One of the last undeveloped parcels of land in Glenmaura will be auctioned off to the highest online bidder, eBay-style.
The wooded 3.24 acres in Moosic just a few tenths of a mile beyond the main entrance to PNC Field on the left will go up for bids at an Oct. 6 online auction run by AuctionPoint, with a minimum bid of $325,000.
The owner and listing agent of the property is John Cognetti of Hinerfeld Commercial Realty, a Scranton-based commercial real estate firm. He wants to sell the property he has owned for the last decade, but also wants to try the service before recommending it to his clients.
“(Commercial real estate agents) have to be innovative these days,” Mr. Cognetti said. “An online auction is an interesting concept and may be a solution for some clients and properties, but not all.”
So Mr. Cognetti decided to be his own guinea pig while selling a property beset with uncertainty for the 10 years he has owned it.
When he bought the land, large office buildings had risen in the Glenmaura Corporate Center. The property, which sees traffic to and from a ski slope, outdoor concert venue and housing development, seemed well positioned. But the plot attracted only passing interest. For a time, Mr. Cognetti thought the Yankees organization might purchase it for a proposed multiuse “Yankee Village.”
“Now, who knows?” he said. But he speculates the site could be used for an office building, hotel, restaurant or a multistory apartment building.
Mr. Cognetti heard about the website, www.auctionpoint.com, from a California-based AuctionPoint salesman, Greg Kavulich. During the pitch, Mr. Cognetti couldn’t resist asking whether the man with a well-known Scranton surname had local ties.
“He said he was raised in California but his grandmother lives in West Side,” he said. “So he is from the West Side Kavuliches – it’s so Scranton.”
Mr. Cognetti has sold properties through conventional auctions, but this is his first online effort. He suspects the auction will expose the property to a greater pool of buyers, since it gets premier listing on LoopNet, a major commercial real estate listing service.
Joel L. Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisers said online commercial real estate auctions open the bidding to more people. They’ve become more common as the market has cooled.
“This is a result of realism and desperation,” he said. “There’s a recognition that it’s difficult to move properties, and you need nontraditional ways to sell.”
Mr. Cognetti believes there’s an excitement to an auction that attracts people.
On Oct. 6, he’ll be logged on watching bids come in. He set a starting price at $325,000, which is what he paid for the land. He has an unpublished reserve, however, which is the minimum he’s willing to accept.
“Auctions attract interest – it’s human nature,” Mr. Cognetti said.
Info can be found at hinerfeldauction.com/montage
