Raleigh condos to be auctioned

RALEIGH -- A second downtown condominium project is reverting to an auction to reduce inventory.

The Residences at Quorum Center will auction its remaining 14 condos March 20 in the downtown Marriott. Starting bids for the condos range from $120,000 to $325,000. That's significantly less than the $300,000 starting price listed on the project's website.

On Halloween, West, the 17-story condo project in Glenwood South, auctioned 32 of its units and recorded $8 million in sales in a single day.

The auctions are a response to a downtown marketplace where a handful of condo projects are going after a shrinking number of prospective buyers. As the sluggish sales environment has dragged on, more and more projects face pressure to reduce inventory.

The 15-story Quorum Center, developed by Ted Rey nolds and his son David, is on Jones Street. It has 37 units. The Reynoldses took out two loans out on the property, according to Wake County property records. They borrowed $32 million from Regions Bank in 2005 and $7.45 million from Southern Community Bank and Trust in April 2008.

Next month's auction will be a "reserve auction," meaning the seller reserves the right to accept or decline any bids.

The West auction was similarly structured.