Gindi Holdings has auctioned off a penthouse in Tel Aviv for NIS 13 million, sources inform "Globes."
The penthouse is in the company's project on the Sarona site. It is on the top floors of the building (30 and 31) in the middle of three towers. The 233-square meter penthouse has a 60-square meter balcony. The apartment was on sale for a long time with no buyers, and Gindi Holdings decided to market it by auction with a minimum price 35% lower than the value in an appraiser's report attached to the auction booklet. The company claimed that the marketing price of the penthouse was NIS 18 million, but it set a NIS 12 million price for the auction.
"Globes" previously reported that the auction was a marketing gimmick more than anything else, and was designed to sell an apartment for which the company had trouble getting its asking price. It now appears that the gimmick has proven itself. According to Gindi Holdings, 15 bids separate were submitted to buy the apartment in the auction.
After seeing the success of this move, Gindi Holdings has decided to market another penthouse in the project in the same way.
Since the beginning of the year, the volume of deals in the sector has been on a downtrend, particularly apartments in this price range, and real estate companies and marketers are therefore trying to provide additional incentives for potential buyers through either auctions or discounts.
Gindi Holdings confirmed that the penthouse had been sold for NIS 13 million to an Israeli buyer, and added that another auction was now being published on a similar format for a penthouse in the easternmost of the three towers in the project. This penthouse is 437 square meters in area, with 108 square meters of balconies. The penthouse, on the 30th and 31st floors of the building, was designed by Pitsou Kedem.
Gindi Holdings has set a minimum price of NIS 41,800 per square meter for this second penthouse, which it says reflects a 40% reduction of the value in the appraisal report prepared by Greenberg Olpiner and Co. and attached as an appendix to the auction. Gindi Holdings intends to restrict this auction to only five bidders.
According to the usual calculation used for contractors' housing units, in which balconies are appraised at half of the value of regular housing unit space, the reserve price in the auction will be NIS 20.5 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on December 19, 2017
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