According to Sperry Van Ness, the seller, Naples-based Grand Isle FL-PFG LLC, paid about $50 million for the 320-unit rental complex at 4145 N. Haverhill Road in 2005. The owner was able to sell 217 of the former rental apartments as condos but was left with the remaining units after the market took a dive.

The developer filed an assignment for the benefit of creditors with the Palm Beach County Circuit Court in February. Michael Phelan, executive vice president of investments with Michael Moecker & Associates was appointed as an assignee to liquidate the assets. The assignment is a common alternative to a bankruptcy filing, Phelan says.

Bidding on the units began at $5 million with four more bidders driving up the price, says Keith Kidwell, managing director of Sperry Van Ness' Fort Lauderdale office. He says Grand Isle, a "class B-plus" property, had offered three-bedroom condos that sold for $150,000 to $300,000. The winning bidder, Boca Raton-based Grand Isles at WPB LLLP, paid a bulk rate of $60,000 per unit for the condos.

"This transaction is a good example of the market activity our advisors are encountering," Jeff Anderson, associate advisor with Sperry Van Ness, tells GlobeSt.com. Kidwell represented the buyer, as did Les Byron, another Sperry Van Ness managing director.