"It was more than $450 a square foot," said Jon Gollinger, president of Boston-based Accelerated Marketing Partners, which conducted the auction. "The owner [Thomas Properties] allowed the market to set the price, and that's what the market chose."
The hype helped draw 175 eager bidders. The sales seem solid, with just three cancellations, he said, and unsuccessful bidders potentially waiting to step in.
What the hype failed to do was infect others with the same enthusiasm. The number of unsold condos in Center City remains high, and buyers are few.
"I'm somewhat relieved that the auction is over, since it was a major distraction to many of my prospective purchasers," said George Cahill, a broker with Coldwell Banker Realty.
"Admittedly, however, it created a tremendous buzz in the Center City market," Cahill said.
For many, the Murano sale meant a reality check.
"There will need to be some kind of adjustment to the Center City condo market as a whole," said Mark Wade of Prudential Fox & Roach. The biggest effect will be seen at the Murano itself, "with a smaller ripple effect throughout other high-rise condos in town."
Based on what buyers were willing to go for at the auction, Thomas Properties is adjusting prices accordingly on the remaining 136 units at the Murano.
"The reality is that most of the consumer and brokerage community felt that the Murano was overpriced," said David Krieger, general sales manager at Coldwell Banker Preferred. "To the owners and developers that have tried to artificially create pricing points, it should be a wake-up call that the seller does not define the price. The market does."
