Russian property billionaire Sergei Polonsky's Mirax Group plans to auction off 20 Moscow apartments to gauge consumer sentiment in a slumping market.
"It's a good way to revive the market," Dmitry Lutsenko, a Mirax board member, told Bloomberg News yesterday. "We plan to get additional information about the pricing expectations and mentality of our buyers in the crisis."
The apartments Mirax plans to auction probably have a market value of between US$6,000 and US$8,500 a square meter, although the bidding process may drive prices higher, said Anya Levitov, managing director at Moscow-based Evans Property Services.
Demand for luxury apartments may be stabilizing after declining in August through October as "distressed-asset hunters" entered the market, according to Levitov.
