AUDIENCE

Whether it's a country house on Lake Como in Italy, a palazzo on one of the canals in Venice, a castle villa on Lake Geneva, an elegant château in the Val de Loire or a finca in Mallorca, the owners value their privacy and want to achieve a good return for their unique property through an honest, efficient sales method.

But not everything is eligible to be sold through an international auction’, explains Veenhuijsen. ‘The property must be in a prime location and attractive to an international buying audience. Italy, London, Geneva, Zurich, Brussels, Marbella, Ibiza, Côte d'Azur, Monaco, Verbier, St. Moritz, Méribel, Courchevel – those are the places you should think of. But the Netherlands also has such places: the Amsterdam canals, The Hague, Wassenaar or a monumental country house along the river Vecht.’

HIDDE-JAMES.COM Spain: +34 951 122 312. The Netherlands: +31 (0)85 130 7691. info@hidde-james.com Ramón Gómez de la Serna, 23 29602 Marbella, Spain.