Wendy Leung's Seattle Condo Blog

Viaduct and Seattle Condos

As I was driving South on 99 to the Stadium, it was great to see some progress with the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement project. The south end of the Viaduct had been demolished and the traffic has been shifted onto a new bridge near the stadiums. After more than 10 years of discussion, planning, design and prepping work, we can expect the deep bore tunnel work to begin next year. Yes, finally. With the removal of the Viaduct along the waterfront, which is estimated around 2016, I had to wonder which condos would benefit from it.

Well, I think a few of them like Belltown Court, Belltown Lofts, Pomeroy, Site 17, Fix Building, HillClimb, and Our Home Hotel condo will be better off. Let's take a closer look on why that's the case.

Vulcan Condo News

If you can recall, Vulcan Real estate had 5 condo projects: 2200 Westlake, Enso, Rollin,  Veer Lofts, and Martin planned during the condo boom. With the exception of Martin, the rest were completed as condos. However, Rollin was later converted to an apartment. The Martin project was put on hold. Now, it looks like Vulcan Real Estate is going to start constructing this project very soon, not as a condo but as an apartment. The 24-story, 188 apartment building will be completed in 2013. It's located right behind the Cinerama Theater on 5th Ave and Lenora St. Read more on Seattle Times.

Related post:

What's going on in South Lake Union 

Marselle & Danielle Over 70% Sold

                          Danielle                                                                   Marselle

The Danielle project which was completed last summer is now down to six from an original thirty one homes. With over 70% sold, their close out pricing for their one bedroom units are priced at $199,950 (3 remain), one bedroom plus den is $269,950 (2 remain) and the lone two bedroom is at $479,950.

As for Marselle, they have sold about 100 homes, which puts them at about 75% sold. The one bedrooms start at $219K, the one bedrooms with den at $289,990, and the two bedrooms start at $394,990. There are also some cool two-story homes that are two bedroom plus den and 2.5 bath or could be converted to three bedrooms. Each of these two-story homes also has private access to roof top decks.

Related posts:

The Danielle
Danielle Update
Marselle Condos Update
Marselle Condos

Cosmopolitan's Views Under Attack (again)?

Looks like the Cosmopolitan, which suffered from a loss of views by a taller project a couple of years ago, may be affected yet again by another construction project.  The Department of Planning and Development recently approved a proposed 400 foot tower in the Denny Triangle. The new project, designed by Weber Thompson will be on the corner of Lenora St and 8th Ave (2030 8th Ave). The current site is a two story commercial building while the proposed new structure calls for a 39 story high rise with 350 apartment units. Read more here.

There are several high rise condos located within a two blocks radius of the new project: Cosmopolitan, 2200 Westlake and Enso. If the giant building goes up, it will probably have the biggest impact on Cosmopolitan.  A couple of years ago, soon after Cosmopolitan was built, it had an office project going up on its western side. The plan initially called for a lower building (13 stories) with smaller impact on the Cosmo but the plan was later on revised to go much higher (33 stories). After the completion of that project, the new height affected Cosmopolitan residences living on the higher western floors.  

This latest new proposed project is probably something Cosmo residences won't be looking forward to either.  According to the spoke person representing the new project's owners, there is no plan to start construction yet. The building permit is good for 6 years. So, we might not see this new building coming up for a while (or at all) but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Related posts:

Cosmopolitan View
Cosmopolitan
2200 Westlake
Enso Update

Million Dollar Condos in Seattle Reach 2007 Prices

I was curious how much of a hit the >$1M condo market in Belltown and Downtown (98121 & 98101) have taken since the peak in 2008.  Below are some charts and some observations.

• The average price per square foot on >$1M condos has fallen below 2007 levels (10% below 2010).  
• The average price sold so far this year is still above 2007 levels (buyers are getting a lot more for their >$1M money).
• Total sales of >$1M condos in 2011 will likely be lower than 2007 and less than half the 2009 peak.
• The most expensive condo sold was in 2008 at Four Seasons (#1703) and it sold for $11,386,525.

