Houston House at 298 East 2nd Street and Matt Lee (Houston House, LinkedIn)
Developer Matt Lee’s decision to auction off a condo unit online later this month recalls another dire time in New York City’s new development market.
In 2010, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, Paramount Realty USA held an auction of six unsold condos at a Madison Avenue development known as m127.
The unusual move by developer Cardinal Real Estate Investments garnered widespread media attention and massive interest from bidders. The nine-unit project had been on the market since 2007 and, facing the threat of foreclosure with only three sales in as many years, Cardinal decided a very public fire sale was the best option.