No, That's Not a Lot Under $2M

It might look like such a deal online. But no, the ocean-view lot at 864 5th in the Hill Section will not be selling for less than $2M.

It's easy to understand any confusion that's out there. (It's out there. We get inquiries about it all the time.) 

The property is listed online at $1.949M. It's now 6 weeks into its run on the market – or so it would appear.

Hey, it's the holidays. Maybe make a run at this one and get a deal?

No no no.

The truth is, they've already had something of an auction for 864 5th. And while the first round of bidders may have begun by thinking they had some kind of steal-of-a-deal potential, the market found a new level for the property.

Bidders shot the value up to the mid-$2.6M range. Now there's an accepted offer.

So why is the listing still online, active, teasing that $1.9-ish price?

There is another step to the process. In the somewhat cumbersome probate court "confirmation" process, there needs to be a hearing to finalize the sale.

At that hearing, someone new can come along and bid more.

Specifically, the process calls for any new overbid to be at least 5% above the current deal price. That would be: $2,809,250.00. And it must be all cash, no contingencies, closing within 10 days of final acceptance. (So much for the average buyer.)

Often, these types of listings will change to show the new "overbid" price as the list price. Yes, it would also look very strange if a property that's been lingering on the market for 6 weeks suddenly jumped in price by $900K. But at least then the listing would accurately convey what it might take to buy this one.

They're still waiting to get a hearing date to "confirm" (or overbid) 864 5th, some time early in the New Year. We'll see where it settles out then.