Concierge Auctions

Concierge Auctions is a residential real estate company based in New York and Texas. It auctions properties to the highest bidder and has worked with celebrity and business figures such as Michael Jordan, Barbara Corcoran, Eli Broad, Cher as well as a home featured on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.[1]

Concierge Auctions
IndustryReal estate
Founded2008 (2008)
Headquarters
United States
Key people
Laura Brady, CEO
Chad Roffers, Chairman
Websitewww.conciergeauctions.com

It holds the world record for the most expensive home ever sold in the United States through an auction.[2] The company has been accused of artificially driving up the price of its auctions since 2014, with many lawsuits settled out of court.[3][4] Since 2008, Concierge Auctions has sold more than $1 billion in real estate properties in 40 U.S. states or territories and 29 foreign countries.[5][6] It has been on the Inc. 5000 list since 2014.[7]

History

The company was founded in 2008 by Chad Roffers, who had owned Sky Sotheby's International Realty, a Sotheby's franchise in Sarasota, Florida and Laura Brady, a realtor also from Sarasota.[4] 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 $40 million, but have an average of about $4 million.[8]

Founder of the Corcoran Group and Shark Tank cast member, Barbara Corcoran joined Concierge Auctions as a strategic advisor in 2014.[9] In 2016, LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio International announced Concierge Auctions as the auction provider and an at-ready source for its members.[10] In 2017, Concierge Auctions sold more than $340 million from 81 sales.[4] Forbes reported that almost 90 percent of its auctions were conducted through a smart phone app that year.[8] In 2018, the company became the "preferred" home auction partner of Engel & Völkers Advisors, North America.[11] It sold $390 million in real estate from 96 separate sales that year.[4]

The company became the "main reference in the Italian market" after partnering with Sotheby's International Realty as its "preferred auction provider".[12] 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.[13] By 2020, Concierge Auctions had built more than 200 homes through the program.[14]

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.[15] 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.[3] It was the highest-priced home to sell in Broward County's history, according to property records.[16]

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.[17][18][19] Since 2014, Concierge Auctions has been included on the Inc. 5000.[7]

Notable clients

Concierge Auctions is known for working with celebrity and business figures to auction their homes. The company has also partnered with sportspeople such as Nick Saban, Andy Mack, Billy Walters, Andy Bloch, Joe Nemechek, Matt Kemp, Jermaine O'Neal and Randy Johnson.[20][21][22][23][24][25]

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.[26]

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.[20][27] Jordan's business manager and spokesperson, Estee Portnoy, stated that Concierge Auctions "gave great exposure to the property".[20][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.[20] 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]

Controversies and criticism

Prior to 2013, the North Carolina Auctioneer License Board issued a warning to Concierge Auctions for false and misleading advertising.[36]

In 2013, Grand Estates Auction, which is a competitor of Concierge Auctions, 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). Concierge Auctions had already sued Grand Estates Auction before that, with allegations that Grand Estates created fake email accounts to publish “false and defamatory” stories about Concierge Auctions online. The case was dismissed in 2014.[36]

Since 2014, Concierge Auctions has been accused of artificially inflating the price of homes, allegedly by using fake bidders.[3] 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.[4]

One of the company's African-American real estate agents sued the company, alleging discriminatory practices. A complaint was filed in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas in September 2017.[37]

References
  1. Ilyce Glick (1 June 2010). "Cher's House In Hawaii Up For Auction". CBS News.
  2. Frank, Robert (2018-11-13). "Bidding is on for the most expensive home ever to hit the auction block". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  3. "Concierge Auctions facing accusations of fraudulent bids". The Real Deal New York. 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  4. Clarke, Katherine. "Luxury Real-Estate Firm Concierge Auctions Fights Allegations of Fraudulent Bids". WSJ. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  5. Concierge Auctions Closes Out Its Best Year Yet with 29% Growth, Over $3.4B in Global Bids, Record-Setting Sales, and Historic Activity
  6. Jaclyn Louie (17 September 2016). "Concierge Auctions sells luxury homes, but not in a traditional sense". CNBC.
  7. Concierge Auctions
  8. Sharf, Samantha. "Real Estate Auctions: Concierge Auctions Puts Luxury Homes On The Block". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  9. Barbara Corcoran joins Concierge Auctions as adviser
  10. Feeney, Caroline (14 April 2016). "Concierge Auctions forms exclusive partnership with LeadingRE".
  11. Haviland, Victoria (23 July 2018). "Concierge Auctions partners with Engel & Völkers Americas".
  12. Concierge Auctions teams up with Italian Sotheby’s International
  13. Staff, KVUE (12 February 2020). "Organizations, real estate auction company partnering to build Austin woman a new home".
  14. "Concierge Auctions Announces Pending Sale of Exclusive Treasure Coast, Florida Waterfront Estate". 2 November 2020.
  15. Carlisle, Candace (8 January 2018). "Sale of Hicks-Crespi estate to Dallas developer for $36.2M sets new U.S. record".
  16. Huriash, Lisa J. (8 January 2019). "Mansion becomes priciest home ever sold in Broward history. Here's how much it cost".
  17. Granados, Mary Grace (14 August 2020). "For owners selling their luxury homes, an auction might be the solution to finding a buyer fast".
  18. Bondarenko, Veronika (24 April 2019). "Luxury sellers: Get ready to wait".
  19. Magin, Janis L. (7 May 2019). "Oahu luxury homes sold for more and took a lot longer to sell last year, report says".
  20. Rodkin, Dennis. "Concierge Auctions Was Being Sued When It Took on Michael Jordan's House". Chicago magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  21. Horn, Jonathan (24 September 2014). "Sports betting icon's home sold for $13M".
  22. Sofen, Jon (14 February 2020). "Professional Poker Player Andy Bloch to Auction Luxurious Las Vegas Estate with Views of the Strip to the Highest Bidder via Concierge Auctions".
  23. Farmer, Casey (11 February 2019). "Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson Sells Arizona Home for $7.3 Million at Auction".
  24. Zap, Claudine (19 November 2019). "NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal's Texas Mansion Heads for No-Reserve Auction".
  25. Strum, Becky (14 April 2017). "MLB's Matt Kemp's California Home Goes to Auction — With a Charitable Twist".
  26. Cher Sets Hawaiian Auction Of House She Built
  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. 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.
  37. Gonzales, Philip. "African-American real estate agent alleges discriminatory treatment from Concierge Auctions". setexasrecord.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
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