Escala Construction Update

Escala sent out a letter to their buyers with an update of the following:

Construction Topping Off Event

The final pour for Escala will be held on April 7th and has sent personal invites.

Homeowner Move-In Update

Escala wrote in their letter that many buyers have been starting to call asking questions regarding walk-throughs and closings.  Currently they don’t have dates scheduled but they’re working towards contacting each homeowner personally to make arrangements.  Their occupancy permit is scheduled for mid-September.  But, everything depends on construction agendas and weather.  Their anticipation is occupancy will begin in October/November 2009.

Interior Home Finish Schedule

Several floors of homes are said to be nearly complete and when all homes are completed, the homes will then be “sealed” with approval after the development team has had a chance to go through them all.

Olive 8 – Unit and Amenity Photos: Blue = the New Green

We popped into Olive 8 on Friday after their buyer event the day before.  It was nice to finally see the finished product after going through and taking construction photos late last year.

Units seem to look much bigger when staged/vacant as opposed to having ladders, boxes, and saws everywhere.  Probably one of the most noticeable differences was the high ceilings.  Leslie Williams of Williams Marketing pointed out several other small details that she said many buyers really liked, such as the tiling around the tub plus the lights above the tubs and under the cabinets.

Leslie also made sure to point out the size of the private decks, which are very comfortable in size–plenty of room for creating an outdoor sanctuary to enjoy sunsets & wine.

Another unit that turned out really well is the open 1 bedroom.  

There are of course more resident amenities that are shared with the hotel.  The spa seemed somewhat busy, so we didn’t get more than just a cool picture of the sign…

The fitness room is actually more than three times bigger than what’s shown in the photo below.  To the left is a wall where there’s another large area for aerobics/yoga/stretch area.

…and now for the best part– the pool!  No, we didn’t stick our heads in to see what the underwater stereo system sounded like, but the actual came pretty close to the rendering.

Overall, the newly completed project looks very good!

King County Condo Weekly Sales Ratios for March 26th, 2009

Condo Only, NWMLS Area 701 (Belltown & Downtown Seattle)

 

Good news in the attached report:

• Last week was the highest King County weekly sales this year at 401!
• Twelve NWMLS areas in King County are balanced markets (16 areas are buyers market with over 6 months supply)!  The report doesn’t show price, but there is a correlation with price and months supply of inventory

Important Report Formatting Note:
The report shows months supply of inventory not weeks supply.  The active inventory is divided by the weekly sales and then converted*1 to month supply.

*1  The conversion is done by dividing by 52 weeks per year and then times by 12 months per year.  For example 26 weeks supply is converted to 6 months supply (26 divided by 52 times by 12).

VIEW FULL REPORTS (pdf)

Months Supply King County Residential for weeks ended 02-12-09 to 03-26-09

Months Supply King County Condo for weeks ended 02-12-09 to 03-26-09

1521 Second Averaging One Home Sale per Week!

Nyhus sent out a news release yesterday stating that Fifteen Twenty-One has been:

…a beehive of unit closings, homeowner move-ins, construction punch-lists and new homebuyer tours.

138 out of the 143 total homes sold during the presale process with an expectable amount of attrition to follow.  There have now been 63 of a 120 pending which have now closed.  The remaining units are scheduled to close in the next several weeks/months depending on time of customization buyers had made.  More good news is that several unit appraisals have come in higher than purchase prices.

“Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue is unique and continues to demonstrate impressive demand today–just like it did during presales,” say Jones (Dean), who is representing the project.  “Buyers can separate individual developments from generalizations about the broader Seattle marketplace.  Success stories such as this demonstrate that real estate is, and always well be, intensely local.”

Exciting Bay Vista Upgrades are in the Works!

Back in March of 2008, Bay Vista began identifying some new improvements they were going to be making to their 6th floor amenities.  Bay Vista already has one of the most unique amenities in the city with an outdoor jogging path and pea patch.  However, the decor has turned out to be rather outdated, considering the building was built in 1982.  Architects Degen & Degen have been in charge of the new design and they seem to have planned it well.  The new design goes well with the existing exterior and interior design.

Here are some renderings and photos of the construction (taken yesterday).

The new kitchen and bar will now have wheelchair access with 2 different types of hardwoods.  With the new layout, the door leading to the outside jogging path with Western facing views will welcome much more impressive opportunities for entertaining guests.

