The stats:

• 177 units
• 2 towers – one is 12 stories, the other is 6 stories
• Built in 2002
• There are studios, one and two bedroom units
• Range in size from approximately 447 - 1494 square feet
• All have 1 or 2 parking spaces and all have storage
• 10 units have sold in the last 6 months ranging in price from $278,000 to $610,000
• HOA dues include: sewer, garbage, water, gas (for fireplaces and gas ranges), earthquake insurance, amenities, master insurance policy
• Amenities: party room (recently updated), community view terrace with BBQ, gym, hobby room/shop, car wash area, concierge, two guest suites, conference room, 24 hour concierge staff

The pros:

• Many of the units have views of the Puget Sound, mountains, Space Needle, and/or Seattle skyline
• Nice package of amenities in the building to enjoy along with your condo space
• Rental cap in place makes it easier to get financing as a buyer or to refinance
• Well run building with over $1 million dollars in reserves (at time of post they have a 100% funded budget - very rare to accomplish this)
• Pro-active building that has updated some of the common areas to keep the building looking current
• Located in Belltown, it is within close proximity to restaurants, coffee shops, and few block from the waterfront itself along with the Olympic Sculpture Park and Myrtle Edwards and the Pike Place Market
• Parking is in secured garage and every unit has parking and storage

The cons:

• Western is down the hill from Belltown so it requires going uphill to get to the amenities of Belltown
• Many of the units have carpet currently which seems to be not as desirable to buyers in the current market who prefer hardwoods
• Rental cap makes it not an option for investor buyers - you have to live there for a year before you can rent your unit out and there is currently a waiting list
• The shorter tower is a wood frame building so it can be a bit louder between units above or below you
• Some of the south facing units, especially those in the south tower, will likely have their view of the city, at least partially, obstructed by an upcoming multi-family building development on the southeast corner of Western and Vine that is currently in the permit phases with the city of Seattle

To see a video of an example of an actual unit at The Vine Condominiums click here.



By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

If you were one of those condo investors waiting for the market to pick up to avoid having to have a unit sit on the market too long, your time may have come.  You'll not reap huge windfalls from a pricing point of view but you'll certainly see some action and at a price that's considerably more than you would have gotten a year ago.

In terms of neighborhoods, Belltown/Downtown and Queen Anne/Magnolia both had almost double the units sold in March as they did in Feb but number of listings available was either flat or down versus February.  

                                            Belltown/ Downtown

                                               Queen Anne/ Magnolia

                           Capitol Hill/ Madison/ Central 

( Data from NWMLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. )

By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

The East Boston Street Condominiums are a small boutique condo building located in the popular Eastlake neighborhood.  Being on the south east side of Lake Union it’s close to downtown, I-5, as well as the University of Washington to the North.  With only 6 units it’s a great option for those seeking the conveniences of condo living but without the big condo building feel.  It doesn’t have all the super high end finishes, but units are well laid out, comfortable and pricing is reasonable.

The stats:

• 6 condo units and one commercial space on the street level
• 4 stories
• Built in 1989
• All units are two bedrooms
• Range in size from approximately 1,112-1,178 square feet
• All have parking, 4 of the units have parking for 2 vehicles in tandem spaces
• All units have storage units
• 1 units has sold in the last year at $415,000
• HOA dues include: sewer, garbage, water, earthquake insurance master insurance policy
• Amenities: The building itself does not have common amenities other than the secure entry, secured parking garages and storage units

• Most of the units have views of Lake Union, Mountains, Space Needle, and/or Seattle skyline
• Small boutique building is self-managed keeping monthly HOA dues low
• Large floor plans have generous sized living rooms and dining rooms
• Located on Eastlake it has a close proximity to restaurants, coffee shops, and few block from Lake Union itself
• Close the Seattle Street Car stop at Fred Hutchison Cancer Research which makes commuting to downtown easy
• Parking is in secured garage and everyone has parking for 2 vehicles
• Close to South Lake Union, Downtown, Capitol Hill, and University of Washington
• The building installed new windows, siding, decks in 2007/2008

The cons:

• Eastlake Ave is a busy street so there is some road noise when in the living rooms and kitchens
• Building does not have any common amenities such as gym, party room etc.
• Most of the units have carpet currently
• Wood frame building so it can be a bit louder between units above or below you

To see a video of an example of an actual unit at East Boston Condominiums click here.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

The Trio Condominiums were built during the new construction boom of 06/07 by Triad Development and was completed in 2008. It is located in Belltown on Western Ave between Denny Way and Bay Street.  The building offers a mid-range level of finishes and building features, which
makes it popular for the mid-price range buyers seeking newer constructed condos with modern touches and amenities.  

