Concierge Auctions

Concierge Auctions is a residential real estate company based in New York and Texas. It auctions properties to the highest bidder.[2]

Concierge Auctions
IndustryReal estate
Founded2008 (2008)
Headquarters
United States
Key people
Laura Brady, CEO[1]
Chad Roffers, President
Websitewww.casothebys.com

In November 2021, Concierge Auctions was acquired by Sotheby’s and Realogy Holdings Corp.[3] The company rebranded to Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions.[4] It holds the world record for the most expensive home ever sold in the United States through an auction for The One in L.A., a 120,000 square foot mansion owned by Nile Niami.[3]

It has been on the Inc. 5000 list since 2014.[5] The company has been accused of artificially driving up the price of its auctions since 2014, with many lawsuits settled out of court.[6][7] Since 2008, the company has sold more than $3 billion in real estate properties in 46 U.S. states or territories and 30 foreign countries.[8][9]

History

The company was founded in 2008 by Chad Roffers, who had owned Sky Sotheby's International Realty, and Laura Brady, a realtor from Sarasota.[7] It was conceptualized to hold auctions for high-priced real estate between a seller and a group of buyers. Local real estate agents receive 5-6 percent sales commission and Concierge Auctions charges 12 percent to buyers. Auctions range from $2 million to $100 million, but have an average of about $4 million.[10]

Founder of the Corcoran Group and Shark Tank cast member, Barbara Corcoran joined Concierge Auctions as a strategic advisor in 2014.[11] In 2016, LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio International announced Concierge Auctions as the auction provider and an at-ready source for its members.[12] In 2017, Concierge Auctions sold more than $340 million from 81 sales.[7] Forbes reported that almost 90 percent of its auctions were conducted through a smart phone app that year.[10] In 2018, the company became the "preferred" home auction partner of Engel & Völkers Advisors, North America.[13] It sold $390 million in real estate from 96 separate sales that year.[7]

The company became the "main reference in the Italian market" after partnering with Sotheby's International Realty as its "preferred auction provider".[14] It has worked with Giveback Homes and Habitat for Humanity on its "Key for Key" program, which builds one low-income home for every property sold at auction.[15] By 2020, Concierge Auctions had built more than 200 homes through the program.[16] The company auctioned the largest private island for sale in the Caribbean, Little Ragged Island in March 2021 and in June 2022.[17]

In November 2021, Concierge Auctions was acquired by Sotheby’s and Realogy Holdings Corp. The company operates independently after the acquisition and is rebranded to Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions.[4]

Recognition

In 2018, the company's $36.2 million sale of a property in Dallas, Texas was the highest price paid for a residential property that went to auction in the United States.[18] One year later, Concierge Auctions broke its own record for the most expensive home ever sold at an auction in the United States: an estate in Florida that sold for $42.5 million.[6] It was the highest-priced home to sell in Broward County's history, according to property records.[19]

The company has also been recognized for its annual Luxury Home Index report, which evaluates average selling prices for homes and the time it takes to sell based on the number of days on the market.[20][21][22] In 2021, Concierge Auctions recorded the highest online auction for a single-family home in Beverly Hills owned by Steven F. Udvar-Házy.[23]

Since 2014, Concierge Auctions has been included on the Inc. 5000.[5] As of April 2022, the company holds the world record for the most expensive home sold in the US through an auction for The One in LA which was sold for $141 million to Richard Saghian of Fashion Nova.[24]

Notable clients

Media outlets reported in 2009 that Cher would be auctioning a house she had built in the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai and chose Concierge Auctions to market the property.[25]

In 2013, Concierge Auctions signed Michael Jordan as a client. Jordan hired the company to auction off his 56,000 square foot home in the Highland Park area of Chicago. The home had 9 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, a beauty salon, indoor basketball court, gourmet kitchen, stocked fishing pond, and tennis court. The home was originally listed at $29 million.[26][27] Jordan's business manager and spokesperson, Estee Portnoy, stated that Concierge Auctions "gave great exposure to the property".[26][28] Two days after the auction produced no bidder offering above the reserve price of $13 million, Jordan put his home back on the conventional real estate market in December 2013 asking for $16 million.[26] As of May 2020, the home is on the market for $14,855,000, the digits of which total 23.[29]

Concierge Auctions conducted the sale of former chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, Michael Cohl's home in Key Biscayne which had a previous listing of $36 million.[30] A beach estate in the south of Spain where Pablo Picasso painted and signed the bottom of a pool in 1961 was also auctioned by the company.[31] It worked with former chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld Jr. on the sale of his Idaho ranch.[32]

In early 2019, the company signed with the estate of Wayne Huizenga for his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida[33] and mutual fund manager Peter Lynch for his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona.[34] An online auction for the Greenwich, Connecticut mansion owned by shoe designer Vince Camuto before his death was scheduled by Concierge Auctions for August 2020 after a spike in buyer interest in the area due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

In 2022, the company managed the sale of the penthouse above Tiffany & Co.’s store in Palm Beach, Florida, through an online auction.[36]

