At 10:00 am, on December 15, 2001, a special auction of two flats in the SOHO New Town apartment complex was held on the 18th floor of Tower B in SOHO New Town. The two auctioned flats had become available when some buyers retuned their houses following the no-question-asked return policy. The Great Wall International Auction Co., at the special request of Beijing Red Stone Industrie Co. Ltd, conducted the auction. Redstone's chairman Mr. Pan Shiyi said that the purpose of the auction was, on one the hand, to offer prospective clients an opportunity to purchase houses and, on the other hand, to establish a fair market price for flats in the SOHO NewTown complex.
After Tower D of SOHO New Town was completed and the owners had taken up residence, 6 of the flats were returned for various reasons, and SOHO New Town decided to put two of them Rooms 2603 and 2909 up for auction.
Apartment 2603 of Tower D is a duplex with a total area of 266 square meters, with both floors facing south. The lower floor's layout is ideal for both daily life and entertaining guests, while providing ample space for the owner to establish a well-appointed home office. The large and well-lit meeting room features a vaulted ceiling which reflects well upon the owner's social status and taste. The upper floor consists of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an additional space that can be further divided by a partition to suit the owner's needs and taste. The unique design of the curved walls in the master bathroom helps make the second floor an extremely tasteful and comfortable living area.
Apartment 2909 of Tower D covers 142.85 square meters over one floor. The apartment faces east and houses three bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. The flat's design emphasizes simplicity and practicality and the floor space is highly suitable for everyday use. The living room has been designed to maximize a sense of privacy from the rest of the apartment. The wide wall-length window and square meeting hall with its movable walls give the owner the space and flexibility to tailor the space to his or her taste and needs.
Neither apartment stipulated a minimum bid at the half-hour long auction, which had 32 participants and resulted in the two flats being sold for 1,768,000 Yuan and 3,620,000 Yuan respectively.
During the auction, lively bidding kept the auctioneer very busy. The excitement extended to the reporters present, who at one point had to be good-naturedly restrained by guards when they disrupted proceedings by rushing en mass to the front of the auction table. There was some confusion at the end of the first auction when some of bidders, apparently not noticing that the auctioneer's hammer had fallen to signify an end to bidding, continued to call out higher bids. As auction rules state that all bidding is over as soon as the hammer lands, despite the fact that many felt that the 12,000 Yuan per square meter price was about 1,000 Yuan too low, the final price stood. Bidding on the next flat began at a considerably higher price than the first, a fact most observers attributed to the excitement of those who felt they had missed out on the first flat. A lighter moment occurred near the end of the bidding when the auctioneer called out 'last chance', and four simultaneous bids where shouted out, causing a fit of laughter throughout the hall.
By coincidence, the day of the auction was also the day Tower A of SOHO New Town was completed and handed over to its owners (with the no-questions-asked return policy continuing to be in effect) Thus, in a special way, the success of the auction also drew public attention to the completion of construction on SOHO NewTown.
After Tower D of SOHO New Town was completed and the owners had taken up residence, 6 of the flats were returned for various reasons, and SOHO New Town decided to put two of them Rooms 2603 and 2909 up for auction.
Apartment 2603 of Tower D is a duplex with a total area of 266 square meters, with both floors facing south. The lower floor's layout is ideal for both daily life and entertaining guests, while providing ample space for the owner to establish a well-appointed home office. The large and well-lit meeting room features a vaulted ceiling which reflects well upon the owner's social status and taste. The upper floor consists of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an additional space that can be further divided by a partition to suit the owner's needs and taste. The unique design of the curved walls in the master bathroom helps make the second floor an extremely tasteful and comfortable living area.
Apartment 2909 of Tower D covers 142.85 square meters over one floor. The apartment faces east and houses three bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. The flat's design emphasizes simplicity and practicality and the floor space is highly suitable for everyday use. The living room has been designed to maximize a sense of privacy from the rest of the apartment. The wide wall-length window and square meeting hall with its movable walls give the owner the space and flexibility to tailor the space to his or her taste and needs.
Neither apartment stipulated a minimum bid at the half-hour long auction, which had 32 participants and resulted in the two flats being sold for 1,768,000 Yuan and 3,620,000 Yuan respectively.
During the auction, lively bidding kept the auctioneer very busy. The excitement extended to the reporters present, who at one point had to be good-naturedly restrained by guards when they disrupted proceedings by rushing en mass to the front of the auction table. There was some confusion at the end of the first auction when some of bidders, apparently not noticing that the auctioneer's hammer had fallen to signify an end to bidding, continued to call out higher bids. As auction rules state that all bidding is over as soon as the hammer lands, despite the fact that many felt that the 12,000 Yuan per square meter price was about 1,000 Yuan too low, the final price stood. Bidding on the next flat began at a considerably higher price than the first, a fact most observers attributed to the excitement of those who felt they had missed out on the first flat. A lighter moment occurred near the end of the bidding when the auctioneer called out 'last chance', and four simultaneous bids where shouted out, causing a fit of laughter throughout the hall.
By coincidence, the day of the auction was also the day Tower A of SOHO New Town was completed and handed over to its owners (with the no-questions-asked return policy continuing to be in effect) Thus, in a special way, the success of the auction also drew public attention to the completion of construction on SOHO NewTown.
