Both the Terrazzo and the West End condo auctions are set to occur in the next 2 weeks. The Terrazzo auction will happen tomorrow, Saturday November 21st at 1:00pm at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. The West End auction is scheduled for Saturday December 5th at a yet undetermined time in the West End condo building itself.
The Terrazzo Auctioneers
The Terrazzo has hired Accelerated Marketing Partners from Boston, MA as the lead marketing and auction company. Since Accelerated Marketing Partners does not have a Tennessee auctioneer’s license, they have partnered with United Country Auctions from Fairview, TN who presumably have ties to The Lipman Group who will be selling the remaining condos after the auction. I have not been able to find a single instance of a successful United Country auction in any of the 21 downtown condo projects that I track on a daily basis.
The West End Auctioneers
John Coleman Hayes has hired Jerrold Pedigo Realty from Murfreesboro, TN as the lead marketing and auction company. I have not been able to find a single instance of a successful Jerrold Pedigo auction in any of the 21 downtown condo projects that I track, nor have I been able to find a website for the auction company itself. Zeitlin Realtors are involved with the building and in the auction and presumably will continue listing the condos for sale after the auction is complete.
The Terrazzo Auction Marketing Efforts
I have to admit that the marketing efforts as orchestrated by Accelerated Marketing Partners have been impressive. The auction has been trumpeted in every single local newspaper, magazine and website. They have blasted numerous emails out to the local Realtors as well as sent flyers to all of the real estate offices. More impressive to me is the fact that these guys are savvy enough to be purchasing Google AdWords and Yahoo Keywords to drive more online traffic to their auction website. The Terrazzo auction has been on the TV news multiple times and mostly has paid a handsome fee to WKRN for the exposure they have received on that channel.
The West Went Auction Marketing Efforts
The West End has taken a much milder approach that could hurt their auction efforts. I will go so far as to say that if the Terrazzo had not done such a good job marketing their auction, most interested buyers would not have learned about the West End condo auction until much later or possibly, not at all. I saw initial press releases from Jerrold Pedigo and did see a good bit of newspaper press, but I am not seeing nearly as many ads in nearly as many places at the Terrazzo’s auction. I also have not received any email blasts, have not seen any flyers at my real estate company and have not seen their auction advertised on Google or Yahoo. In short, the effort has not been nearly as intense as the Terrazzo’s effort to date.
My $0.02 of advice for the West End auction – I suggest taking the blueprints of what Accelerated Marketing Partners has already created and simply mimic that marketing effort. In addition, you should have been buying these keywords on Google and Yahoo: “Terrazzo auction”, “Nashville condo auction”, “Terrazzo Nashville”, “Terrazzo condos” in order to fully capitalize on the online traffic that campaign has generated. These keywords may have only cost as little as $100/day and would have driven loads of online traffic to your West End auction website which looks good.
Onsite at the Terrazzo Condos
I am also impressed with the Terrazzo’s onsite marketing efforts. For the last 3 weeks there has been a man wearing a dark, secret service-like suit standing on the street corner near the building who has been holding a very nice pointer sign that says, “Condo Auction”. Once you walk by this pleasant fellow who gives you a very boisterous, “Good afternoon folks” when you walk by, you are met at the front door by well dressed attendants who share the auction information and answer any additional question you may have. If you get to the building during a busy time, these guys will give you a visitors pass and send you up the elevator to several floors where more attendants help show you the 31 condos and give you the history of the building, tell you about the condo finishes and generally pep you up a little. This preview time really runs like a well oiled machine and all of the attendants appear to be well briefed.
Onsite at the West End Condos
There is not nearly the fanfare here, but I am pleasantly surprised by the experience. As you walk into the West End building a very polite older gentleman named Mac opens the glass front doors and greets you will a very soft spoken, “Good evening Sir”. Right away I am struck by the feeling that this building is not shooting for the “in your face” marketing effort that Terrazzo is and I also get the sense that Mac is the type of concierge who reminds you that your mother’s birthday is approaching soon, suggests a suitable gift and then makes all of the arrangements to acquire said gift. Mac gets you checks you in, give you a visitors pass and sends you up to the 6th floor to meet the attendants. The day I went (with a client) there were 2 attendants available to show us any of the 45 condos available and politely showed us several other finished units just because we were curious about how some of the massive 3 bedroom condos felt. She also took us up to the roof to show us the resistance pool and lounge area.
