A Fortress Investment veteran is now at an auction house that hopes to feed off of distressed estates.
(Fortune Magazine) -- When an ex-managing director of evade fund Fortress teams up with Sotheby's in a real estate business enterprise, you know something funny is going on in the luxury residential market.
But that's basically what happened last month when George Graham, formerly of Fortress's Drawbridge Special Opportunities Fund, joined a real estate auction house that works closely with Sotheby's (BID) International Realty and other firms to sell off luxury homes.
Graham is CEO of Concierge Auctions, founded in 2006 by a well-connected broker in South Florida. The company is looking to make hay from an up tick in luxury real estate auctions.
"There is a pipeline of multimillion-dollar properties that are underwater," says Graham. "In most of these areas the homes aren't selling. There's a multiyear supply."
Concierge's pitch to a seller is simple: Your house won't sell on the open market for years. You may not get the price you want with an auction, but it's better to have an exit than to be stuck with the carrying costs on, say, a $20 million home -- or worse, enter foreclosure.
No comments:
Post a Comment