Wendy Leung's Seattle Condo Blog

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). 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sanctuary Update

Still remember The Sanctuary in Capitol Hill? It's a conversion project from the First Church of Christ the Scientist building to a 12-unit multi-level townhome. The developer had defaulted on the construction loan back in August 2010 and construction and marketing was on hold for more than a year.  The loan has been acquired by a new lender, PathFinder Pollin Sanctuary Holdings, LLC.

The Sanctuary will be available for sale through a receivership. The Court has appointed Resource Transition Consultants, LLC to oversee the completion of the construction and sales of the homes.

Prices for these homes are expected to be up to 40% lower than the original prices. The townhomes range from 1,278-2,438 square feet and will start at below $600,000. In additional to that, homeowners can expect a 10-year property tax abatement, with a special assessment designation for historic structure.  Units will be available for purchase by late summer once RTC finalizes on all the details (finish specifications, pricing, HOA budget, Public Offering Statement, etc.).

Press Release
FAQs on The Sanctuary's receivership sales

Related posts:

First Church Converting to Townhomes 
First Church Conversion Update
Lights, Camera, Action for First Church!
First Church Conversion
What is the difference between a condo and a townhome?

Harvard and Highland Update

 

 

 

Harvard and Highland project just reported 12 remaining homes with 3 sold in May. The project was completed in mid 2009. The price point at that time was ranging from $1.5M to $5M.  Right now, there are three homes priced under the $1M mark.  The remaining homes sizes range from 1,633 to 2,520 square feet.  This project is located in the very desirable Harvard-Belmont Historic Landmark Distric and the gated community makes it feel particularly exclusive and secure. The homeowner dues are relatively low at 35 cents/square foot. Prices have dropped considerably since their presale. 

Related posts:

Havard and Highland Update (July 2009) 
Harvard and Highland Update (Sep 2008)
Harvard and Highland
744 Harvard Condo
Lakeview Residence Condo

Trace North Price Drop

Trace North has announced another price drop. This is the 3rd price drop since September 2010. Most of the remaining homes drop by 2-17%, averaging about 10% drop from 5 months ago.  The building is 85% sold with 16 homes remaining and it's FHA approved. 

Related posts:

Seattle Condo Project Update
Trace North Update

2010 Seattle Condo Market in Review

The Seattle condo market has definitely gone through a lot in the last few years.  Looking at 2010 as a whole, it did not preform as well as 2009 but it wasn't too far behind.

During the first 6 months of 2010, we saw a higher number of closed sales compared to first half of 2009.  This may have been due to the extension of the tax credit from October 2009 to April 30, 2010 which gave the market a boost in activity.  In addition to the original $8,000 first time home buyers' credit, a $6,500 tax credit was passed for repeat buyers as well.  Buyers had to be under contract by end of April, 2010 and closed by June 30 (the closing date was later extended to September 30, 2010) in order to qualify for this tax credit.

The strongest month was April; probably due to many buyers trying to meet the tax credit deadline closing date.  

Seattle Condo Update 2

Here is a quick look on how things are looking for condos in Belltown, Downtown and South Lake Union: 

Enso at South Lake Union has closed 98 homes with a few more pending.  By the end of the year, they will probably have 80% of homes sold.  According to the sales center, pricing has stayed stable and homes are closing for list price.  If you're using their preferred lender, Bank of America,  there is a $2,500 credit at closing and the seller will match that credit as well.  However, they are not to be combined with other concessions. 

Fifteen Twenty-One has sold 102 out of 143 homes with several more pending being scheduled. There has been quite a number of contingent buyers lately in this building. Read more here.  Sales have started picking up as these folks successfully sell their single family homes.  The website has also been using testimonials from current residents to promote the building.  I have to say it's a pretty smart marketing move and it's surprising more projects don't do the same thing.  Inventory for their more popular plans (at certain price points) are getting thin.  Remaining homes range from $1M to $5.5M.

Escala has sold 82 homes, 77 of them since March 27, 2010.  They closed 61 of them, nearly 25% of the building is closed as of last week.  The building is averaging about 9 sales per month and the sales center is anticipating having 50% of the building sold by their one year anniversary on March 27, 2011.  It would be interesting to see if they will make some price adjustments over the next few months to meet this goal. 

Gallery in Belltown has sold 188 homes out of 233.  The 45 remaining homes range from 571 square feet to 1,160 square feet.  Prices start at $249,000 and go up to $465,000.  As some of you might recall, they had their auction in September 2009 and sold around 40 homes.  After the auction, they have lowered the prices for their remaining inventory based on the auction results and since then have sold over 120 condos in the last twelve months.  Gallery is FHA and VA approved. 

Seattle Condo Projects Update

 

Fifteen Twenty-One has reached their 100th closing with more scheduled and several new sales pending.   More homes over $1M have closed in Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue than any other new construction community in downtown Seattle combined during past development cycle. They have also launched a new testimonial campaign online with 18 residents and merchants from Pike Place Market.

 

The Decatur on First Hill is now 70% sold and was recently featured in NHSMC "Fresh Ideas" Tour.  Financing for the home is now available from 2.25% with no closing costs. 

Eleven Eleven East Pike has 10 homes remaining (27 homes in total) and is having their new closeout pricing from $239,950.   Their new model home is now open.