The Terrazzo Condos Themselves
Originally the Terrazzo was going to auction 30 condos and now that number is 31. There are 14 one bedroom condos, 15 two bedroom condos and 2 three bedroom condos that range in size from 885 to 2,090 square feet. If you have not been inside the building, the lobby is super nice and modern. Crosland and Bill Barkley really spent a fortune on the stone, marble and finishes in this area. The condos are also unique to Nashville in that they all feature 11’4” ceilings, 7’ doors, gas cook-tops, soaking tubs and wide-plant bamboo hardwood floors. Like other downtown high-rises, the condos have floor to ceiling windows, lots of natural light and unfinished concrete ceilings that are in need of work.
Many of you have read that I describe this building as a Class A building in a Class C location, but I would like to update the location rating to Class C+ purely based upon the proximity to restaurants and shopping in the Gulch. The building still lacks for a good view and the Interstate noise on the midtown side of the building is very irritating – don’t plan on having a casual conversation on your balcony.
The West End Condos Themselves
The West End is offering 45 condos at their December auction: 5 one bedroom condos, 25 two bedroom condos and 15 three bedroom condos. I almost done want to call these units condos, these condos are massive ranging in size from 1,118 to 2,666 square feet. These are the only true high-rise residences for families or for those who don’t want to fire sale all of their furniture when you move to a condo. There are several features that make these condos completely unique to Nashville: The ceiling heights range up to 11’ in each condo, there is a fireplace in every living room, the large picture windows are operable, the kitchens featured staggered tumbled stone floors, the kitchens have more granite counter space than my Green Hills home, there is a trash compacter in every kitchen (seems novel, but having lived in a condo for 3 years, this is pure genius), the ceilings are finished with drywall and every room has crown molding, the bathroom floors are marble, the master baths have jetted soaking tubs and every bedroom in the building has a huge outdoor balcony. I know that I sound like a work for the sales team, but these condos are just impressive in their size and finishes. The developer certainly spent way too much money building way too large condos, but the buyers are really going to benefit from those two errors.
Prices and Sales on Terrazzo Auction Day
My expectation is that 23-27 of the Terrazzo condos may sell on auction day. I also think that there will be several ghost bidders who will drive the initial prices up so relax and let the first few auctions pass by before jumping into the mix. I think that most condos will sell for between $220-250/ft and that the rest will sell within $20,000 of their initial opening price. Attendance will be high and it will be exciting. Stay patient and you’ll be rewarded with a good buy in a growing part of Nashville. The gulch is most likely the one residential part of Nashville that has the greatest probably of both growth and price appreciation outside of the area immediately surround Vanderbilt University.
Prices and Sale on West End Auction Day
My complete expectation has not been formed as of yet, I am still waiting to find out what the auction format is going to be and to receive additional feedback from potential buyers. What I will predict is that if John Coleman Hayes feels like selling some condos on December 5th, there will be some great buys and some very happy new homeowners once they move in and begin to enjoy this very well established part of town. Because these units are so much larger, I would expect that the price per foot will be lower than the Terrazzo’s, but the total sales price will be higher.
My initial reaction to who the most likely buyers are is lawyers, doctors, high powered executives, retirees who maintain a busier schedule than myself and various others individuals who general “get it”. These are also folks who covet their privacy and appreciate quiet neighbors, wine tastings on the roof and a concierge who will remind them of their mother’s favorite color and always have their pets’ favorite treat at the front desk.
Shameless Plug
I am available to aid any and all with their auction buying decisions. Obviously, the Terrazzo auction is tomorrow, but I will be there with two clients in an advisory role. I have created a price regression analysis that I am happy to share at the auction with my clients as well as a market price prediction tool using a fairly complicated algorithm (thank you Susie) that should help predict future condos values based upon the sales made at the auction. If you are interested, please send me a private email: Grant@RemarkableHomes.com
See all condos for sale in The Terrazzo
