The Seattle Condo Blog

Today, Seattle-based residential real estate marketing and sales firms MCM Group and Williams Marketing, Inc announced the joint creation of a new company, Matrix Real Estate. With the most experienced professional sales staff in the region and listings valued at more than $300 million, Matrix will become the largest real estate firm dedicated to condominium and townhome sales and marketing in Washington.

The Matrix team will be spearheaded by partners Leslie Williams, founder of Williams Marketing, Inc, and Mike Miller and Chaun Mackey, co-founders of MCM Group. Mackey will also serve as the president of Matrix and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company. MCM Group and Williams Marketing, Inc will merge both companies’ talent, resources and employees into Matrix.

“This exciting collaboration means we will be able to provide our clients with the combined strength, broad knowledge and long-term experience necessary to excel in the current market and be well-positioned to capitalize on future opportunities,” Williams said. “We see Matrix Real Estate as a pace setter in this new chapter of the Seattle real estate market.”

Since 2005, Williams Marketing, Inc and MCM Group have each closed more than $1 billion in sales. Williams and Miller continue to provide developer and lender clients with unparalleled experience—offering services from site selection and product design consultation through construction, strategic pricing and marketing strategies. As Matrix, the firm will specialize in sales and marketing for condominiums, townhomes and high-rise communities in urban and suburban locations throughout the greater Puget Sound region and beyond.

In addition, the company will offer a rare combination of consumer-targeted capabilities with services for private resale clients and buyers as well as sellers of new construction and conversion condominium properties and townhome communities—a mix unique to the Seattle market. This consumer-focused approach will position Matrix as a one-stop-shop for homebuyers and sellers—whether they are looking to buy or sell an individual property or addressing the strategic marketing and sales needs of a larger project or community.

“This new relationship may come as a surprise to some because as staunch competitors for more than a decade, we were also each other’s most admired competitors; Williams Marketing, Inc and MCM Group have each had a formidable presence in the marketplace,” Miller said. “But as Matrix, we can now offer our sellers the strength of our collaborative partnership. When a seller hires Matrix, they’ll have me, Leslie, Chaun along with an entire team of seasoned professionals working collaboratively on the sales and marketing strategy.”

As leaders in the condominium and townhome sales and marketing industry, Matrix will represent some of the largest sellers and projects in the region including Vulcan Real Estate’s Enso and Veer Lofts communities in South Lake Union and Pryde + Johnson’s Hjarta project in Ballard, as well as its Florera project in Green Lake.

“The combination of MCM Group and Williams Marketing, Inc will give an unprecedented market share to Matrix,” said local real estate economist Matthew Gardner, principal at Gardner Economics, LLC. “No other real estate company in the Puget Sound region has the breadth of experience that Matrix will be able to offer to its clients.”

Suzie Langford, will be the vice president and broker of Matrix Real Estate while Kim Sharpe Jones will serve as vice president of marketing and Sera Venis will serve as the controller. For more information about Matrix, visit www.matrixrealestate.com.

The Ruby Condominium, located in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood, announced they’re now over 60% sold. They’ve also lowered prices and is FHA approved.

HOME #108 was $399,990, just reduced to $309,500!
801 sf. 1 bed/1bath. Views are spectacular from living room and large ground floor patio surrounded by large landscaped courtyard. 9’ ceilings, smooth and attractive slab granite counters throughout, hardwoods in entry, kitchen and living room. Home 108 is a ground floor home with spacious and comfortable patio surrounded by lush and colorful landscaping throughout the courtyard.

HOME #111 was $349,990, just reduced to $309,500!
801 sf. 1 bed/1bath. Ground floor home. 9’ceilings, smooth and attractive slab granite counters throughout, hardwoods in entry, kitchen and living room. Cozy and spacious outdoor patio surrounded by lushly landscaped courtyard has sweeping views of Lake Union and surrounding area.

HOME #408 was $399,990, just reduced to $335,500!
801 sf. 1 bed/1bath. Sunset and Lake Union views are stunning from living and terrace. 9’ ceilings, smooth and attractive slab granite counters throughout, hardwoods in entry, kitchen and living room. Home 408 is a top floor home with spacious and comfortable terrace looking down to lush and colorful landscaping throughout the courtyard.

Home #302 was $479,990, just reduced to $315,500
934 sf. 1 bed/1bath. 9’ ceilings, large bedroom, and large private deck. Smooth and attractive slab granite counters, hardwoods in entry, living and kitchen. Faces north and west from private terrace off living room.

Home #313 was $399,990, just reduced to $309,500
718 sf. 1 bed/1bath. Unique corner home with convenient area off entry that can be used for a desk or small office area. Home faces north and west overlooking beautifully landscaped courtyard, with dramatic views of Lake Union and surrounding area. 9’ ceilings, smooth and attractive slab granite counters, hardwoods in entry, kitchen and living.

Home #409: was $399,990, just reduced to $325,500
801 sf. 1 bed/1bath. Views are spectacular from living room and large private deck! 9’ ceilings, smooth and attractive slab granite counters throughout, hardwoods in entry, kitchen and living room. Great price for 3rd floor home with large terrace and sweeping views of Space Needle and Lake Union!

Ruby’s Website: www.RubyCondos.com

All homes include one garage parking and storage.
FHA, low-down financing available through Seattle Mortgage.
Dimensions are as per the “as built” survey in the POS. Prices and terms are subject to change without notice.

The Marselle Condomimium (website) quietly opened its sales center this week and will be hosting a public grand opening this weekend. Unlike other recently completed developments catering to upscale clientele, Marselle is positioned towards the first-time condo buyers market with prices starting from $150,000 for a 342 square foot studio. Though, most homes are priced from the low $200,000s to $400,000s, with larger two-bedroom homes heading up towards $900,000 for a 1,781 square foot two-level penthouse. Generally, price per square foot ranges from $335 to just over $500.

