Seattle Condos and Downtown Condos | Reviews by Wendy & Marco

Escala Condo Update

It is time for an update on Escala Condos in Belltown/Downtown, one of the few new contruction condo buildings with units still available in Seattle.

We reached out to , Erik Mehr, Sales Manager at Escala,  who is responsible for the sale of the remaining units and here is what we chatted about.

(Marco) Escala seems to be doing great with sales this year, what do you think the reasons are that buyers are coming to Escala and so many sales are happening there?

(Erik) We offer the greatest value, location, square footage, finish level and amenities. Additionally, we respect the consumer with a completely transparent and orderly sales process which enables buyers to fully understand and appreciate the price structure.
We also have the most knowledgeable experienced condominium sales team in the NW on site to provide buyers with the necessary information to make an informed purchasing decision.  
Combined, our Escala sales agents have sold over 3,000 condominium units.
 
How many units have now sold at Escala?

203 of the 269 have sold. 192 of the 203 have closed.

And for the remaining units, do you anticipate any changes in price points, whether that be up or down?

As the downtown area condominium supply dwindles the prices are likely to increase.

July 2012 Seattle Condo Market Conditions: Queen Anne / Magnolia Power Ahead

July 2012 market data is in.  Here's what you need to know and a bunch more.

• July 2012 saw 40% more sales than July 2011 showing continue evidence of a gradual recovery.
• Median prices came in at $250K (within the $235-$270 range we've been seeing since March).
• Inventory continues to shrink with only 576 units on the market, the lowest number of condos on the market in the last 6 months.
• While most of the neighborhoods had a seasonally expected dip, Queen Anne/Magnolia actually had a month-over-month increase of 25% in condo sales (compared to a 50% decrease in over the same period in 2011).

 More charts and data below 

Insignia Update

Several readers have asked about the Insignia project so I reached out to Dennis Serraglio, Director of Sales and Marketing from Bosa Development to get an inside update on this exciting project in Seattle (the first that has broken ground after a multi-year dry spell).  

Here's what we discussed:

Wendy: How has your vision for the project evolved since originally planned versus now?

Dennis: The vision remains the same. An iconic tower in an emerging , centrally located neighborhood. Spectacular views in all directions. To provide larger than average homes that are highly amenitized.

Wendy: What were the key drivers to deciding now was the right time to get back in?

The lack of new condos available currently and none in the immediate pipeline. Neighborhood filling in over the next 3 years with Bentall’s rentals and Amazon Campus. High net worth individuals with high paying jobs nearby. The towers will take 3 years to build and a feeling the market will have large pent up demand as we get closer to completion.


Wendy: What kind of reaction have you gotten so far to the news?

We have received a lot of positive press and enquiries from the press.  We will start teaser ads and site signage with a registration page likely summer next year.

What are the market conditions for Seattle condos?

May 2012 data is in and here are some key highlights!

Sales continue to climb; in fact, they've improved around 20% month over month since February.

 

Median prices on the other hand have inched up but seem pretty stable since March 2012.

Inventory for Seattle Condos in Belltown & Downtown Continues to Plunge: Less than 1/6th of 2009 Levels

The Seattle Times ran a story a few days ago reporting that Belltown and Downtown new condos are filling up so I figured I'd dig a little deeper and share some data for SCR readers. 

I included a quick year-over-year inventory analysis below.  What's surprising is how inventory is now even lower than 2007 levels and less than 1/6 (!) of the peak in 2009.

Seattle Condo Market Continues to Bump Along w/o Much Drama

Folks the March numbers are in and I've assembled a whole slew of charts and tables for your pleasure.  For those of you who aren't into curling up with a hot cup of coffee and staring at numbers, here are 4 highlights.

1. Even though there was 40% less inventory this March versus last March, there was about the same number of actual condos sold.

2. Number of units sold was up over 20% in March 2012 compared to Feb 2012.  First time we saw that big of a month over month improvement in a long time.

3. March 2012 median prices were up 15% versus February 2012.  First time we've seen a month over month increase in median prices since November 2011!

4. Prices are still soft compared to last year and there isn't any neighborhood where prices are higher in 2012 than they were in 2011 and while Belltown/Downtown is holding up well versus last year, even that neighborhood is still about 10% off of 2012 prices. 

Seattle Condo Neighborhoods Show Divergent Pricing Trends

February 2012 Seattle condo market data is in.  Here are the most interesting takeaways and some nice charts.

Good News

• Number of sales from January 2012 to February 2012 was up about 5%.
• Year-over-year sale volume from February 2011 to February 2012 were up about 15%.

 Mixed News

• Prices overall looked weak with February 2012 median prices coming in at $202,000 (last few months of 2011 were in the $230-40K range).

• West Seattle and Ballard/Green Lake had the biggest pricing pressure with median closed sale prices sinking from $202K to $112K in West Seattle and from $209K to $147K in Ballard/Green Lake.

• Not all neighborhoods faired badly.  In fact, median prices in Belltown/Downtown jumped considerably from $363K in January to $405K in February.  Queen Anne/Magnolia also showed nice strength in pricing with median closed prices rising from $171K to $190K from January to February.

Seattle is Both a Sellers' and Buyers' 2BR Market (Depending on Who You Are....)

Recently, I was doing some comparable analysis for a client who owns a large two bedroom condo in Belltown.  Despite the mushy economic climate, there is a considerably low inventory for sale in this mid price group ($400k-$700k).   Intrigued, I decided to pull more comparables in Belltown and Downtown as well as other price groups to see what their absorption rates are. (Absorption rate is the time it would take the market to consume all the units for sale based on the current number of units on the market and the most recent data on how many units are selling per month.)  

Not surprisingly, the lower price group (under $400K) are selling quite well; there is low inventory and demand is stable (mostly first time home buyers and opportunistic investors), thus pricing has seemed to stabilize.   

Seattle Condo Market December Update: Steady Sales from Lower Supply

Last December only had 689 condos for sale in Seattle, a drop of 16% from the previous month, and 30% fewer than December 0f 2010.  In contrast to shrinking supply, year-over-year December closed sales were up by 16%.  In fact, December 2011 ended with 22% more closed transactions than January 2011, good improvement...but not a home run. 

Median prices were off by 7% from twelve months ago landing at $234,000 in December and have been hovering under the $250,000's mark for the past 7 months. 

Supply absorption rate (based on closed sales versus inventory) showed sign of improvement from the beginning of the year.  In January, we had around 9 months of supply and the year ended with 5 months supply, moving from a strong buyers' market to a neutral market (favoring neither buyers nor sellers).

Overall, the year concluded with lower supply and higher sales from beginning of the year but median prices were still showing softness.  If the market continues the same momentum as the last few months with lower supply and higher sales, we might start seeing gradual pricing improvement.  Much like the national economy, things are getting slightly better, but it's a slow road.

 

Seattle Ranks #2 for Office Investment

Assuming what's good for the office and retail market is good for the condo market, Seattlelites have something to look forward to!  Of course, being best in the country right now is like being called one of the tallest dwarfs but we'll take what we can get right?

Seattle will be among the top five markets nationally for investment in office and retail properties over the next five years, according to a new national report by Santa Ana-based real estate firm Grubb and Ellis Co.   

Grubb & Ellis is predicting a “continued sluggish recovery” for commercial real estate in 2012, with gradual improvement in leasing and sales of commercial properties.

The growth of high-tech and bio-tech companies put Seattle second only to San Francisco among the U.S. markets predicted to be best for investment in office buildings. 

Here's the full article.  Not a bad way to start 2012 :-)

 

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