Seattle Condo Expo – updated info
The 2007 Seattle Condo Expo is fast approaching. The expo, the first of its kind in Seattle, will be held this weekend at the Westin Hotel (map) and will feature exhibits of current condo projects, mortgage companies & developers, presentations and a Realtor Symposium.
Saturday, May 19th – 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sunday, May 20th – 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
For the event, the Westin’s ballroom will be transformed into a replica of greater Seattle’s neighborhoods with display booths situated at their corresponding projects actual addresses, from Capitol Hill to downtown to the Eastside.
One highlight of the event will be the unveiling of CityScape 2010, a photorealistic virtual reality video showing the evolution of Seattle’s skyline over the next few years.
Admission is $10 and tickets may be purchased online at www.SeattleTixx.com.
For Exhibitor Listing and Presentation Schedule —
Exhibitors include
Condominium Developments: 1 Hotel & Residences, Ava, Bellevue Towers, Brix, Domaine, Enso, Equinox, ESCALA, European Towers, Expo 62, Fifteen Twenty-One Second Avenue, Gallery, Lumen, Marin, Pacifica Bay, Parc, Riverstone, Rollin Street, Stewart & Minor Lofts, Sierra Crest, The Bravern Signature Residences, Veer, Vida and Washington Square.
Developers: Avalon Holdings, Baja 1000 Development, LLC, Executive Development Group, Fana Group of Companies, Gerding Edlen, GIS International, Intracorp Group of Companies, Landstar, LEXAS Companies, Schnitzer NW, Shaw + Walker Development, Tonsing Development, Vulcan Real Estate, Wasatch and OPUS Northwest.
Architects/Interior Designers: Alchemy and Weber + Thompson.
Real Estate Services: bireM, NewCondosOnline.com, Realogics, UrbanCondominiums.com, Windermere OnSite and Windermere Real Estate.
Mortgage Lenders & Insurance Providers: American National Insurance, First Horizon Home Loans, Homestone Mortgage and Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union.
Community Organizations & Cultural Attractions: 5th Avenue Theatre, Belltown Business Association, Benaroya Hall & Seattle Symphony, Downtown Seattle Association, Fare Start, Lake Union Park, Pike Place Market Foundation, PONCHO, Seattle Art Museum & Olympic Sculpture Park and Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
Presentation Schedule
SEATTLE AREA ECONOMICS AND REAL ESTATE MARKET FORECAST
Matthew Gardner, Gardner-Johnson, LLC
Saturday, May 19 (1 p.m., 4 p.m.)
Sunday, May 20 (1 p.m., 4 p.m.)
DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT & CITY GROWTH TRENDS
Blaine Weber, Weber + Thompson Architects
Saturday, May 19 (1:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m.)
Sunday, May 20 (1:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m.)
“CITYSCAPE 2010” – THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN SEATTLE’S SKYLINE
Dean Jones, Realogics / UrbanCondominums.com
Saturday, May 19 (2 p.m., 5 p.m.)
Sunday, May 20 (2 p.m., 5 p.m.)
“2007 STATE OF DOWNTOWN” – DOWNTOWN SEATTLE ASSOCIATION
Kate Joncas, President of Downtown Seattle Association
Saturday, May 19 (2:30 p.m.)
LENDING TODAY – THE REALITY OF MORTGAGE FINANCING
Homestone Mortgage and First Horizon
Saturday, May 19 (3 p.m.)
Sunday, May 20 (3 p.m.)
Related Posts:
SCL’s Seattle Condo Expo 2007
Seattle PI’s …Future of Seattle is just a Facade
This Expo is a joke. Not worth the $10 entrance fee. You would think that the condos exhibiting would bring serious brochures with layouts to this kind of event. If people are paying to go, they are expressing serious interest in buying, BUT the exhibits were limited. Tiny booths, no models like in the condo show centers. AND no floor plans for any of the condos under construction.
They want you to register and then go to their sales centers. Isn’t this supposed to be a one-stop event to be able to determine which places are of real interest and which are not??? You can’t do that, in my estimation, without seeing floorplans.
A JOKE. Don’t waste your money. Just go to the websites. And many of the buildings under construction were not even there.
From my experience at the Realtor Symposium last night, marketing/sales literature were lacking. While a few did have full brochures, many projects only gave out a one-page sheet with their Seattle Times ad on it. The vast majority of condo projects belong to the primary sponsors – the condo trinity of Realogics, Urban Condominiums and Windermere OnSite. I do have some other comments but I will reserve those for a later post.
Hey Ben. I was able to make it to the expo long enough to grab a bag of literature and catch some comments by Matthew Gardner, but I missed a presentation I was very interested in hearing. The Seattle condo expo website has some flash designed on it’s homepage posing the question of whether or not it’s a good idea to purchase presale vs. resale. With the interesting sales record of 2200 Westlake and the Cosmopolitan I’m wondering what the “experts” had to say. Did you hear anything on that topic?
Justin – If I’m thinking about the same thing, the gist was that developers are taking steps to limit flipper-investors so that we don’t see a repeat of Cosmo & 2200 when the 2008 and 2009 projects complete. 2200 had a 30% investor-cap; now most new projects have a 10-15% investor cap.
Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to purchase downtown new construction until after the dust has settled, regardless of investor caps. Not only is it unfortunate for those who purchased units at 2200 or Cosmo to live there, but I’ve also heard some bad press regarding the overall quality in construction at 2200. I’m familiar w/ the steps the industry is taking to prevent similar situations happen again, but I’m wondering what was recommended at the expo when a buyer asks themselves, presale or resale?
Justin – I do have a different take on downtown condos. If a buyer is purchasing a home, where they will reside for several years, then I recommend new construction pre-sale. While prices may be volatile in the high price ranges as new units are completed, over the longer-term those values will stabilize as will 2200 and Cosmo.
I don’t recall the speakers addressing the question whether buyers should purchase pre-sale vs. resale. It had more to do with differentiating between the two – new construction sales will out pace resales, and according to Gardner, there’s no correlation between new construction pricing vs. resale pricing.
Currently, 2200 resales are averaging about a 12% return which is on par with resales in Belltown. Other then the person who has a suit against Vulcan, I’ve not heard other issues and I do know several people who live at 2200. There were minor items that arose but those were mostly punch list items which is quite common with new construction, be it condo, townhouse or single family homes.