Seattle Condo Review: Blog with News & Advice about Seattle Condos

Where in Seattle will the investor money go in 2008?

Seattle Largest Condo Project- Insignia

The site of Teatro Zinzani will soon become home of Seattle's largest condominium project. Occupying the whole lot between 5th and 6th Ave and Bell and Battery Street, Insignia condominiums will begin construction next year. The twin tower condos will feature a whopping 643 units ranging from one to three bedrooms and from about 763 sf to 2,650 sf. Read more.

Seattle Condos 2.0

-Wendy

2200 Westlake Flippers....Still Waiting to Flip

I was doing some research for one of my clients this week who is interested in getting into a pre-sale construction project for the purpose of selling the property shortly after the construction is complete next year. While this may have been a lucrative practice a couple of years ago, the current data for 2200 Westlake investors tells an interesting story.

Specifically, there are 31 Westlake condo units on the market as of this post. Morever, 12 of them have been on the market for over 90 days and 7 of those have reduced their initial asking prices (price drops ranged from $20,000-$485,000). Regardless of whether one thinks flippers ought to make outsized profits or not, it's interesting to try and figure out what's going on. What has led to this challenges of all those pre-construction buyers who snapped up vulcan units, descended on grand openings, and listed their units for sale moments after they got the keys?

The bar chart below shows flipped units on the market by days on market -- less 30, 31-90, more than 90.

Seattle Condos 2.0

Though many new condos like Escala, Vulcan's projects, Cosmopolitan and Hotel 1 have been receiving a lot of attention in recent months, many home buyers are wondering "what's next?"

For those who have time or don't like what's on the immediate horizon, the good news is there is another wave of projects currently in the incubation stage as we speak. Some of these may not make it but many of them will.  Here are some highlights of the new projects in the pipeline.

A few interesting projects :

Skygarden              2301 6th Ave                 2nd and Pike
(First Hill)               (Belltown)                     (Downtown)

Icon Tower

I just received this press release on Icon Tower which is scheduled for construction in early 2008.  Here is the official Icon announcement link if you want to read the official spin on this project.

My thoughts?  Condo buyers and investors have to think about a lot of things before picking a project such as location, amenities, pricing and the market overall (among other things).  In the case of Icon, you have to think about all of that plus you have to convince yourself the developer, architect, and builder are able to turn this approximately 11,000 square foot triangle into a successful 224 unit condominium project.

This project will probably end up having a lot of lookie lou's who will wait till the building is complete before considering buying a unit.  Investors with a higher risk appetite who buy into the project pre-construction may end up making a very good investment if the Icon team can really pull it off.  This is especially true since I wouldn't expect them to forward price given the unique risks of this project. On the other hand, if the bleeding edge design doesn't work and attract the interest as advertised, early buyers may find it difficult to move the units when it's time to resell.

Carbon 56

Designed for the hip and trendy, Carbon 56 (formerly known as Aristo Apartments) is located in the Denny Triangle neighborhood on 2015 Terry Ave. Capitalizing on the success and cache of 2200 and the new Whole Foods located a block away, Carbon 56 is aimed at the young professional urban dweller who can’t afford or doesn’t want to pay over $500,000 for a condo.

The building was originally constructed in 2003. Carbon 56 has fifty-six New York-style lofts with five different floor plans. Pricing starts in the low $300,000s and go to the high $500,000s. Most units are priced in the low to mid $300,000s. The condos range in size from 660 to almost 1,300 sq ft. and boast 13 feet high floor to ceiling windows and maple hardwood floors. Larger floor plans have elevated resting areas.

The building also has a common terrace and fitness center. Majority of lower floor east and west facing units either come with a private patio or/and private entrance. The units were first offered to tenants in the end of January and now are available to the public. Carbon 56 Price list.