Controversies and criticism

In 2013, Grand Estates Auction sued the company along with several past Concierge Auctions' clients in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for $23 million per claim, alleging multiple claims of false advertising, deceptive trade practices, tortious interference, mail fraud, wire fraud and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO Act). According to the suit, North Carolina Auctioneer License Board had issued a warning to Concierge Auctions for false and misleading advertising. Prior to the lawsuit, Concierge Auctions had sued Grand Estates Auction alleging the creation of fake email accounts to publish “false and defamatory” stories about Concierge Auctions online. The Grand Estates Auction lawsuit was dismissed in 2014.[37]

Since 2014, Concierge Auctions has been accused of artificially inflating the price of homes allegedly by using fake bidders.[6] In 2017, two real estate investors sued the company in a California federal court for allegedly keeping a deposit on a home in the country of Fiji.[7] A complaint was also filed by the company’s African-American real estate agent in September 2017 alleging discriminatory practices.[38]

References
  1. Concierge Auctions Seeing Increased Buyer Engagement As Housing Market Hits Record Highs
  2. Ilyce Glick (1 June 2010). "Cher's House In Hawaii Up For Auction". CBS News.
  3. Mendez, Paola (4 April 2022). "Auctions Used to Sell RE Quickly". Los Angeles Business Journal.
  4. Ruhling, Nancy A. (July 4, 2022). "19th-Century Summer Estate on Martha's Vineyard Heads to Auction". Mansion Global.
  5. Concierge Auctions
  6. "Concierge Auctions facing accusations of fraudulent bids". The Real Deal New York. 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  7. Clarke, Katherine. "Luxury Real-Estate Firm Concierge Auctions Fights Allegations of Fraudulent Bids". WSJ. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  8. Dickerson, Lillian (May 27, 2022). "How to succeed in a luxury home auction". Inman.
  9. Christina (31 December 2021). "Concierge Auctions, Sotheby's, & Realogy Build a High-Performance Vehicle for Luxury Home Auctions". In House magazine.
  10. Sharf, Samantha. "Real Estate Auctions: Concierge Auctions Puts Luxury Homes On The Block". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  11. Barbara Corcoran joins Concierge Auctions as adviser
  12. Feeney, Caroline (14 April 2016). "Concierge Auctions forms exclusive partnership with LeadingRE".
  13. Haviland, Victoria (23 July 2018). "Concierge Auctions partners with Engel & Völkers Americas".
  14. Concierge Auctions teams up with Italian Sotheby’s International
  15. KVUE Staff (12 February 2020). "Organizations, real estate auction company partnering to build Austin woman a new home".
  16. "Concierge Auctions Announces Pending Sale of Exclusive Treasure Coast, Florida Waterfront Estate". 2 November 2020.
  17. "Beautiful private island in Bahamas goes up for sale". CNN. 2021-03-10. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01.
  18. Carlisle, Candace (8 January 2018). "Sale of Hicks-Crespi estate to Dallas developer for $36.2M sets new U.S. record".
  19. Huriash, Lisa J. (8 January 2019). "Mansion becomes priciest home ever sold in Broward history. Here's how much it cost".
  20. Granados, Mary Grace (14 August 2020). "For owners selling their luxury homes, an auction might be the solution to finding a buyer fast".
  21. Bondarenko, Veronika (24 April 2019). "Luxury sellers: Get ready to wait".
  22. Magin, Janis L. (7 May 2019). "Oahu luxury homes sold for more and took a lot longer to sell last year, report says".
  23. "Beverly Hills mansion is the most expensive house ever sold at auction". New York Post. 2021-02-12. Archived from the original on 2023-03-28.
  24. Jackson, Sarah (March 4, 2022). "The biggest modern home in the US". Business Insider.
  25. "Cher Sets Hawaiian Auction of House She Built". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06.
  26. Rodkin, Dennis. "Concierge Auctions Was Being Sued When It Took on Michael Jordan's House". Chicago magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  27. "Live like Mike: Jordan's home going up for auction". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  28. Michael Jordan's Home Heads to Auction
  29. Smith, Ryan. "Will "The Last Dance" Help Jordan Sell That Pesky Mansion?". Chicago magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  30. Rabines, Amanda (9 April 2018). "Former chairman of Live Nation puts his Key Biscayne estate on the auction block".
  31. Strum, Beckie (24 May 2018). "Spanish House with a Picasso in the Pool Headed to Auction".
  32. Frank, Robert (18 September 2015). "Dick Fuld ranch sets record for auction".
  33. Prosser, Gregory (2019-06-07). "H. Wayne Huizenga Fort Lauderdale Mansions Concierge Auctions". The Real Deal Miami. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  34. Check out these Arizona mansions going on the auction block this month
  35. Carmiel, Oshrat (10 July 2020). "Greenwich Mansion Owned by Shoe Mogul Vince Camuto to Sell at Auction". bloombergquint.com.
  36. Hendrickson, V. L. (February 25, 2022). "It's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Everyday at This Soon-to-Be Auctioned Palm Beach Penthouse". www.mansionglobal.com.
  37. Jones, David (2013-04-23). "Concierge Auctions accused of fraud, as court battle between rival housing auction firms heats up". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  38. Gonzales, Philip. "African-American real estate agent alleges discriminatory treatment from Concierge Auctions". setexasrecord.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
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