                      

Seattle Apartment Buildings Continue Circle of Life

As the demolition work at the McGuire Apartment is pressing on layer by layer, a couple of new buildings are emerging in Belltown and the circle of life continues.  Note these are not condos but rather apartments (my blog must go on).

One of them is located right across the street south of Mosler Lofts called Altos (2612 3rd Ave). Not so good news for Mosler owners who live on the south side of the building as most of their views will be blocked by this taller building. Altos is a 17-story, 184 unit building with an estimated completion date of Spring 2012. It looks like a nice building; perhaps, it would be a nice condo conversion towards the end of the decade?

Another apartment project will be built on 6th Ave between Lenora and Blanchard. Construction is already underway for this 654 unit luxury apartment complex which is comprised of two 24-story towers with retail space. This project is expected to complete in 2013. Read more on Sixth and Lenora Apartments.

According to Dupre and Scott Aparment Advisors' forecast model last year, rents will climb 2.3% in 2011. They expect rents to rise to 4.6% in 2012 and 5.1% in 2013. If all of this come true, it will be nice timing for Altos and Sixth and Lenora Apartments to enter the market.

I looked into some condo rentals on the MLS and landlords have a much better time renting out their condos these days than three years ago. The average days on market for condos in Belltown and downtown is 55 days as oppose to 91 days three years ago this same period.  Hope everyone's enjoying 2011, it's the year of the rental units :-)

Related posts:

2010 Seattle Condo Market in Review
McGuire Building to be demolished
For the Data Junkies: Dupre and Scott Apartment Investor Report
Conversion and Rental Market Report
Seattle Rental Market

 

Almost Half of Queen Anne Condos Sold were Bank Owned or Short Sale

Back in April, I put together some charts on bank owned and short sale properties in Seattle looking at how long it takes to close on these types of properties.

This time we are going to look at which neighborhoods have the most bank owned and short sale inventory and sales. Active listing data is from the first day of August 2011.  Sold data is based on the last 6 months (2/11-7/11). Co-op's are removed from all these areas. So, we will be looking at purely condos.

Some highlights:

• While Belltown may have the image of the epicenter of the condo bubble, almost half of all Queen Anne condo sales were either bank owned or short sales compared to 1/4 for Capitol Hill and 1/5 for Belltown/Downtown.
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• Of today's active listings, Capitol Hill takes the prize with 23% of short sales compared to 20% and 11% for Queen Anne and Belltown/Downtown, respectively. 
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• For those of you sensitive to what you can get for your money, the average price per square foot sold for short sale condos in Queen Anne and Capitol Hill is $258.11 and $304.31, respectively. As for Belltown/Downtown, they are going for $368.88/square foot.
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• Queen Anne has the highest number of bank owned condos sold (in fairness, 1/3 of them are from 200 W Highland project). 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enso's Sellout Pricing

Enso recently announced updated pricing for their 11 remaining homes. The reductions for their one bedroom are fairly modest and range from 5%-7% and two bedroom reductions range from 4%-7%. Compared with Escala's homes, Enso's one bedroom pricing is pretty comparable.  A couple of two bedroom homes in Enso are priced a little higher than Escala. Furthermore, most of Escala's two bedrooms come with a 2nd parking spot and have a larger deck size.  For buyers who aren't ready for the grit of urban living and love the convenience of a Whole Foods across the street, paying a little bit of premium on Enso may be worth it. 

(Note: Not all homes are published in this list.)

Related posts:

Enso Revised Pricing
Enso Breaks Ground 

Flood Damage in Mosler Lofts

Kiro 7 reported about the flood damage in Mosler Lofts.  The flood was a result of a resident turning her shower and leaving it running for several hours, damaging several units in the building.  Some of the condos were so badly destroyed by the water that owners had to move out for weeks.  I really empathize with that owner living directly under the flooder waking up on a Sunday morning to a big hole in the ceiling and water showering at her.  It must have been quite a sight :-(

This is why it's important to activate your insurance policy when you closed on your home.  Condo insurance is pretty affordable and can run anywhere $150-250/per year, higher if you own a high end condo and have tons of valuables to insure.  A typical coverage will look something like this:

Dwelling ------------$5,000

Personal-----------_$15,000

Loss of Use---------$6,000

Personal liability---$300,000

Medical payment- -$1,000

It's also a good idea to check with your insurer that your policy covers damage coming from another home because you never know, this could happen to you.

