benkjls' Blog: Seattle condos

The AVA Condo (website) announced they’ve recently secured a Master Use Development Permit (MUP). The 39-story tower at 8th and Pine will feature traditional condominium homes and a luxury hotel. AVA’s developers anticipate construction to begin by the end of the year.

The AVA presentation center, located at 8th & Olive, is nearing completion and should open shortly. The center will include a scale model of the tower, kitchen and bath vignettes, final floor plans, representative views and finish samples.

Initially, the center will be open to prospective buyers by appointment only. If you’re working with a buyer’s agent, please have them contact AVA to arrange an appointment and private tour. All homes have been released for pre-sale… Read Full Post

Homesite, a non-profit community development company, is breaking ground on a new condominium project in Seattle’s Rainier Valley neighborhood on city-owned surplus land intended for affordable workforce housing.

The six-story $32 million project will feature 17 live/work lofts and 85 condo units. Prices will start from $220,000 with financing assistance up to $120,000 for families earning less than 80% of the area’s median income. Additionally, 20 units will have a resale cap to ensure affordable inventory will be available in the future.

The project is located at 809 Hiawatha Place. Completion is slated for late 2009.

The NWMLS just released its Brokers Report on 2007 home sales. Here are some highlights pertaining to condos in the Seattle / King County area:

• The NWMLS reported $32.3 billion in total home sales in its 19 county territory. Just about one-half of that dollar volume, $16.5 billion, was realized in King County. And, of the $16.5 billion, $13.4 billion were single family homes sales and $3.1 billion were condominiums sales.

• Condominium prices jumped 10.6 percent from 2006 to 2007. The 19 county area-wide median price rose from $235,000 to $260,000.

• King County’s condo median price ($285,400) was up 12.35% over the prior year, but the number of units sold (9,420) was down 2.83% from 2006.

• NWMLS members sold more than 15,000…

This morning the State House convened to review the condo conversion bill (HB 2014) which passed its third reading by a vote of 94 to 1. The House version of the bill:

• Extends the notification period from 90 days to 120 days.
• Authorizes a city or county government to require developers to provide relocation assistance to low-income tenants in an amount to be determined by the city or county government. Currently, the state requires a $500 relocation assistance payment to low-income tenants.
• Prohibits construction within the 120 day notification. Though, construction may begin earlier provided the developer waits at least 12 hours after the last tenant vacates.
• Authorizes cities & counties to restrict the number of conversions.

On…

The good news about Seattle’s condominium market is that market values continue to reflect a strong increase over 2006. City-wide, the median sold price in October was $318,500, an 11.4% increase over October 2006. Queen Anne and Capitol Hill also reflected double-digit median price increases over the prior year as well. As has been the case all year, values have been increasing while the number of sales decline and the available inventory grows. In the course of 2007 we’ve moved from a seller’s market towards a normal market, based on the absorption rate. As the last two months are usually the slowest it’s not unreasonable to think that we’ll inch over towards a buyer’s market by the end of the year.

Although the overall market is teetering towards a…

While "gloom" is the adjective used to describe the country's housing market, Seattle, notably Seattle's condo market has been performing admirably well.  In the 3rd quarter 2007, city-wide results show an increase in unit sales of 4.9% and a very respectable 7.7% increase in median price compared to the same period a year ago.  The median price for a Seattle condo now stands at $323,000.

A closer look will show varying results by neighborhood with the more affordable Northwest Seattle region outperforming the rest of the city with 107% increase in unit sales.

Continue reading for charts and additional information on the Seattle condo market >>> Read Full Post

Downtown Seattle’s 2nd Avenue has been receiving quite a bit of attention lately with several condominium, apartment and office towers under construction or planned. The most notable of these include the 1521 Condominium, 1 Hotel & Residences, 2nd & Pike (hotel & condo) and the Liberty Building (office & apartment) developments.

Now, add three more potential projects to the list. On the horizon are 1915 2nd, 1931 2nd and 2015 2nd.

• The 1915 2nd project is a 24-story 171-unit condominium being developed by Intracorp.
• The 1931 2nd proposal is a 40-story hotel and residential tower with 135 hotel rooms and 182 residential units.
• And, proposed for the 2015 2nd parcel is a 40-story 240 unit…

The condo conversion market is continuing to feel the effect of a softening market. In the past few weeks a number of notable conversion projects have taken price reductions ranging from $5,000 up to $30,000 with most of the reductions being around $10,000 to $15,000. Some are offering other incentives for both the buyer (buyer bonuses, free TVs) and their agents (commissions as much as 5%).

• CityView - Leshi
• Denny Way Condos - Capitol Hill
• Harwood - Beacon Hill
• Market Court - Ballard
• Nine Cherry Square - First Hill
• Serana - Lower Queen Anne
• Tobira - Downtown/ID
• Vertigo - Capitol Hill

I’m still receiving inquiries from apartment owners looking for developers to sell to, but with the increasing difficulty in…