Luxury Condo at the Ritz Carlton Up For Auction on December 10

A bank-owned condominium at the luxury Ritz-Carlton Residences is coming up for auction on December 10. It has 1195 square feet and a floor plan with two master suites separated by an open kitchen/living/dining area. 

Until the auction date, it is being marketed in a traditional manner-- with a presence on the MLS and regular weekend open houses and Brokers Tours. The listing price is $949,905. There is no minimum bid.

Like the Four Seasons, the St. Regis and The Millennium, the Ritz Carlton Residences come with hotel style amenities and a quality of service in line with its high-end brand. The Ritz Carlton Residences differs from other luxury condo buildings because a number of units on the lower floors were developed and sold as tenancy-in-common shares. In a hotter market, a 1/12th ownership in a luxury "club residence" at the Ritz was an appealing idea for those who wanted a pied-a-terre, but didn't think they'd need it for more than 30 days a year. These club residences are now being resold much lower than their original purchase prices. An MLS search of club residences shows the least expensive is $125,000.

The MLS shows only one sale of a traditional condominium residence at The Ritz Carlton Residences, a 1680 square foot unit that closed for $1,325,000 this past summer.

I call the kind of views offered by the Ritz Carlton Residences, "Christmas Tree Views" because it feels like you're inside one when you look out the windows at night. The charming turn-of-the century downtown architecure makes for an unusual and charming Cityscape that differs from what you find in buildngs on the other side of Market Street.

The most noteworthy feature of the Ritz Carlton's Downtown/Barbary Coast location is the shopping nearby. The Westfield Center, with Bloomingdales and Nordstrom's is just one block down Market Street, and Union Square, considered by many to be one of the country's most vibrant shopping neighborhoods is just two blocks up Geary.