Real Estate
January Market Update
Seattle’s condo market continues to exhibit a state of flux. Last month the condo median price dropped .49% to $305,000 compared to January 2007, the first year-over-year decrease in over 24+ months. Compared to December, the median price was down 4.7%, though typically the median price in January is lower than December. As anticipated, the…
Listings and an Open House
Just brought on two fantastic one-bedroom condo units at the Regata and Asia. These are perfect entry-level opportunities for anyone looking to enjoy the urban, in-city lifestyle. The Regata, Unit #120 This home is only the third one-bedroom unit to come on the market in over two years in the highly desirable Regata Condominium, located…
Conversion Spotlight
Queen Anne The Newbury Etruscan (website) is a small conversion project on the North side of Queen Anne at 49 W. Etruria. Originally built in 1968, the project features only 8 condominium homes comprised of 6 one-bedrooms about 680 sq ft in size and 2 two-bedrooms that are 860 sq ft. All 8 units are…
NWMLS 2007 Condo Highlights
The NWMLS just released its Brokers Report on 2007 home sales. Here are some highlights pertaining to condos: The NWMLS reported $32.3 billion in total home sales in its 19 county territory. Just about one-half of that dollar volume, $16.5 billion, was realized in King County. And, of the $16.5 billion, $13.4 billion were single…
New Look for Heron / Pagoda Towers
There’s a new look for the Heron/Pagoda project at 5th Avenue between Virginia and Stewart Streets in downtown. The most current renderings indicate a twin-tower design, which interestingly enough, will be directly across from the Westin Hotel’s twin-towers. Between the Westin & Escala (foreground) Note: A 2nd design guidance meeting has been scheduled for this…
Forte Condominiums – Pinehurst
The Forte Condominiums (website) is currently celebrating its grand opening in the Pinehurst neighborhood located in North Seattle. Forte, a 4-story conversion, features 48 one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes that range in size from 564 sq ft to 1,400 sq ft for the penthouse suites. All homes surround a large light-filled central courtyard. Currently, one-bedrooms start…
Project Happenings
The Maris – revamped its website and opened its sales office, but only on the weekends (Friday – Sunday, 12-6 pm). Homes start at $419,000. Noma – has an interesting promotion going on through Feb 29th. For buyers using the preferred lender, Noma will (1) match any price decrease (%-based) and pay float down on…
Seattle Condo Performance & Appreciation for 2007
As a follow-up to the December Market Update post I’ve included charts comparing the monthly median condo price of various neighborhoods for 2006 and 2007 by MLS area. I also calculated the annual median price appreciation rate based on closed sales for 2007. For the year, Downtown, Capitol Hill and West Seattle underperformed with single-digit…
Expo62 Bites the Dust
It had been rumored for the past few months that Expo62, a new condominium project under construction in Lower Queen Anne, was going to be converted to apartments. Now, it seems to have come true. According to fellow Realtor, James Stroupe, who reserved a unit in Expo62, the building was sold to an out-of-state buyer.…
Understanding a Building’s Envelope
Farren West is the owner of Key Inspection Services and is a contributor to the Seattle Condo Blog. Farren can be contacted at KeyInspectionServices.com. One can think of a building envelope as being similar to envelopes used to mail packages through the postal service. A standard package mailing envelope is used to protect the interior…
