As I reported earlier in the week the auction of Michael Jordan’s house was supposed to have happened today. However, both Crain’s and the Chicago Tribune reported tonight that the auction has been postponed until December 16. According to Laura Brady, President and Founder of Concierge Auctions:
The interest has been even stronger than we anticipated. While many bidders are already financially qualified and registered, others requested more time to visit the property and consider the purchase. In the best interest of our client, we agreed to extend the auction date in order to allow them to do so.
Hmmm. You would think that anyone who was seriously considering this property would have already checked it out thoroughly but who knows. Also, according to the Tribune article, as late as midday today, a spokeswoman for Concierge Auctions said that the auction was to take place later today. You would think that if they had all this interest building for days before the auction that by noon today they would have definitive plans for postponing the auction.
And here’s another clue. Previously there was no reserve. Now there is a $13 MM reserve. My thought on that is that you put in a reserve when you are afraid that there is a good chance that the property will not fetch what you want/ need. And you don’t feel like that’s a risk when interest is strong. My guess is that the interest is weak. Anyway, I guess we’ll just have to wait another 3 weeks to find out how much this place goes for – if at all.
If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market, get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry, or you just think I’m the next Kurt Vonnegut you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.