Marselle is comprised of 132 units with various layouts – studios, open one-bedrooms, one-bedrooms, one-bedroom + den, two-bedrooms, two-story townhomes and live/work units. Current pricing (as of 7/15/09):

Homes feature natural walnut flooring, slab granite countertops, GE stainless steel kitchen appliances and washer/dryer, floor-to-ceiling windows, shaker upper cabinets and decks with most units. Portable A/C units are available as an option. Additonally, homes come with one parking space per bedroom and extra storage. Homeowner dues run about 35 cents per square foot and includes central hot water and a number of building amenities including three roof-top decks, a fitness center with a yoga studio, a billiards / community room and a small dog patch.

The homes are nicely finished and the quality of the work and materials belie the price point for Marselle. In fact, Marselle is reminiscent of the Matae Condominium, which was built by the same developer, Norcon/Sierra. The penthouse level townhomes are spacious with soaring ceilings, have better quality finishes and come with private decks.

Though the building is well insulated, traffic noise is quite discernible in homes that face Aurora Avenue, even with the windows closed. That said, there are two things to consider: (1) there are a number of condos that line Aurora Ave along Queen Anne which haven’t been affected by their location and (2) eventually, Aurora Avenue will be lowered and the off ramp will be moved from Denny to Roy. The Battery street tunnel lid may be extended further North with a park on top, which will significantly reduce traffic and noise.

As of this writing, 10 homes are under contract and all homes are move-in ready. The developer opted to wait for completion before selling so buyers can see the finished homes. With financing through Cobalt Mortgage and underwritten through Frontier Bank, Marselle is able to close purchases immediately with as little as 5% down for a 30-year fixed mortgage. Rates are very competitive and mortgage insurance is not required.

As a bonus, buyers will not need to pay homeowner dues until 2011.

Marselle is located at 699 John Street (Google street view) with guest parking in the garage (via John Street); the sales center is open daily from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Click for larger image:

Vulcan Real Estate and Williams Marketing hosting a preview event last night for Vulcan’s upscale South Lake Union development, Enso Condominium (website: www.ensoliving.com).

I’ve been anticipating the completion of this project, which is one of my favorites, and it did not disappoint. The craftsmanship and quality of finishes met expectations. With its aggression pricing, Enso fits into the the mid-level luxury niche nicely.

I noticed that one structure apparently disappeared. Early in the design phase the little triangular lot at the corner of Denny and Westlake was supposed to be a wine bar lounge. It’s now a small park.

Matt has a lot more photos and videos on his blog.

I confirmed with a representative of Williams Marketing that Marselle will come to market as a condominium development. Details and pricing are still being finalized, but we should hear more shortly. Sales are expected to begin in July.

The condo marketers version of musical chairs continues to go around as Williams Marketing takes over sales of Enso, and as of today, Veer Lofts.   It had been rumored that Vulcan was considering handling sales in-house after the contract with John L. Scott expires this month.   The Williams Marketing website also indicates they’ve taken over sales at The Pittsburgh.

Williams Marketing recently relinquished marketing and sales operations at Brix, Olive 8 and The Danielle.

The Ruby (website), Seattle’s newest condominium development in the Eastlake neighborhood, has just completed construction and is celebrating with a Grand Opening event scheduled for the weekend of February 7th & 8th.

Located in the north end of the Eastlake at 2960 Eastlake Ave E, the 5-story Ruby features 52 large one-bedroom and open one-bedroom homes that range in size from 621 to 934 square feet. Many of the homes face West, which provides abundant light and exceptional views of Lake Union, Wallingford and beyond.

Home and building features include:

• 9′ ceiling height with floor-to-ceiling windows
• Slab granite countertops with undermount sinks
• Many homes include an expansive kitchen island
• Whirlpool stainless appliances with gas range
• A/C ready (most homes are West facing)
• Parking & storage for each home
• Courtyard terrace with BBQ area
• Built Smart™ construction

Ruby’s high ceiling height combined with the open layout of the homes create a rather spacious and flexible living space. Plus, homes on the 2nd floor (100-level homes) offer private and semi-private terraces, many of which open to the common roof terrace. For the chef at home, the units provide the prefect gourmet kitchen space, including an expansive island with eating bar. The finishes and appointments are standard for new construction condominiums at this price point and residential amenities are spartan – lobby and a courtyard terrace.

One issue that may come to mind for potential buyers is Ruby’s location to I-5. The building is well insulated and environmental noise is kept to a minimum. Homes on the north side, along East Alison Street, are exposed to the I-5 traffic noise, particularly with the windows or sliders open. Fortunately, most of the homes face Lake Union and are shielded from I-5. With the sliders open in the middle of the day I-5 traffic noise was not discernible over the hum of everyday in-city ambient noise.

Lake view homes are currently priced between $329,990 to $379,990 while the bridge view homes range from $259,990 to $479,990. Homeowner dues are approximately $.44/square foot, which seems high given the lack of residential amenities and services. On the other hand, the association will be well-funded, managed and maintained. The development has obtained FHA approval which will allow buyers to purchase homes with as little as 3.5% down.

Ruby is celebrating its Grand Opening with a special promotion. For the first ten sales, Ruby is offering buyers 3% in concessions. All homes are available for purchase.

Update 2/20/09 from Ruby:
As of today, Ruby has partnered with a local lender (Seattle Mortgage) looking to actually lend money! They have committed to close homes now, ie, we are move-in ready with no pre-sale requirement. We are also working with other regional lenders for additional commitments to close homes with no presale requirements. Ruby on Eastlake is both FHA and VA approved, so buyers can take advantage of every financial opportunity to get into new home ownership.
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