Thanks to the real estate slowdown, the price of Harshad Mehta's approximately 10,000 sq ft flat in Worli's Madhuli building was pegged at Rs 11 crore by the valuer, the highest bid it attracted at yesterday's auction was Rs 20 crore. The bid was opened in front of the special court judge A K Deshmukh, and brothers Dr Bimal Parekh and Amal Parekh were declared as the highest bidders.

Amit Hemdev, a Worli-based real estate broker, said, "While brokers and real estate market experts pegged the rate in the Worli neighbourhood at around Rs 30,000 per sq ft the valuer and bidders put a rate of around Rs 11,000 per sq ft to Rs 20,000 per sq ft on the flat."

However, some other brokers were not shocked by the prices. "The market is on the downswing and court-auctioned flats are generally bid at 24 per cent less than the market rate. Moreover, the flat's Harshad Mehta connection does not exactly excite buyers," said a broker.

Real estate expert Ajay Chaturvedi said, "Gone are the days when bidders auctions attracted unrealistically high prices. The markets are in doldrums and everyone keeps this in mind while bidding," Chaturvedi said.u00a0