By Kevin Chiu
A Twin-Cities man thinks he’s found a way to buck the tough real estate market and attract attention to sell his condominium, despite the sluggish marketplace, and William Panzarella is doing it all in the name of charity.
The Minneapolis condo owner has teamed up with a real estate agent to raffle off his 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit and give the proceeds away through his foundation in a unique answer to the region’s condo sales slump. Raffle tickets will be sold for just $100 each for a chance to win the condominium.
Despite improving home sales, the foreclosure crisis has left condominium sales in many U.S. markets devastated, while others like Miami are booming as a result of foreign buyers. The condo market is not stabilizing as quickly as other market sectors in many regions of the country, resulting in significant losses for current condo owners.
“Single-family homes are driving the market recovery, but condo sales are still very depressed,” said ReMax CEO Margaret Kelly. “Sellers are being forced to find creative ways to market and sell their condos or risk seeing it linger on the market as the asking price plummets.”
Despite challenging odds, a raffle on a residence is a first for the Twin Cities. Condos are facing especially competitive market conditions in Minneapolis with pending sales down more than 12% from year-ago levels, and values declining. “It’s a very creative way to try to sell a condo, reverse the trend of struggling condo sales, and raise money for a great cause,” said Erik Brown, the ReMax Results agent assisting with organizing the raffle.
Panzarella hopes to raise $1 million by selling 10,000 raffle tickets with proceeds benefitting The Aegis Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps to enhance the lives of young people by financially supporting organizations that specialize in youth services, education, vocational training and homelessness.
The 1,195-square foot condo, appraised at $230,000, was built in 2006 and has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and is located on Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis.