House Auction Could Measure Local Real Estate Market - Vail Mountaineer, July 2009

Private jets are expected to pack the tarmac at the Eagle County Regional Airport for the auction of a one-of-a-kind Vail home on July 28.

The dream home in the exclusive Buffehr Creek Drive neighborhood has some of the best views in Vail.

Windows look out on the Gore Range and Vail Mountain from virtually every room in the four-bedroom, four-bath and two-and-a-half-bath home. An open floor plan, a kitchen worthy of any gourmet chef and an attention to detail round out the package.

The house was last listed at $4.2 million. It includes white oak hardwood floors and Colorado flagstone patios.

The absolute auction for the house will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, said Val DeVine, co-founded and chief executive officer of Grand Estates Auction Co.

“The high bid is what the property is worth, not what the seller thinks it’s worth, not what the seller wants, not what the appraiser says,” DeVine said. “It’s worth what the market is willing to pay.”

Discerning buyers

However, those potential buyers are expected to be very discerning, since they’re drawn from all over the world from advertisements placed in publications like the Financial Times in London.

DeVine said the airport is taking reservations for the private jets — it’s currently closed to commercial traffic.

The auction company also is very discerning — representatives turn down as many as 90 percent of the potential sellers in the Vail Valley who want to hire the company, DeVine said.

Many Realtors in the valley have said the Vail property sale could be a significant gauge of the current Vail real estate market, which has slowed down in recent months. If the auction brings a buyer, other sellers in that price range will have a very recent reliable comparable
property.

Buyers must put up a $50,000 cashier’s check made out to themselves to register to bid in the auction. The winning bidder must pay 10 percent of the total purchase price, with the rest due at a closing within 30 days.

A ski-in, ski-out property, too

Grand Estates actually will hold two auctions on July 28. The other parcel is the last ski-in, ski-out, unbuilt lot in Arrowhead, which has been listed at $5.6 million. It’s a 2.06-acre parcel that is contiguous to four acres of open space.

More importantly, the auction company got a building extension on the land for any potential buyer — construction does not need to start until December 2012.

“In 2009, there have been some real buying opportunities,” DeVine said. “These are absolute auctions, with no minimum and no reserve, once I step up to the podium and call for a bid, they will be sold to the high bidder, no exceptions.”

Previews coming

The auction company will have representatives at the Buffehr Creek home and at the Arrowhead parcel several times for preview opportunities this weekend and next weekend, including 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday; 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.

Prospective bidders should contact Grand Estates Auction Co. at 800 552-8120 or 704 529-0026 for bid registration requirements and other inquiries.