Seattle Condos and Downtown Condos | Reviews by Wendy & Marco

It's a Seller's Market: Seattle Condo March 2013 Update

I took a look at March 2013 data and pretty much every neighborhood has the same story.  Sales up. Median prices up.  Inventory flat.  

If you were one of those condo investors waiting for the market to pick up to avoid having to have a unit sit on the market too long, your time may have come.  You'll not reap huge windfalls from a pricing point of view but you'll certainly see some action and at a price that's considerably more than you would have gotten a year ago.

In terms of neighborhoods, Belltown/Downtown and Queen Anne/Magnolia both had almost double the units sold in March as they did in Feb but number of listings available was either flat or down versus February.  

 

Seattle Bank Owned and Short Sales Update

Thanks Marco on the great wrap up for 2012 Seattle Condo Market!

For those of you who are still curious about distressed properties and their impact on the market (bank owned and short sale inventory), this is for you. More than 6 months ago, we pulled some data from NWMLS on bank owned and short sale condos. At that time, bank owned and short sale condos made up about 19% of the total listings. Last month's data shows that it was almost the same. However, if you compare that to almost 2 years ago, distressed assets as a percent of all on the market went down significantly.

In the first half of 2012, we had a total of 315 distressed condos, during the 2nd half, it went down to 259 sales. Interestingly, bank owned properties sales dropped from 186 to 93  in the 2nd half of last year while short sale condos went up by almost 30% from 129 to 166 sales perhaps an indication of banks starting to work with owners when a short sale is proposed.

In summary, we had fewer distressed condos coming on the market in 2012 than in 2011; so far we are not seeing any influx of bank owned properties coming on the market. I agree with Marco's prediction that we are not likely to see an increase in them in 2013; this will be a good news for sellers.  

( Data extracted from NWMLS on 01/29/2013 and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. 

By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Related posts:

Seattle Bank Owned and Short Sale Properties July 2012

Seattle Bank Owned and Short Sales Properties April 2011

2012 Seattle Condo Market in Review - The Year of Dwindling Inventory

As we start off 2013, every year in January we like to take a quick pause to take a look back and recap the major events, trends, and milestone from the previous year and for the heck of it, make some forecasts and predictions for the upcoming year.

Trends of 2012 and Events Worth Noting

We saw our condo market absorption rates increase and inventory dwindle to the point nearly all segments of our Seattle condo market were leaning toward a seller’s market with less than three months of inventory. 

Multiple offers returned but interestingly enough we did not see a sharp incline in pricing. This is likely due to buyers who were much more conservative and resistant to overpaying in light of the recent market crash. This could also be due to more stringent appraisal review practices by lenders, which many applaud.

2200 Condominiums in South Lake Union reached the largest construction defect settlement in state history with its developer for $26 million dollars.

We saw the return of investor buyers. An increase in all cash purchases seemed to indicate investors gained confidence in spending again.

Many newer condominium buildings entered litigation with their developers in accordance with the Washington State Condominium Act’s construction warranty time frames. This further limited available condo units on the market because units that are for sale in buildings with pending litigation have a very hard time obtaining buyer financing.

FHA Changes Mean Help for Condo Buyers, Sellers and HOAs

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) recently changed several of its outdated and controversial guidelines, which might help those looking to buy or sell a condo.  Rule changes are “temporary” but include things such as increases to the allowance on percentage of commercial space within a condo project, increased flexibility on percentage of delinquent HOA dues, less liability for HOA Board Members who sign off on the FHA application, as well as allowances for increases in the number of units that can be rented at one time or owned by one person in a building. All of these changes have the ability to help condo buildings, condo owners, and of course buyers who are using FHA loans.

A recent article in the Seattle Times summarized some of the key relaxed guidelines the FHA recently announced.   I wanted to share this article with you and go into more detail about how it affects us here in Seattle. If you are a buyer, seller, or HOA board member, and FHA has been a topic of recent discussions, you might want to revisit it. As of September 13^th you now have more options so I’d take another look to see if your condo building or one you thought about buying in might now be in a position to get FHA approval.

Client Question of the Week: My condo's tax assessed value went down, does that mean my condo value decreased?

Recently a client emailed me a great question that we felt many people would benefit from knowing the answer to.

“Marco, I recently received a tax assessment notice in the mail and it showed my condo value has gone down since I bought it earlier this year. But I'm seeing condo prices in the area are increasing. Should I appeal to the tax assessor’s office to increase my tax assessment to be more in line with recent market sales, as I'm afraid this might hurt my condo's value now and in the future? I realize this might mean my annual taxes may go up, but I'm just not sure what is best.”

Great question!

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 

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

Decatur is Back

Decatur, the apartment conversion on First Hill is back on the market and will be releasing 63 remaining homes at a discount of 5% up to 35% off the original listing price. Here are some interesting details from the developer:

1.) Zero down financing on selected products.  Zero closing costs before November 30.

2.) 3 blocks of 21 homes will be released in phases. The first block will be released on September 27th.

3.) Decatur's preferred lender will be offering a "Payment Assurance Plan."

Learn more here.

Maison Jiselle Condos

 

Maison Jiselle is a conversion project on 120 14th Ave.  This is a 16-unit condo, all with one bedroom floor plans.  Square footage for these homes fall a little under 500.  The building is partially converted with more units coming on the market soon. All homes are priced under $184,950 and doesn't come with parking.

The building has updated mechanical, plumbing, windows, and electrical wiring.  There is a center courtyard which gives the condo a little more of a community feel.  The floor plan is really efficient for a one bedroom this size.  Each home has a walk-in closet which slightly offsets the lack of a storage unit.

There's not a whole lot going on in the neighborhood but the location is pretty close to Seattle University, the International district, and Capitol Hill.  If you are very price sensitive, this condo is worth considering as a starter home.

Meridian Condo

Meridian is a fairly new condo located on the sloop of Terry Ave on First Hill. This 27 story high-rise building was built by Taliesen Corp., a subsidiary of Cressey Development of Vancouver, B.C. The 161 homes in the building include studios, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom floor plans.

Studio                     400-429 sq.ft.

One bedroom          557-793 sq.ft.

Two bedroom       1,013-1310 sq.ft.

Three bedroom    1,666-2,657 sq.ft.