By now you know that roughly half the condos inside the 27-story City Federal building are vacant, in large part due to the busted housing market. You've also probably seen the signs around town advertising a live auction of 20 said units. Well, Tuesday night was auction night and the results were not so good. After 11 units sold well below their market value, the proceedings were halted until further notice. According to a Birmingham News report, units that were previously listed for $239,000 were flying off the shelves for just $80,000. On average, the 11 units brought in just over $181,000 a piece, clearing $2 million for Synergy Realty, the company that owns the historic building. Synergy has spent at least $20 million on the property since purchasing it in 2005. (Source: Birmingham News)

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