Multiple Offers in 2011. Seriously?

A couple of days ago, I was putting in an offer for a buyer client on a new condo in Belltown and learned that the developer received another offer while we were in legal review of some of the purchase and sales agreement addendum.

So believe it or not, we were in a multiple offer situation and had to add an escalation clause to win the condo.  At the time, I was a bit incredulous since the last time I was in multiple offer situation was back in 2007 when the condo market was still doing well. 

In this case, I knew that the condo wouldn't stay long on the market. It was priced competitively; there is a limited selection of this particular type of condo; and it's priced under $400,000 (from what I've seen, the largest pool of buyers on the market is looking at this price range). What surprised me was that the condo had been on the market for more than 3 months with no offer and this competing offer only came in just around the same time as us.  Where was this competing buyer during the last 3 months?

Apparently I'm not the only one seeing this.  During the last 30 days, a few of my colleagues have also mentioned that they were in similar situations, either getting multiple offers for their listings or in a multiple offers situations when representing the buyers.  Are we seeing a glimpse of a buyer come back? Who knows?  It may not necessary mean that it will have a significant impact on prices right now but if this kind of thing continues and happens broadly, we know prices are more likely to stay stable for a while.

Back to 2007?  Hardly. But we may be starting to see some more balance of power between buyers and sellers, at least for the best units in the sub $400K range.

-Wendy, Seattle Condo Realtor

Belltown Condos: Belltown Lofts

Belltown Lofts is an interesting 6-story condo tucked in the corner of Bell St and Western Ave. It received a green honor award by AIA, the Built Smart certification from Seattle City Light, and obtained historic landmark status. The condo is comprised of two portions: a renovation of an existing building and an addition. 

The south portion was an old warehouse built in 1914 and was renovated by Driscoll Architects and U-Arc Design. It was completed in 2000. This 3 floor portion houses 25 loft homes. The majority of them are 2 story lofts with exposed brick walls and wood beams. Penthouses come with their own private rooft top deck.

The north portion is a new building that was added during the renovation and has 33 traditional flat units featuring one and two bedroom floor plans. The lobby has a display of art work that resembles an art gallery. The community shares a common rooftop deck and a bamboo courtyard with water fountains. A few of the units on the street level are live/work lofts and have access directly to Western Ave. 

Belltown Lofts' location is a mixed blessing. It's conveniently located close to Pike Place Market and the waterfront but it's also right next to the Alaskan Viaduct Way, creating a little bit of road noise for homes on the east side of the building. The proposed new tunnel going underground should greatly improve curb appeal. The layout of the traditional flats are functional and open with big windows. Loft homes have ceiling heights as high as 20 feet, which is kind of neat. Belltown Lofts is a great one to check out if you're fond of the brick style loft homes, since there are a limited selection for this type of homes in the neighborhood. The biggest drawback for this building is probably the lack of parking spots, only about half of them come with parking :-( 

One bedroom 569 - 726 square feet

Two bedroom 825-831 square feet

2 Story lofts 661-1,781 square feet

Condos near to Belltown Lofts:

Pomeroy
Site 17

Gallery Update

Sales at Gallery are winding down.  The condo is now ~90% sold.  During their 1 day "Buy Now" event (switched from auction event), they sold 8 homes.  Since then, they adjusted their prices by 10-15%.  There are 25 homes left priced between $220,000-$307,000.  There is also a 3% seller's credit for any offer written up by 06/30/11 and closed by 07/30/11.

Related posts:

Gallery Auction Converts to "Buy Now" Event
Gallery Close Out Auction Event
New Release from Brix & Gallery
Brix and Gallery Auction Events
More  Condo Auctions :Brix & Gallery
Seattle Condo Auction Roundup

 

Downtown Seattle Condos: Continental Place

Continental Place is one of the highrise condos built in the early 1980's in Belltown. Perched on the corner of 1st Ave and Blanchard St (2125 1st Ave), this 33-story condo was designed by WJA Design Collaborative, the same architect for Centennial Tower and Court Apartments. There are 3 retail spaces on the street level and 121 homes start from the 7 floor that come with a variety of floor plans and a handful of 2-story townhomes.

