News & Info

UrbanTurf, a DC area real estate publication, was on hand this past Sunday for the auction of remaining condos at The Ashmore at Germantown.  It seems the auction was not as successful as the developer, Fairfield Residential headquartered in Texas, had hoped with a reported 18 units having been sold out of the 40+ that remained available.  Perhaps the results will be better this Sunday when The Mercer in Reston holds its auction.  The Mercer is a newly constructed high-rise condominium building with one- and two-bedroom homes with starting bids of $155,000.  Unlike the Ashmore auction, The Mercer auction will not have any buyer's premium.  Click here for more information.

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Bidding on Property: The Scene at a Condo Auction

November 19, 2008 | by Mark Wellborn, UrbanTurf

(This is the second of two articles we have written that focus on condo auctions. The first article was published last Friday.)

Last Sunday, about 150 people showed up at the Hilton in Rockville to try and scoop up a brand new condo (or two) at a heavy discount. The Ashmore in Germantown was auctioning off a good portion of their remaining inventory well below their original list prices that ranged from $322,000 to $385,000. The prospect of getting an amazing deal on a new condo attracted both would-be homeowners and amateur real estate investors.

When the three-bedroom condos were put up for auction around noon, the opening bid rocketed from $150,000 to $200,000 in a matter of seconds, and all indications were that this event was going to be a buying frenzy. However, after the first condo went for $215,000, the next dropped to $205,000 and the next to $194,500.

Recently WRC-TV, News Channel 4, ran a segment highlighting the luxury condo developments of Turnberry Tower in Arlington and Trillium in Bethesda.  David Mayhood, president of The Mayhood Company discusses current sales efforts underway at Turnberry Tower, which is slated to start delivering in the early Fall of 2009.  Meanwhile, Trillium in Bethesda has not started construction and a start date is unknown according to the story.

For more information on Turnberry Tower in Arlington click here.  For more information on Trillium in Bethesda click here.

Click here to visit the website and view the video.

UrbanTurf, a DC area real estate e-newsletter and website, published this article highlighting the upcoming auctions at Ashmore at Germantown this weekend and The Mercer in Reston next weekend.  It will be interesting to see if the developers are successful at clearing out their remaining inventory orif they would have been better off just lowering the prices and continuing to sell normally.

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by Mark Wellborn | UrbanTurf.com

This weekend, DC-area residents will have the opportunity to get a $300,000 condo for just below half price.

On Sunday, at the Hilton in Rockville, the remaining condos at The Ashmore in Germantown will be auctioned off. The 400-unit development was built in 2006, and sits about 25 miles northwest of downtown DC. The starting bids for the auctioned units will be $140,000, a dramatic discount from their list prices. The prices they actually sell for, though, is of course based on how high the bidding goes.

David Mayhood isn't a fan of holding raffles, hiring chamber musicians or giving away flat-screen TVs at the open houses that his condominium marketing and sales firm holds.

But cozy private dinners for six? Demonstrations of high-end kitchen appliances? Pricey wines provided by a local business? These are the extra touches that Mayhood, president of the Mayhood Co. in McLean, has been using to add dash to the open houses he has arranged for Turnberry Tower, a luxury high-rise condo development targeted to open a year from now in Rosslyn.

This Baltimore Sun article notes the rapid change that has occured in Baltimore's Harbor East neighborhood such as the arrival of new condominium developments like The Vue at Harbor East and the new Four Seasons Hotel and Residences currently under construction.  Ross McWilliams of real estate brokerage McWilliams|Ballard is also quoted regarding sales at The Vue and the different buyer profiles attracted to the Harbor East neighborhood.

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By Donna M. Owens | Special to The Baltimore Sun

One sunny day two summers ago, as Yvonne Hardy-Phillips and her husband, Oliver, shopped for groceries at Whole Foods Market in Harbor East, something happened that took the couple and other store patrons by surprise.

From out of the gourmet cheese aisle strolled "two leggy, svelte 20-something women, clad only in bikinis and barely there cover-ups," recalls Hardy-Phillips, an arts educator who lives in Mount Vernon. Catching snatches of their conversation, the pair had just stepped off one of the pleasure boats moored in nearby waters, a block or so away, she says.