Jesus F**king Christ!

Those were the first words I uttered after getting this press release from Kelly Kreth.




BID ON THE CITY ANNOUNCES FIRST $1 AUCTION EVENT

TO BE HELD FEBRUARY 1, 2010

New York, December 21, 2009 – Bidonthecity.com, the first and only online real estate trading platform for Manhattan residential and commercial real estate properties, announces today that they will be holding a first-time $1 auction event on February 1, 2010, live in their Fifth Avenue showroom and online simultaneously at www.bidonthecity.com.



Bidding for each of 13+ luxury Manhattan properties will begin at a minimum bid of just $1. The bidding event will run from 12pm-4pm at 15 minute increments.



Properties up for sale range in size from studios to five bedrooms, and range in price from $225k to $5m. All properties are located in top-notch buildings and are not distressed properties.



Potential bidders can view a complete list of properties up for $1 starting bid on http://www.bidonthecity.com/searchResult.php. Open houses for these properties will be taking place in December and January. For dates and times of Open Houses, interested parties can also find that information at the above link. Properties from the following neighborhoods will be up for bid: Upper East Side, East & West Harlem, Chelsea and Midtown West.



“We are excited about the opportunities in real estate in 2010 and want to provide both buyers and sellers with a fast, efficient and transparent way to get the prices on luxury Manhattan properties,” explains Vlad Sapozhnikov, co-founder and managing partner, Bid on the City.”

By no means am I taking any shots at BOTC. I saw this business model coming 6 years ago and they are just an indication of what is to come. They will play a significant role in the future of real estate. However, the fact their minimum bid is a buck just goes to show how much as changed since the market crashed. One could argue that this is all a publicity stunt but I disagree. Instead of whipping up numbers on their own, BOTC wants the market to decide what a property is worth. Is this foolproof? No. But it will be useful to learn from.