A few other new improvements to the Bay Vista Club Room include recarpeting the sitting area and adding some new shelving where the TV will be placed.  There will also continue to be a thoughtful divider between the room’s entrance  and open space where residents are watching sports games, political speeches, etc.

Probably one of the most exciting new changes for residents at Bay Vista is the addition of space to the fitness room.  They’ve about doubled the space, which before has been pretty small (the outline in the pictures below represent the additional space).

A brokers open will be scheduled after completion.  To get even more of an idea how the outcome will look, click through the photo gallery below for more renderings and texture provided by Melissa Walling at Degen & Degen.

Transaction Stats Including New Construction & FSBOs

Newspaper statistics and other sources that base sales off of NWMLS data only do not include new construction and FSBO sales (since they are typically not entered into the MLS to begin with).  Therefore, we contacted our favorite title rep Joan Slee at Ticor Title.  Title companies have much better access to the numbers, since they are sales which are recorded with the courts.  Below is a summary of the last five years of price per square foot, average sale price, and number of sales.

For a full three-page pdf report on each zip code, click the image.

*

*

Belltown

Downtown

Pioneer Square

Solds & Pendings for March *BONUS = Price Reductions

Believe it or not, MLS reported 40 sales for downtown in December 2008!  January showed 16, and February a measly 11 sales.  We’ve been so busy over the last couple of weeks we haven’t had much time to post, so we thought we’d run the numbers and see how this month is going so far.  It looks like sales have picked up, but not quite as high as December.

Here are the numbers as of today:

SOLD:

Building	Unit #	Orig. List Price	Sale Price	DOM
Fifteen Twenty-One	#1603	$1,450,000	$1,335,000	30
Newmark	#1604	$459,950	$459,950	18
Site 17	#503	$479,950	$450,000	296
5th & Madison	#502	$475,000	$450,000	212
Bellora	#402	$429,950	$425,000	154
Gallery	#516	$342,100	$342,100	N/A
Cosmopolitan	#2007	$355,000	$330,000	537
Gallery	#315	$295,000	$295,000	N/A
Montreux	#316	$275,000	$263,500	231

Pending:

Note: Pendings do not show offered/accepted price until after closing

Building	Unit #	Orig. List Price	DOM
One Pacific Tower	#2502	$1,690,000	161
Concord Condominiums	#900	$875,000	22
Parc	#1308	$599,000	33
Post Mews	#7	$529,000	319
Arbor Place Tower	#1503	$460,000	151
Trio	#403	$459,950	135
Parc	#609	$439,000	39
80 S. Jackson	#203	$419,500	409
Trio	#103	$374,950	184
Klee	#332	$320,000	139
Trio	#611	$289,950	N/A
The Vine	#313	$289,900	16
The Vine	#406	$349,950	56
Seattle Heights	#219	$218,000	92
Parc	#PH11	$809,000	N/A

BONUS

Matt Goyer did an excellent job covering quite a few price reductions.

Gallery slashes prices

This post gives some examples of what prices were, and are now for not only Gallery but also Brix, Leona, and Ruby.

Wicked loft in Pioneer Square

This post isn’t necessarily about a price reduction, but it does show this extremely rare and unique listing at The Lofts original purchase price and current listed price.  Definately a steal!!! (that’s 3 explanation points).

Sneaky Leona advertising

ENSO “Special Pricing”

This post shows some recent marketing materials that have been sent out offering a list of benefits if you buy at ENSO before May 22nd.

Lumen next to auction off remaining inventory

Matt has reported about several auctions in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, and asked visitors about the auction at Queen Anne High School….

Queen Anne High auction results: Everything sold

Wow!  Matt has visitor comments about attending the auction.  His observations seemed to be right on point.  He also has a video of some news coverage that discusses how the auction may be a good indicator of what it will take to get buyers off the fence.

Great coverage Matt.  Link bait city!

King County Weekly Condo Sales Ratios for March 19th, 2009

Condo Only, NWMLS Area 701 (Belltown & Downtown Seattle)

What View Would You Rather See From Your Living Room?

There’s no arguing that a water view seems to have the most value. But, is it what everybody really wants? Most of those who move here from out of town see our beautiful skyline in pictures. Doing a Google image search for Seattle will bring up pictures of city lights, the Space Needle, and Pike Place Market. Is the water view really more valuable than less water, and more skyline?

It was difficult to find day and night images, so imagine both when making your vote.

King County Weekly Condo Sales Ratios for March 11th, 2009

Condo Only, NWMLS Area 701 (Belltown & Downtown Seattle)

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