The Seattle Condo Blog | Seattle Condos and Lofts

The Gallery Condominium in Belltown is about to close out…they are down to the final unit for sale. Despite being caught by the market crash and having to utilize alternative sales methods (auction and a buy-it-now event), Gallery is reaching a milestone few of the newer downtown condo buildings have accomplished.

With the exception of the abandoned Volta project, Gallery is Belltown’s final condominium to sell out from the last construction cycle. This is definitely good news for Seattle’s condo market.

Unit #120 is a street-level two-story loft townhome unit available at $399,900. The spacious 1,142 square foot unit features a loft-style bedroom, a separate den area, and exterior and interior building access. This unit was the former on-site sales center for the project and can be permitted for live/work loft use.

Gallery is FHA approved and the final buyer is eligible for a buyer bonus up to 3%. The unit also includes a mounted flat screen tv and a wired speaker system.

Interested? Let us know and we’ll schedule a private tour of the unit.

Disclosure: Gallery is an advertiser of Seattle Condos and Lofts.

Gallery Condo is ditching the open auction format of 25 open one-bedroom and one-bedroom homes that was slated for tomorrow, Saturday, March 5th.

At the root of the issue, apparently, is few qualified buyers due to tighter credit and loan qualification requirements. It sounds as though, had they proceeded with the auction, the likelihood was high that they’d have too few bidder and that the winning bidder’s financing could fall through making the auction a bust, so they’re opting for a one-day “Buy Now” event. With the new format they’ll provide home sale opportunities to buyers individually on a first-come, first-served basis, which sounds similar to the what Veer Lofts initially tried. This will also ensure that buyers are financially qualified and will complete the sale.

The Buy Now event is open only to those who had previously registered during the auction campaign; it is not open the public and will take place at the Gallery Condo building in Belltown.

Hat tip to Matt who’s got more details at Urbnlivn.com.

The Bravern Signature Residences hit another snag in the depressed Bellevue condo market. The massive development is comprised of two luxury residential towers, two office towers (mostly leased to Microsoft) and upscale retail anchored by Neiman Marcus.

Earlier this year Bravern’s developer, Schnitzer NW, converted one of the two residential towers from condos to apartments. Yesterday, the Seattle Times reported the second tower will be converted as well, effectively removing 451 units from Bellevue’s condo inventory. The Bravern’s condo homes were previously offered starting from around $1 million. With leases starting from $1,550, renters will be able to live in style for a fraction of the cost compared to purchasing the very same homes.

The Bravern’s plight may be a boon for two other downtown Bellevue condo developments – Bellevue Towers and One Main Street. Potentially, buyers at Bravern may be lured to the comparably upscale Bellevue Towers, which has experiencing sluggish sales as well.

Back on this side of the lake, TeamBuilder JLS and Rennie Marketing announced that they have successfully closed out all 278 units at the Canal Station and Canal North condo developments in Ballard. Though the developer units have sold out, there are a number of resale units available for buyers looking to live in this prime spot in Ballard.

The only other new condo development in Ballard is The Danielle, which has seen brisk sales since coming on the market this summer. The Danielle is now over 30% sold.

The Seattle Times is reporting that Schnitzer West is converting of the two residential towers at its massive Bravern development to apartments. The Bravern is located in downtown Bellevue.

The developer of the luxury Bravern complex in downtown Bellevue, bowing to new market realities, is converting one of the project’s two nearly finished condo towers to apartments.

Bellevue’s supply of high-end high-rise condos still exceeds demand, said Dan Ivanoff, managing investment partner at Bravern’s developer, Schnitzer West. “So we’re shorting the supply,” he said.

The switch isn’t permanent, Ivanoff added: The 236 units now for lease in the southern tower will be put up for sale as condos again if the housing market recovers.

Schnitzer West also said prices will be reduced for the 215 remaining condo units in the northern tower but didn’t give details.

Besides Bravern’s south tower, Schnitzer converted another condominium development to apartments last year – the Equinox in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood.

Developer Schnitzer West, who earlier this month converted their Equinox condo development in Eastlake to apartments have just announced they are auctioning the remaining units in their two other Seattle properties – The Gallery Condominium in Belltown and Brix Condominium on Capitol Hill.

The auctions for both properties will be held on Sunday, September 27th at the Grand Hyatt Seattle (721 Pine Street). Brix goes first starting at 1:00 PM with Gallery starting later at 6:00 PM. The auctions will be conducted by Accelerated Marketing Partners, who previously handled the auction for the 1707 Boylston condo on Capitol Hill.

There are 40 units available at Brix with the minimum bid starting at $165,000 for an open one bedroom. The Gallery has 43 units available with the minimum starting bid beginning from $195,000. Schnitzer clarified that there are more units available but are only offering 83 through the auction process. Presently, their focus is on the 83 auction units so no home will be available for purchase through normal channels until after the auction concludes.

According to their press release:

The auctions will be conducted mid stream of the properties’ sales campaigns, and are not intended to “liquidate” the remaining inventory, but rather will establish market pricing for the projects.

For more information including the full list of homes available, registration and deposit requirements, please click on the following:

Gallery Condo Auction

Brix Condo Auction

Both auctions have a buyer/agent registration policy. Therefore, if you want to be represented by your own buyer’s agent, then your agent must accompany you on your initial visit to the auction center at both Brix and Gallery. If a buyer visits the auction office without their agent, they may be denied their own representation.

The developer’s other condominium project is The Bravern in Bellevue.