The Seattle Condo Blog

Seattle’s luxury 1521 Condominium announced it has received LEED Silver certification. According to its news release:

…95 percent of construction and demolition waste was recycled. It also has energy efficiencies such as double-pane low-E glass windows and high-efficiency lighting in common areas; and water efficiencies such as dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads and limited landscaping that requires little irrigation.

To celebrate, OPUS Northwest, is giving away a Smart fortwo car with purchases that close by May 31, 2010.

The certification is well deserved and the homes are beautiful, but I just don’t think buyers will really care about smart cars cluttering up the garage. On the other hand, for many owners, 1521 is a second residence so it might be nice to have some wheels to scoot about town in.

www.1521second.com

But the real-estate bubble, of course, has burst. And some of those once-eager buyers from 2006 and 2007 are backing out, often at considerable expense to themselves and, perhaps, the projects’ developers

But the real-estate bubble, of course, has burst. And some of those once-eager buyers from 2006 and 2007 are backing out, often at considerable expense to themselves and, perhaps, the projects’ developers.

At Fifteen Twenty-one, developer Opus Northwest says more than one-quarter of the original buyers have walked away, some forfeiting deposits of $100,000 or more.

At Olive 8, at least 10 percent of the project’s buyers, who either can’t or don’t want to close, have retained lawyers in hopes of getting their earnest money back.

Article: At pricey high-rise Seattle condos, some buyers back out
Olive 8 blog: olive8.blogspot.com

1521, Seattle’s newest upscale condominium in downtown, provided photos of their model home and residential amenities. Along with the Four Season’s Private Residences, 1521 is one of Seattle’s most prestigious residential towers. Homes are available for purchase starting from $1 million.

[simpleviewer=5,480,640]

According to the NWMLS, at least four pre-sale buyers have listed their 1521 units on the market. This is a unique situation since they do not yet own the property they are selling – it’s not quite a resale nor an assignment. Instead, they are marketing the units seeking simultaneous closings. That is, the original pre-sale buyer will close with the developer first (provided they can successfully close) then immediately close the second transaction with the new buyer.

These are all two-bedroom units, ranging in size between 1,700 to 2,000 and are listed between $1,250,000 and $2,100,000. Closing dates are slated for December and February. Presently, there are eight units at 1521 listed in the NWMLS.

Just some observations…

• Spoke with King5’s Bernard Choy today about some major price decreases, namely Madison Lofts and Cosmo. Check out unit #210 at Madison Lofts, SW corner unit – was $549,000 now $429,950. In his report, Bernard stated ML is taking some pretty steep decreases, up to $200,000.

• Pre-sale investors are jumping ship. I’m hearing more and more cases where pre-sale buyers aren’t going to be able to close on their purchases. Already, people have foregone their huge deposits at Washington Square in order to get out of their contracts. Now, I’m hearing the same with Gallery and 1521. Gallery, at least, unofficially, is letting buyers assign their contracts rather than default on the purchase. Makes sense…with rising inventory developers don’t want to be stuck with unsold units. Heard that Vulcan may do the same with one of its projects.

• Noticed R/UC/WOS has significantly decreased its advertising in the Sunday Seattle Times. Just a few months ago they had two full-color pages…now they’re down to a 1/2 page.

• The rumor that won’t go way – the big hole on 2nd between Stewart and Pine might be there a little while longer. Update: It was announced on 6/24 that Starwood has acquired Avalon’s share of the project.

On the other hand, there’s activity at Insignia Towers – additional materials have been delivered and Insignia’s signage is now up.