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VANCOUVER - A select group of interested buyers has been allowed to submit offers on condominium units in the beleaguered Olympic Village in advance of Thursday’s public sale.

Between 15 and 25 sales agreements have been written by Rennie Marketing Systems and will be presented to the court-appointed receiver after the development in Southeast False Creek opens for sale.

Marketer Bob Rennie, who has been given the task of trying to sell the remaining 480 units in the village, said the small group of buyers is being used to test-market the new pricing structure to make sure it’s not too high.

“We’ve been doing market testing with focus groups and consumers and now that we are getting close to the finish line we are testing with real people,” he said.

“I need real specimens so I can assure the receiver ... that my promise of selling 60 units in 60 days will come true. This is real market testing and it would be irresponsible to the taxpayer for me not to do this.”

Thursday’s opening will be the third time Rennie has opened units in the village for sale. The first two times, before and just after the Olympics, were met with limited success. This time the pricing and timing are crucial. With Vancouver taxpayers on the hook for upwards of $740 million in loan advances and unpaid land costs, and the market still soft, Rennie and the receiver, Ernst & Young, have recommended deep discounts of up to as much as 50 per cent on some units. They are keeping the actual sale prices secret until Thursday.

Rennie said he’s under a lot of pressure to get it right this time.

“You can only open a third time once,” he joked.

For the past week, the general public has been able to tour several sample units but could not write offers. Rennie said his office directly contacted a small number of potential buyers who had previously expressed interest and who could close sales quickly once the receiver approves them later this week. They were required to sign confidentiality agreements.

He said the test buyers were broken into four pricing groups: Those interested in units under $600,000, those between $600,00 and $1 million, those between $1 million and $1.5 million, and those above $1.5 million.

Rennie said he wasn’t worried that the small number of test sales were done without multiple bids.

“I know where you’re going. You’re asking why wouldn’t I want a bidding war. I’ve got 480 units to sell in an absolute disaster where nobody wants them. The least of my worries is a bidding war on one unit.”

But the prospect that some people were filing offers in advance has irritated some real estate agents. On Monday, The Vancouver Sun received a tip saying the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver was investigating whether Rennie had sold as many as 40 units over the weekend. The tip included allegations that by doing so, Rennie had deprived outside real estate sales people of commissions.

A spokesman for the board said the agency wasn’t looking into the matter. However, the mere suggestion sent Rennie into spasms of anger. He said no deals have been approved and the number of offers written is closer to 25.

“First of all, my commission doesn’t change if this is sold 101 per cent to outside brokers. That’s not how I charge. I am paid a fee for marketing and sales and outside commissions are paid by the receiver,” he said. “And the receiver would love to see 100 per cent sold by outside brokers because it shows we’ve gone as deep into the market as possible.”

Rennie said it was clear a test buyer had leaked that they’d been able to buy.

“Now what happened is that some a--hole has breached his confidentiality agreement and told everyone at dinner and that he was able to buy at the Olympic Village,” he said.

“If we find who that is, I don’t care if he doubles his price, he will have zero opportunities with us.”

jefflee@vancouversun.com

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Blog: www.vancouversun.com/jefflee