Pros

- Tall ceilings and oversized windows
- One block away from Whole Foods Market
- Good price per square foot pricing

Cons

- The views are sparse

SCR Scorecard

Exterior            Average

Interior            Average

Location            Good

View           Below average

Amenities    Below average

Value                Good

Overall            Average

Final Thoughts:

You don't have to be a hotel/condo or pay the hefty vulcan premium for one to be next door to Whole Foods.  A very attractive choice for real urban professionals who don't have $600k plus to spend on a condo.

-Wendy

   

Technorati Tags: Carbon 56, South Lake Union condos, 2200 Westlake, 2015 Terry Ave, Aristo apartment, work/live lofts, Seattle Lofts, Denny Triangle condos, Kauri investment

Enso breaks ground

Vulcan has started construction of 2201 Westlake, also known as Enso condominiums. The condo is scheduled for completion in early 2009. Read more.

-Wendy

Technorati Tags: Enso, 2201 Westlake, Discovery center, 2200 Westlake condos, Paul Allen, South Lake Union condos, Seattle condos, Downtown condos

Icon Tower

Icon Tower, a proposed 30 story condominium, will potentially be located on a triangle bound by Wall St, Denny Way and 6th Ave. If approved, construction will start late spring or early summer of 2007. The condo will feature 224 units ranging between 568 and 1,397 square feet. Icon Tower will rise up to 290 feet, will have 10 levels of underground parking, storefronts and two level of above ground parking. Read more.

-Wendy

Technorati Tags: Seattle condos, South Lake Union condos, Denny Triangle Condos, Icon Tower, Icon condos, Seattle condos, Weber + Thompson

Vulcan's Disovery Center update

Vulcan’s Discovery Center re-opened yesterday. This time, they have a more detailed presentation for their three South Lake Union projects. The three condos’ home selections day will start from Dec through February 2007 with Veer in December, Enso in January, and Rollin in February.

Update of the condos in the Discovery center:

Veer

• Kitchen model with flexi loft - the flexi space does not feature the actual height of the ceiling, only a representation of how it looks
• Scale model of the condo

Enso

• Kitchen and bathroom model (featuring cool color scheme with rustic bathroom granite countertop)
• Scale model of the condo
• More finish selections
• Doll house of the different floor plans
• Touchscreen presentation with floor plan selections and estimated views from different floors

From the floor plan selection, you can see that units on the 8th level onwards on the north side will have Lake Union view.

Rollin

• One bedroom model unit (the model home is a variation of their 03,07,09 floor plan)
• Scale model of the condo
• More finishes selections
• Touchscreen presentation with floor plan selections

Overall, the center has a much clearer presentation than their June event. So far, from the scale model of the three condos, Enso has the most impressive architectural design. If you feel that you have not gotten a full picture yet during your informational overview appointment, it is worth the trip. For buyers who can’t decide between Enso or Rollin and are looking for a view unit, this is a good time to do a comparison before your home selection appointments.

As for The Martin, it will have its own sales center. Currently, there are no dates yet on when they are opening.

-Wendy

Technorati Tags: South Lake Union, Vulcan's projects, Enso, Rollin, Veer, Discovery Center, Denny Triangle, Seattle condos, South lake Union condos,

Condo news- Hyatt Place

Hyatt Place, a subsidiary of Hyatt Hotel is planning to build a 158 hotel suite and 56 residential units, either condos or apartments on the site of Greg’s Japanese Auto, 6th Ave and Denny Way.

If it becomes a condo, Hyatt Place will be offering more limited service as opposed to other luxury hotel in Seattle. "The market conditions will be the determining factor if it will become a condo or an apartment," said Kent Angier, President of  Kauri Investment.

Designed by Johnson Braund Design Group of Seattle, Hyatt Place will have two buildings, each with separate entries and hallways instead of the traditional hotels with condos stacked above. The exteriors of both will be connected. Read more on related article.

-Wendy

Technorati Tags: Hyatt Place, Denny Triangle, Seattle hotel/condos, Seattle condos, Belltown condos, Kauri investment