5-6 homes per floor from 7-15th level
4-5 homes per floor from 16-25th level
3-4 homes per floor from 26-31st level  
2 homes per floor from 32-33th level

One bedroom
512-932 square feet 

Two bedroom 
1,015-2,587 square feet

Three bedroom
1,459-2,890 square feet
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Continental Place may not have the fancier facades that you see in more recent condos but its simple and solid design commands a presence in the neighborhood. The location and amenities are probably its biggest selling points. It's only two blocks away from Pike Place Market and is one of the highly sought after condos if you are looking for a home with spectacular views of the water, mountains, city and Space Needle. Almost all the homes come with a balcony, although the majority of them are small. The building has great amenities including a 24 hour concierge, building manager, indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, fitness center, club room, and a rooftop deck with a nicely landscaped garden. This is a building that has a lot going for it: views, amenities, and location. 

Condos around Continental Place:

Cristalla
One Pacific Tower
Market Place Tower

Downtown Seattle Condos: One Pacific Tower

One Pacific Tower is a pretty striking condo built in 1994 and only one block away from Pike Place Market. Unlike most condos that were built parallel to the street, One Pacific Tower was built twisted at an angle, a design carefully thought out by the architect firm, Curtis Beattie & Associates.  The purpose is to optimize as many views as it could get for all their units. Rising at 27 stories, there were orginially 80 homes in this building, however, several units were combined into larger homes, reducing the total to 75 units.

Since all the homes face west or southwest, they are able to get a good view of the Mount Rainier, Elliott Bay and the city through the walls of windows, especially for the 2 and 3 bedroom floor plans.  

The lobby is currently going through some remodeling work, which will be a nice improvement for this building. One thing good about One Pacific Tower is that it has twenty-four hour concierge service.  There are some other nice amenities like an indoor pool, hot tub, and outdoor terrace. There is also a club room, although it's a little dated and the gym is a bit small. Other than that, it's a pleasant building, well maintained, and it's in one of the most desirable locations in Belltown/Downtown. 

7 Studios 452-534
16 One bedroom 419-976
39 Two bedroom 1,523-2,391 (01 floor plan 1,523 sqft.
12 Three bedroom
1 Five bedroom

Condos around One Pacific Tower:

Continental Place 
Escala: Cristalla's biggest competition?
Market Place Tower 

Belltown Condos: Austin Bell

Austin Bell is a historic landmark located on one of the most vibrant blocks (2324 1s Ave) in Belltown. The building was constructed as a hotel in 1889 and was designed by noted architect, Elmer Fisher. It was named after William Bell's son, Austin. The hotel was almost destroyed by a fire in 1981 but the strong brick facade managed to survive. It was carefully restored from 1997-1999 by Murray Franklyn and Snell Partnership and turned into a condominium complex with a Starbucks on the street level. 
 
Floor plan & square footage               

23 Studio- 333-696 square feet           

16 One bedroom- 501-906 square feet

5 Two bedroom- 1,185-1,395 square feet

1 Three bedroom- 2,000 square feet

The lobby features wood columns with brick walls and pictures of the Austin Bell hotel in the early days. Out of the 45 units in the building, 12 of them are lofts boasting close to 20 foot ceilings. The majority of these homes are on the 2nd floor.  

Comparing Austin Bell and Pomeroy, they actually share some similarities. Both buildings use fob key entry for their lobby entrances as well as elevator, making it feel a little bit more secure than some other condos in Belltown. Both have limited amenities. In Pomeroy's case, it only has a huge common rooftop deck, probably one of the nicest in Belltown. As for Austin Bell, the rooftop deck is a little smaller but it has a central courtyard on the 2nd floor. Pomeroy has higher quality finishes and central air-conditioning but it does not have any lofts. Austin Bell has higher number of petite studios. They are small but well laid out and it's ideal for a first time home buyer or someone looking for an in city pied-a-terre.  

Related post:

Pomeroy