Bargain hunters snap up condos at auction

Atlanta Dream executive David Downs had never participated in an auction, so he didn’t know what to expect from Saturday’s auction of 40 units of the Element at Atlantic Station condos.

But Downs, 32, soon walked away from the W Atlanta hotel downtown with all that he’d hoped for — a bargain deal of $257,000 for a three-bedroom townhouse in the trendy Midtown area.

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JASON GETZ / jgetz@ajc.com

Bidders hold up their cards as an exercise before the start of the auction.

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His winning bid was well below developers’ more-than $400,000 asking price.

Downs already has plans to vacate his current home in Conyers by March for the more convenient in-town location.

“I can’t wait to get downtown,” he said, “and not having to worry about driving a lot. We’ll be walking a lot and taking advantage of Atlantic Station.”

Downs was hardly alone in feeling satisfied following the conclusion of the 90-minute auction.

He was among 175 registered bidders who wound up buying not only the 40 properties originally on the block, but four others as well, Jon Gollinger said. Gollinger is the CEO of Accelerated Marketing Partners, the Boston-based residential real estate marketing and consulting firm responsible for the auction.

Atlanta resident Jenny Kujawski became a first-time homeowner when she purchased a two-bedroom condo for $211,000, well below the $289,000 listed price.

“I’m so excited,” the 28-year-old Delta employee said. “I didn’t know how it was going to go, but it all turned out well. I probably couldn’t have afforded it otherwise.”

There were many other such stories as potential home buyers took advantage of the current glut of unsold condos in metro Atlanta.

Element opened in 2006, when condo sales were just beginning to slide and inventory was soaring. Deals fell through as the market collapsed, leaving the developer holding dozens of empty units.

The auction benefitted everyone, Gollinger said.

Minimum bids for Element properties began as much as 56 percent below listed prices. For example, bidding opened at $95,000 for a one-bedroom unit originally priced at $214,900. Other minimum bids started at $139,000 for a two-bedroom unit previously listed at $276,900, and at $205,000 for a three-bedroom unit that had been priced at $414,900.

“I feel really good about it,” Kujawski said. “I’m so super excited. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out.”