The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

This week’s condo wire digest – Gallery buyer promotion, 1521′s milestone, Escala’s up to 50 closings, Eleven Eleven looks to close out, Hjarta and Decatur keep on going.

Gallery Condominium

The Gallery Condominium in Belltown (2911 2nd Ave) has reintroduced a 3% buyer bonus, up to $10,000 maximum, for homes purchased by October 31, 2010 and closed by November 30, 2010. Additionally, open one-bedroom home buyers may select either a slider or a closet combo build out.

Gallery is now 75% sold with prices starting from $239,000. The development is FHA and VA approved. www.liveatgallery.com

1521 2nd

Downtown’s luxurious Fifteen Twenty-One Second Condominium (1521 2nd Ave) reached a milestone with its 100th closing; the building is 70% sold.

1521′s large upscale homes, which overlook the Pike Place Market and Elliott Bay, are available starting from $1 million. www.1521second.com

Escala Condominium

The Escala Condominium reported they’ve just closed on their 50th home with 80 sales total (30 units in escrow). So, they’ve sold 30% of the building and are 19% closed. No bad considering the competition from Olive 8 and Enso. Escala is FHA approved. www.somethingischangingatescalaseattle.com

Eleven Eleven East Pike

Eleven Eleven (1111 E. Pike St) is making a push to close out the development with its final 10 homes. Prices now start from $239,950. The 27-unit Tom Kundig designed condo building fits snuggly in Capitol Hill’s effervescent Pike/Pine Triangle neighborhood. www.1111eastpike.com

Hjarta Condominium

The LEED Silver certified green constructed Hjarta in Ballard (1530 NW Market St) is now 50% sold. Unlike other recent Ballard condo developments, Hjarta is green constructed with a mind towards energy and water efficiency as well as indoor air quality. Further, Hjarta is a concrete and steel building, not wood frame like most of the other newer Ballard condos. I know a number of people have commented about the higher prices at Hjarta compared to other developments, but it has a superior construction quality, which may save $$ over time. The development is FHA approved. www.hjartaballard.com

The Decatur Condominium

Slowly but surely First Hill’s Decatur Condominium (1105 Spring St) keeps on closing with 3 sales in the past week. The building is now 70% sold with homes starting from just $189,950. The Decatur is part of the New Home Council’s Fresh Ideas Tour. www.ownthedecatur.com

The Enclave :: Eastlake / Lake Union

The Enclave is hosting an open house this weekend to coincide with Opening Day of boating season on May 1st. The Enclave is part of the Wards Cove master plan community that’s comprised of townhome-styled condos starting from $1.3 million with occupancy expected in 2011.

Ruby Condominium :: Eastlake

Ruby is down to its final three units that are priced between $284,500 and $304,500. Compared to many other newer projects, sales at Ruby have done well in this down market.

Decatur :: First Hill

Decatur Condo, on the other hand, has had a bit of a struggle since coming on the market over 3 years ago. However, the project is now more than 2/3rds sold and occupied. This FHA approved building is part of Condo Bulk Buy’s inventory with units available up to 35% off original pricing — starting from $184,950.

1111 E. Pike :: Capitol Hill

The Tom Kundig designed 1111 E. Pike development reports they’re 70% sold with only 10 homes remaining for sale. Located in the heart of the Pike/Pine Triangle, prices at 1111 E. Pike start at $244,950.

The Danielle :: Ballard

Ballard’s newest condominium development, The Danielle, is nearing completion and reports they’ve already sold 4 homes. The Danielle is located kitty corner from the new QFC on 24th Ave and the Ballard Commons Park.

Hjarta :: Ballard

Hjarta is reporting that they’re now 51% sold and is FHA approved. As part of Condo Bulk Buy, Hjarta’s pricing is up to 35% below their original level.

Florera :: Greenlake

Like its sister project, Hjarta, Florera was off the market for a while before becoming part of Condo Bulk Buy. Sales have been slower with only 30% of the building sold, but it is FHA approved with prices starting from $244,950. Florera is located just 1.5 blocks from Green Lake Park.

1521 Second :: Downtown

Now 70% sold, 1521 Second, received 4 additional sales in April. Homes at these premium residences start from $1.1 million.

5th & Madison :: Downtown

It appears that 2 of the units that went under the gavel at the 5th & Madison auction are back on they market again by Kennedy Wilson:

• Unit #1102, the last unit auctioned, had a winning bid price of $350,000. It’s now available at $365,000.
• Unit #1805, a fully furnished unit, had a winning bid price of $331,000. It’s now for sale at $370,000.

Additionally, the penthouse, which had been withdrawn from the auction is on the market at $1,595,000. It was previously offered at $1,995,000.

If you have questions about any of these condo projects, please drop us a line.

The update 1521 Second condominium (website) is hosting an open house even this weekend, Sat/Sun April 24-25th from noon – 4 pm.

In addition, a new home has been released. Located on the south corner on the 34th floor, this spectacular home offers 4,440 sq ft of living space with three-bedrooms and den. The home is listed at $7.25 million. Other home plans at 1521 start at $1.1 million.

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.

View available Fifteen Twenty-One condos for sale.

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.

Driving through downtown today I saw a group a people in a parking lot on 2nd Avenue. My first thought was who got shot. It was the ground breaking ceremony for 1521.

Escala – work recently started on the lot.

Brix – the old Safeway is now being demolished. Completion date has been pushed to 1st quarter of 2008.

The 440-foot Fifteen Twenty-One is Seattle’s 2nd tallest residential high-rise and is first tower to be completed under the city’s new zoning regulations. The 39 story building features 143 luxury condominium residences ranging between 1,660 to 2,860 square feet with prices starting from $1 million.

Situated on 2nd Avenue between Pine & Pike Streets, the building will be flanked by the 2nd + Pine condominium project (on hold) and the Four Seasons Private Residences at First Avenue and Union Street.

Number of floors: 39
Number of units: 142
Amenities: 24-hour concierge, porte cochere, landscaped roof deck with a rooftop club room for entertaining, spa-like fitness center, a pilates & yoga studio and a business center.
Completed: 2008
Pet Friendly: Yes

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