An office in Manhattan Beach, California has been sold for $96.1 million online from Auction.com, an online e- commerce company.
The 309, 734- square- foot- office building is a simple office, sleek, and professional- looking at every angle. It was also recorded as the most expensive property ever auctioned online in the United States. The Manhattan office was built in 1985 with two six- story towers.
Auction.com's executive vice president, Rick Sharga, shares his insight regarding the multimillion real estate sale, "I think the fact that we had a buyer pay $96 million to buy a commercial property online shows that real estate really is starting to move onto the Internet." The sale of real estate properties online and offline have been usually used for disposing distressed assets. The purchasing of the Manhattan office shows a change in trend that everything is being brought online, even real estate properties that are usually expensive.
Mr. Sharga also commented that "the big difference here is people not just looking at and researching real estate online, they're buying real estate online. Traditional, non- distressed, high-quality properties. Now there is a sea change."
The Manhattan office's seller, CWCapital, refused to give any statement regarding the sale and Auction.com hasn't announced who bought it. Auction. Com reported a total sale of more than $300 million in commercial real estate in just the previous week after launching showing the success of their website that caters to the auction of distressed real estate properties.
Gordon Smith, general manager of Auction.com's commercial real estate division, said that "over half of the commercial properties we bring to auction are Class A, non- distressed assets and that's a trend that will only continue to grow."
After its success with commercial real estate properties, Auction.com is now trying their luck in selling non- distressed residential properties on their website.
