American sells units at foreclosed condo.

American Savings Bank announced it has closed on the sale of five apartments and signed contracts to sell nine others so far this year at Stewart Place Apartments, a condominium in White Plains, New York. Aggregate value of the 14 sales is about $2.55 million.

The sales are the first at the building since American foreclosed on 98 unsold apartments in December 1990, after the developer defaulted on a $23 million mortgage. The bank has been operating a rental program at the building, but began an aggressive sales marketing effort last fall.

Blumenfeld says prices on the one- and two-bedroom units sold recently averaged about 20 percent off the original asking prices, "which were geared to a much stronger apartment sales environment."

Stewart Place contains 182 apartments, 84 of which were sold prior to foreclosure. American currently has 68 units under short-term lease.

Five of the recent sales were made to tenants, the remainder to outsiders, including one person who bought two occupied apartments as an investment, according to Blumenfeld. Tenants who buy have been permitted to apply their rent toward the purchase price.