According to a tipster, the sales office at the Beacon is about “to announce 3% broker commissions and…are really negotiating on deals.” And while the Mark Company will still be in charge of selling, they “cleaned house with the staff and are bringing in…new people.” We’re still trying to verify the inventory of developer units (and the tip), but keep in mind that there are currently 23 Active listings in the Beacon (five of which are with the Mark Company).
And while at least five of the resale listings have already been reduced (some more than once), between deals being cut in the sales office on new units, the pending class action suit, and the market in general, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to expect additional reductions in the not too distant future.
UPDATE (9/20): Well, it’s still a shake up, but it’s possible that it might have been the former staff that initiated the act. As one reader notes, “Can anyone blame the salespeople for wanting out? They are compensated on a commission basis and are sitting on the last and least desirable of the inventory and it isn’t moving (obviously compounded by the well publicized lawsuit).”
∙ Listing: 260 King Street #751 (2/2) – $815,000 [MLS]
It is interesting to note that in the MLS, several of the new listings indicate “NO” pending litigation. I’m wondering if this is criminal ignorance or ?????
This is so true of any company in which competitive pressures are seen for the very first time. They blame everything and everyone but the price, when the price is the only problem.
First, they try to get more visibility when sales slow because the prices are too high relative to the competition. Bigger signs, guys on street corners waving signs, because they think, “If only we had more people, we’d sell more of these.” Then they get more people, but sales don’t improve because the more people they get, the more people who see the prices are out of line.
So they figure it must be the people on the staff (not the management). So they shake up the people and sales don’t improve at all. Because of course, the underlying problem is the price is too high.
Finally, they give up and drop the prices. The people who got tossed out in the shake up were never to blame, and had they just dropped the prices in the first place, they’d have a sales staff intact, but their best salespeople start to leave out of fear (they usually survive the shake up) and so they have to drop their prices even more than they would have if they had just kept the people and dropped the prices in the first place.
No one ever learns. It’s always the same. When management starts talking about getting more “visibility” (e.g. bigger sign, guy on street corner waving sign, etc.), it’s time for the staff to head for the exits.
I agree completely with the last comment. Believe me, if the Beacon dropped the price of a one bedroom to some unrealistically low price like $450,000 they would sell out immediately and nobody would care about pending litigation. Price determines everything. The lower the price the larger the market and the more risk someone is willing to take on.
There’s a listing for one of the Jr. One Bedrooms at the Beacon for $495,000. That’s the lowest price I’ve seen for that building, and for the area, really.
There aren’t any pictures of the actual unit, but I recall seeing pics of Jr. One Bedrooms at the Beacon, and from what I remember, they’re pretty much studios; there is no wall separating the bedroom from the living area, and if there is one, it is about 4 feet high. (I could be wrong on this. I have about 2 functioning brain cells. Someone help me out on this one.)
I can’t say if $495,000 is a good, bad, or ugly for the Beacon. I know Jr. One Bedrooms at One Rincon fetched about the same price (a tad bit more). But if a buddy of mine wanted to swoop on this unit, I’d kindly point him to the direction of Socketsite and tell him to read up on what’s been going on in that building.
I can remember a couple of years ago, I walked through the Beacon on my way to a Giants game and thought “Damn, I’d be happy as hell to live here.” Now, I’d be mad as hell if I did.
I too recall seeing photos of Jr. 1 bedrooms in this building and I’m pretty sure you’re right. They’re basically studios, no walls separating living area and the bedroom.
I’m pretty sure I have at least 3 brain cells so I’m 50% more confident of my recollection than you are of yours.
#751 has been on the market for over four months…
Yes, the Jr. 1bdrms truly blow. The one I saw had no windows, just an alcove, really, near the bathroom.
Does anyone know specifically what’s the reason the Mark Company is ‘shaking things up’ and bringing in new people?
What did the previous salepeople do wrong?
I think this specific article paints a very broad picture of where the market is. Given previous postings I think we’re seeing a general willingness of developers to work with buyers in an effort to sell homes. We are certainly not in the same market we were a year or two ago. Now more and more developers are offering incentives and other allowances to buyers.
Overall this would seem to be a very good thing for buyers who previously may not have been able to buy or who expected certain concessions. The motto of all this is that in a slow market lies great opportunity.
One thing you may notice with the Beacon is units listed for sale that are simultaneously listed for rent on craigslist. I’ve seen this with some other SOMA/Southbeach developments, as well, such as the Yerba Buena Lofts and Bridgeview.
Speaking to the previous post on developers making concessions, the developer of the Watermark has made a small one – they are installing Bosch stackable washer/driers in remaining unsold units. Now, if they would only wash the windows…
The sales staff at the Beacon QUIT, they were not fired. The Marc Company is having trouble retaining their best people lately…
A shame too, considering they have/had the cutest, nicest sales people in The City.
The owners of The Beacon (Centurion Real Estate Partners) are due a little respect. They managed to sell an enormous number of second-tier properties – in a monstrous complex – mostly at the peak of the market.
How would you like to be trying to dump 595 apartment conversions in this market?
I guess that illegally posting dozens of puke green “Beacon Condo” signs all around the area wasn’t that effective.
The staff quit? How do you know? That’s odd because the Mark Company has other properties they could work at, right?
The staff quit. There was no shake up by the Mark Company. Socketsite should consider verifying it’s “tipsters” claims prior to posting. Can anyone blame the salespeople for wanting out? They are compensated on a comission basis and are sitting on the last and least desirable of the inventory and it isn’t moving (obviously compounded by the well publicized lawsuit).
Per the previous post “Can anyone blame the salespeople for wanting out? They are compensated on a comission basis and are sitting on the last and least desirable of the inventory and it isn’t moving.” Are you saying that the sale team A) didn’t realize that going in or B) they mistakenly thought that everything in the Beacon, good or bad, would sell through with little sales effort? As I’ve been told many times, the reason its called “sales” is that the person has to “sell,” not take orders (would you like fries with that?). They sound very green to me to not understand the pitfalls of the job and bail at the first sign of a downturn. Ricky Roma would be very disapointed…
Responding to the post beginning with “per the previous post”, if I meant to say A or B, I would have. Why not just sign your post “the Mark Company”?
Huh? I hardly work for the Mark Company. Hell, my name isn’t even Mark. I guess my post was a little confusing. What I was trying to say was that in good times, everybody is a winner, but in “bad” times, you get to see those with the real mettle to make things happen, not wimp out and fold the tent. Just because what’s left is the bottom of the barrel, doesn’t mean it can’t be sold. Those who bailed will obviously not get the Glengarry leads. “Because to give them to you would be throwing them away.”
do the people in the sales office have any latitude in bargaining on the sales prices? if i wanted to offer below their “posted” rates, would it be considered? and if yes by whom?
Sure, you can make an offer at any development. If it’s ridiculous the sales staff will tell you so, but if you do it graciously you can often get them to present it anyhow. The developer is the one considering it. It is harder to make an ‘offer’ on a new development, but something like the Beacon or the Palms which has been out for a while it’s reasonable to try. Dont ask dont get. The Lansing is doing deals also. Pre paid HOA dues are a great concession because they are not tax deductible so you can keep your monthly payments where they will help.
“Pre paid HOA dues are a great concession because they are not tax deductible so you can keep your monthly payments where they will help.”
That doesn’t make sense. You can still borrow however much you were going to borrow, making the same monthly payments, including tax-deductible interest. Just take the concession off your down payment. A lower sales price means lower property taxes for as long as you own it.
Oh, I guess I am assuming buyers are doing old-fashioned things like “down payments”. Silly me.