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Ellen Noble, our Austin partner agent, reports that downtown Austin is buzzing about the upcoming Brazos Place Condos auction.  The final 19 units and penthouse will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on May 17th.  Buyers must meet certain guidelines and are required to pre-register.  Unlike some condo auctions we've seen on the West Coast, this one has very reasonable minimum bids and all units are expected to sell.  For instance, a one bedroom condo that originally listed at $199,900 will have a minimum bid of only $80,000.  Ellen talked to the developer and reports that this auction is not a foreclosure or bankruptcy situation.  The developer says they chose this route to quickly sell the remaining units and move on to another project.  

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If watching NASCAR on wide-screen HDTV just isn't good enough, then Graham Stiles of Coldwell Banker DFW has the perfect condo for you.  He recently listed this furnished two-bedroom, two-bath condominium at the Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) with incredible views of the entire track.  The upgraded kitchen has granite counters and a breakfast bar and a huge master with a garden tub and separate shower.  When it's time for a race, concert of other TMS event, you'll have the best seat in the house with private theater seating in front of walls of glass overlooking the venue.

Although many of the 76 condos at TMS are used for corporate events and incentives or as second homes, this building is entirely livable on a daily basis should an owner choose to do…

We've hit a new low for Las Vegas High-Rise Condos.  We had many clients wanting us to let them know when units at the MGM Towers fell below $300,000.  They fell through that barrier so fast that most of them said "OK now tell me when we break through $200,000."  Well, that just happened recently.  You can now own this studio condo at MGM for $199,000 - a price that was unheard of and never thought possible even 12 months ago (disclosure: we do not represent the seller).   You're going to have to pay cash though as it's considered a "condotel" and financing for condotels is as dead as Elvis.  That's one of the reasons there has been so much downward pressure on these buildings.  These places sold for $400k+ back in the day.

If $199,000 is too rich for…

Our San Fransico partner agent, Leslie Bauer, had a chance to tour the new Artani Condos at 818 Van Ness recently.  She reports back that of all the new developments going up in the Bay Area this is one of her favorites.  Her favorite thing about it is the floorplan selection - all of the different floorplans have terrific use of space with very little wasted square footage in hallways and other dead zones.  This is especially important in a high-rise because your HOA dues are based on the sqare footage of your unit.  Why pay a monthly fee for wasted space in a hallway or a landing?

The second thing Leslie mentioned about the Artani is that they are delivered to buyers in move-in condition with very high-quality finish out.  This is becoming an…

Another high-rise building that hit the market with a big marketing splash is turning rental.  The Skyline in San Jose announced that they're halting sales and will rent out the luxury units.  Danielle Contreras, a local condo specialist, told me "I had a feeling this was coming.  They shut their sales doors not long after they opened and all activity on the proposed sister tower came to an immediate halt."

The San Jose Mercury News officially broke the story this weekend.  The developer, Barry Swenson, had to turn the remaining units at another of his developments into rentals as well.  That building, The Lofts on the Alameda, only sold 31 of its 42 units when the last 11 were rented out.

Danielle states the building had a major flaw from the start: …

If you've been waiting to buy a foreclosure at the W Dallas Residences your time has come.  Nick Bristow of Keller Williams Turtle Creek in Dallas has listed the first foreclosed condo at the much sought-after building.  The 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath home is on the 21st floor of the North Tower and has an entire wall of glass overlooking downtown.  The price has come down from $994,900 to $949,900, which makes this the least expensive two bedroom unit available at the W today.  That's not a bad price point considering that a 1500 square foot one bedroom unit on the floor below it is currently priced $50,000 higher.  Also, an archive search shows that before this unit went into foreclosure it was listed at $1.65M!  Ouch! 

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Don't look now, but another residential tower is about to start moving residents into Dallas's increasingly crowded Victory Park.  This latest addition, The House by Starck, is scheduled to begin closing buyers in December and expects to be fully occupied by May of 2009.   Our Dallas agent, Emily Ray-Porter, was able to attend a recent marketing event put together by the developer.  She reports that there are special pricing incentives for select floorplans, and that there is still time to choose from several different finish-out options. 

She also reports that The House offers a lower price per square foot than the other two newer contemporary Dallas high-rises:  The Azure and The W Dallas Residences. As of September 30, 2008, currently available units…

I had a great time last week in Nanaimo at the REW conference.  Many thanks to Morgan & Company for all the kind hospitality and effort that went into making it such a valuable experience.  I hope it becomes an annual event because I would love to continue to have a tax-deductible reason to go to Beautiful British Columbia. 

Instead of taking the more expensive but expediant flight directly to Nanaimo via Vancouver, I opted to fly into Seattle.  I had a couple extra days and thought it might be fun to drive across the border and up the coast of Vancouver Island.  While it wasn't an unpleasant experience,  I would have had a lot more fun had I spent a little time researching the trip.  Also, you won't save any money by the time you factor in ferries, gas,…