   
Hjarta condominiums is now 50% sold.  The new model homes are now open and the building is FHA financing approved (3.5% down payment options).

 

Related posts:

Fifteen Twenty-One Opening Ceremony
Bulk Buy Update
Eleven Eleven East Pike
Hjarta & Florence Condos Reintroduced through Bulk Sales

-Wendy 

Portofino

(Pictures contributed by Adriel Tam; home available for rent at CHBO)

The Portofino is a 4-story brick building located on the corner of Summit and Pine in the Pine/ Pine District.  It was a warehouse built in 1919 and later converted to a condominium.  There are 25 homes occupying the 2nd to the 4th floor. The interior finishes are fairly modest unless the owners have remodeled their homes.

Monique Lofts

(Pictures contributed by Joseph Hill and archived under Seattle Condo Gallery)

Monique Lofts is a funky and hip condo in the Pike/Pine District (1024 E Pike St).  It was a warehouse office (1913) and was converted to a loft-style condo in 1999.  There are 24 residential homes in this three-story condo and two commercial spaces on street level. 

The interior has some interesting industrial elements including exposed concrete columns which add some nice accents to the walls.  Heavy wood beams hang across the ceilings, wood floors are throughout the open space and ceiling heights for these homes go as high as 20 feet! The smallest homes start at 467 square feet and the largest one is 1,989 square.

19th Ave Lofts

19th Ave Lofts is one of the few newer loft buildings in Capitol Hill (1812 19th Ave).  The condo is situated on the east edge of the neighborhood and was built in 2003.  It was designed by Val Thomas, who also developed Eastlake Lofts which has a similar look.  This 3-story condominium complex is a concrete and brick construction with 45 residential units. 

5th & Madison and Trace Lofts Update

The 5th and Madison Auction happened on March 28th.  Sixteen condos were auctioned off with prices ranging from $357-$579 per square foot. Matt has more information.  It looks like some of them did not make it to the closing table.  Kennedy Wilson just sent this flyer that they have a few condos remaining that will be available at the auction price.  Also, two homes that were auctioned off previously, #1102 and #1805 are now back on the table.  Both are one bedroom homes.  It's unclear from the flyer if there are more available. 

I also recently got this info from the folks at Trace:

Prices have also been reduced on most homes at Trace North and Trace Lofts.  At Trace North, price reductions range from $10,000 to $75,000 on studio, open one bedroom and one bedroom homes, with prices now starting at $229,950.  At historic Trace Lofts, four homes remain including open one bedroom, one bedroom, and two bedroom plans with reductions from $30,000 to $150,000, with prices now starting at $369,950.  Most remaining home feature outstanding views of the downtown Seattle Skyline, Olympic Mountains and Space Needle from floor-to-ceiling windows. .

Trace is located at the heart of the Pike/Pine Triangle neighborhood on Capitol Hill, and scores a near-perfect 98 on www.walkscore.com. Earlier this week it was announced that downstairs neighbors Tavern Law and Barrio will be joined this summer by The Local Vine, a wine bar and restaurant.

Trace is 70% sold and ready for move-in and approved for 3.5% down FHA financing. There’s just two weekends left to shop for a home and qualify for the Federal Tax Credit for First-Time Buyers, up to $8000 for qualified buyers who enter into contract by April 30, 2010. 

-Wendy

Top Seattle Condo Market Developments and Trends

Before we focus too much on 2010, here's a quick look back at some of the most notable elements of the 2009 Seattle condo story.

1. Auctions 
2009 was the year for auctions. Queen Anne High School, Lumen, Brix and Gallery successfully sold most of their auctioned homes with closed price per square foot ranging from $334 to $439.  Brix and Gallery subsequently adjusted prices for their remaining homes and sales picked up swiftly.  Brix got approved by the FHA.  Meanwhile, Sunrise on the Lake, The Summit, and Avaview sold 19 of their 38 homes last December.

Bulk Buy Update

Despite the skeptics' view (myself included) that bulk buying was more complicated than it was worth, it looks like folks at The Decatur and Eleven Eleven East Pike are getting some traction.  So far, they are reporting 20 home sales out of their 30 units released from both projects. The second phase of 21 homes from the Decatur has also been released.

The Decatur Phase I & II Bulk Release
Eleven Eleven East Pike Bulk Release

Seattle Times Article
Bulk Sales Update

Related Posts:

Bulk Buy Project Offers Classes
Eleven Eleven East Pike
Decatur is back

New Release from Brix & Gallery

 
 
Brix and Gallery have released new units on some of their remaining homes last weekend.  Prices have been adjusted on these homes based on the recent auction results.  The new pricing is much more in line with the market with a few homes actually more attractive than resale condos.  I wonder if the buyers who were unsuccessful in the auction bidding will be back to look at these homes.

Brix new release
Gallery new release

Related posts:

Brix & Gallery Auction Results
Brix & Gallery Auctions
Lumen Auction
Queen Anne High School Auction
Press Auction
Seventeen07 Auction

More Condo Auctions: Gallery and Brix

        

Clearly, auctions are the new black.  Developer, Schnitzer West will be holding auctions for their two condo projects, Gallery in Belltown and Brix in Capitol Hill on September 27 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  The Brix auction will begin at 1.00pm and Gallery will begin at 6.00pm.  43 homes and 40 homes from Gallery and Brix will be available for auction, respectively.