Rocketts Landing to auction off 25 condos

You could get a good deal on a condo at the May 20th auction.

April 24, 2014; 9:08 AM • by Richard Hayes

While being built nearly all 248 condos at Rocketts Landing were under contract. The downturn in the economy changed that and 25 condos remain unsold.

Rather than wait the estimated two years it might take to sell them by traditional means the developer has taken the bold step of auction on May 20th. It is estimated that these homes will go from auction to close in 45 days.

More from RTD.

“People didn’t close and the contracts kicked out,” Vickers-Smith said. “We were caught in the teeth of the recession — 2007, 2008 and 2009.”

Condos at Rocketts Landing, with the exception of these, sold from the $150,000s up to $1.2 million.

The reserve or minimum bid prices for the unsold one- and two-bedroom condos are up to 46 percent below the last asking price and well below the replacement cost.

“It’s a very bold move for the developer to use this dynamic,” said Jon Gollinger, co-founder of Accelerated Marketing Partners, a Boston-based auction house that will handle the sale.

“The developer has put his faith in the marketplace and in Richmond,” Gollinger said.

Image: Dean Hoffmeyer/RTD