Developer Don Tishman is planning an auction of 24 condominiums in his Zocalo residential project on the northeast side of Santa Fe.

The auction features units with starting bids as low as $90,000 on homes previously priced at up to $365,000.

Zocalo offers buyers a combination "of style, comfort and value," Rhett Winchell of Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson Auction Group said in a statement. Winchell will conduct the auction, which take place Oct. 4 at The Bishop's Lodge Resort and Spa.

The condos are in a development designed by noted architect Ricardo Legoretta, who also designed the Thornburg Campus, near Zocalo.

Zocalo began construction seven years ago and now has more than 199 full- and part-time homeowners, said Steve Maurice, a spokesman for Tishman.

"Historically, Zocalo units have been pre-sold prior to being completed by the developer, with a waiting list," Maurice said. "The unprecedented downturn in the real estate market that began in 2008 left the developer in the unusual position of having an inventory of 24 unsold units."

According to information from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, sales of condos/townhouses in the city and county of Santa Fe numbered 57 for the second quarter of 2009, compared with 92 for the same period in 2008. That's a decline of about 38 percent.

The median sales price was $250,000, compared with $266,250 for the second quarter of 2008, a decline of about
6 percent.

"Our commitment to the success of Zocalo has not diminished," Maurice added. "We believe that once the current inventory of new phase lV-A units is sold, that values of all units throughout Zocalo will rise, as supply and demand will be in favorable balance."

"There are a wide variety of units," Winchell said." All of the units are new except for a couple that have been rented."

The way the auction is structured, "the buyers are in control," he said. "They will be telling us what they think the units are worth. They will also get to see what everything else is selling for."

All bidders must be prequalified. The seller has arranged with a lender, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, to offer successful auction bidders a range of financing programs.

Buyers who arrange financing from 1st Metropolitan and who close escrow within 30 calendar days are eligible to receive up to $2,500 credited by the seller toward closing costs or to buy down interest rates at the close of escrow, Winchell said.

The Kennedy Wilson company will host a "how to buy" seminar starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Zocalo auction information office, 1301 Avenida Rincon. The seminars allow potential bidders to familiarize themselves with the auction process, he said.

The auction will take place 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, at The Bishop's Lodge, 1297 Bishops Lodge Road. Those who wish to participate must register no later than 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. Registration forms should be dropped off at the auction information office.

On the day of the auction, registered participants are advised to arrive no later than noon for the auction and have a cashier's check for $1,000 on hand.

For more information, visit the Web site www.ZocaloAuction.com.

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.