Welcome mats will soon roll out for homebuyers at Enso, Vulcan’s highly anticipated new LEED Gold certified condominium project in downtown Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Enso buyers began closing on their new homes today, and will start moving into Enso tomorrow and through early next year.

During one of the most difficult real estate markets in history, Enso has continued to attract growing interest from a range of buyers, with 55 percent of the 135 homes now sold. A total of 75 sales contracts have been signed with both new buyers and existing buyers in the last six months alone, translating into a robust 13 sales per month. The South Lake Union Discovery Center has also seen a nearly 60 percent increase in condo-related traffic in November compared to last year.

Enso has also received Fannie Mae approval, a critical step in allowing buyers to obtain loans and close on their new home purchases. Most lenders also typically require a project to have at least 51 percent of owner-occupied homes for buyers to obtain financing. By successfully achieving a strong enough level of pre-sales at Enso before allowing buyers to close, Vulcan has been able to preserve the project’s ability to attract new buyers seeking assurance they can close in a timely manner and avoid the prospect of auctioning its remaining condo inventory at a diminished value.

As part of Vulcan’s novel sales strategy in response to a declining real estate market, it significantly reduced condominium prices in order to attract both new buyers and retain existing buyers – helping them preserve equity in their homes from the outset. As the first condominium project in Seattle to revise Purchase and Sales agreements with new reduced pricing for existing buyers on a large scale prior to closing, many of Enso’s pre-sale buyers have decided to re-commit to the project and close on their homes. Pricing for Enso homes ranges from the low $300,000s to over $1 million.

“We saw many buyers from other projects who decided to walk away from their earnest money because they could not obtain financing or did not want to purchase a property for more than it was now valued,” said Ada M. Healey, vice president of real estate at Vulcan Inc. “We understood how critical it was to go back to our pre-sale buyers – who bought at the height of the market – and proactively lower prices to 2009 levels. We carefully monitored market conditions to ensure our homes were priced to sell. We took a long term outlook and wanted to do what was best for our buyers, the neighborhood and ultimately, our project.”

View available Enso condos for sale.

Similar posts you may find interesting:

1. Enso Update
2. Enso model homes to open
3. Enso offers special pricing on select units
4. Enso Grand Opening

2201 Westlake (office building / Enso Condominium) receives LEED Gold Certification

Adapted from press release.

Characterized by its innovative environmental and sustainable features, the 2201 Westlake development in South Lake Union now represents Seattle’s first mixed-use and high-rise residential project to earn prestigious LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Developed by Vulcan Real Estate, 2201 Westlake was designed and constructed from the ground up using sustainable development practices. As a LEED Gold-certified project, 2201 Westlake exemplifies sustainable innovations that promote energy and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, eco-friendly materials selection and alternative transit options as part of a healthier workplace and living environment.

The project’s sustainable features include proximity to public transit, bicycle storage, underfloor heating and cooling systems, use of recycled and rapidly renewable materials, low VOC paint and carpeting, drought tolerant landscaping, the recycling and salvaging of construction waste, plumbing systems that reduce portable water by 35% and an exterior glass curtain wall with low solar heat gain properties.

The Great Hole of Seattle (1 Hotel & Residences) to be filled

Full article from the Seattle Times: Starwood luxury hotel site becomes a parking lot

The pit, on Second Avenue between Pine and Stewart streets, was excavated in mid-2007 for the 1 Hotel & Residences, a proposed 23-story luxury tower. But work on the $200-million hotel and condo project stopped that fall, and the developer later acknowledged it couldn’t get construction financing.

A spokesman for the site’s owner, Connecticut-based Starwood Capital Group, said Monday that the hole should take eight to 10 weeks to fill. A Starwood affiliate applied last week for a city permit to develop a temporary parking lot on the property.

Eleven Eleven East Pike bulk sales

Full article from the Daily Journal of Commerce (subscription required): Kundig-designed lofts: Justen tries bulk sales

The Justen Co. is trying the bulk sales strategy to sell a third of the units at a new condominium project on Capitol Hill, Eleven Eleven East Pike. The project has 27 lofts designed by Seattle-based architect Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects, ranging in size from 600 to 1,150 square feet.

Nine units are in the first release. They are between 612 and 793 square feet and are priced between $255,000 and $379,000 in the bulk program. That’s 20 to 25 percent lower than the initial list pricing, according to Dean Jones, president and CEO of Realogics, which is marketing the project.

Under the bulk sales approach, buyers get a volume discount depending on the percentage of homes that are sold within each release. Buyers can join the bulk sale with a refundable deposit of $500 through the end of the month. Units must close by Nov. 30.

Related:
Enso Condo website
Eleven Eleven Condo website

Similar posts you may find interesting:

1. Eleven Eleven East Pike Condos (1111 East Pike)
2. Condo Bulk Buy sells two-thirds of initial release
3. Olive 8 Condo receives LEED Silver certification
4. Condo project updates