The stats:

• 161 units
• 6 stories
• Built in 2008
• Open one bedrooms, one bedrooms, two bedrooms and 2 story live work lofts
• Range in size from 505 to 1306 square feet
• All have 1 or 2 parking spaces but only some have storage units
• 1st floor units are live work lofts and have full height second story lofts
• 7 units have sold in the last year ranging in price from $195,000 to $299,950
• HOA dues include: sewer, garbage, water, central hot water, master insurance policy
• Amenities: concierge, party and theater room with kitchen and pool table, and a roof deck with BBQ and views of the city and Sound
• Currently 72% of the units are lived in by its owners and only 28% are non-owner occupied (as of April 2013-according to PMNW’s resale certificate disclosure(the property management company)
• Current Reserves are at just over $220,000 (as of April 2013 according to the same report)

The pros:

• Building amenities like a concierge, party and theater room and roof top deck with views and a BBQ
• Many of the upper floor units have water views
• Live work zoning for the lofts on the main level allow owners to have a business there as well
• Nice modern finishes including hardwoods, stainless applicanes, slab stone counters
• Parking is in the underground secured garage and everyone has 1 or 2 spaces
• Close to the Olympic Sculpture Park and Myrtle Edwards Park
• Close to the waterfront, Belltown and Lower Queen Anne amenities and events
• Located on the quieter north end of Belltown away from the night clubs and night life

The cons:

• Western Avenue and Denny are busy streets so some of the units get road noise
• It is at the bottom of the hill so you have to walk up a hill to get to most of the shops and restaurants in the area
• Wood frame buildings can be louder between units (excludes the main level units which have concrete ceilings and floors)
• The smaller open one bedroom units do not have ovens, only convection microwave ovens
• There is potential for southwestern view obstructions due to a potential development of a building in the future

Here's a video with an example of a live work loft in the Trio.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Just so you can see in the actual data, below is years of downtown Seattle real estate pricing in one nice chart (thanks to our good friends from Zillow).  Feel free to check it out and join us in calling the Seattle condo recession gone (choose the 10 year view to see how bad 2011 really was).  Yes, it's not red hot like in 2006 but then again, that's probably a good thing!

By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Whether you are asprired to move into downtown Seattle from another city or thinking of renting out your own property, this is one cool map you may want to check out. Chris Persaud, a data journalist, has consaolidated the Amercian Community Survey data on his website Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks on rent and income into a map of U.S. census tracts. The color coded map allows you to have a quick easy look on the different neighborhoods' median income and rent. 

By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

I am going to do a blog series talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly from the condominium owner and buyer’s perspective with regards to this project.  I’ll hold my opinions until the end of the series, but I want to take you on a photo and map journey through the neighborhoods around the current viaduct that will be most impacted. Hopefully, this series will help bring some clarity and help folks make decisions about where they might want to live if they are looking into buying. Or if you currently own a Seattle condo in the affected areas, if and when you might want to consider selling and moving up to something different, or even staying put and enjoying what is to come.

We will start with where the tunnel is starting and where the viaduct has already partially been removed, which is Pioneer Square and the Stadium District (also called the south portal). This is the area where you see most of the construction going on currently.  What’s happening here?  They have basically temporarily rerouted highway 99 around an area where they are actively digging and constructing the south portal of the tunnel (aka, the Pit). This is where the big boring machine will be starting its dig to the north deep beneath the city.  You can consider this ground zero, where it all starts.

Building Most Likely Affected In:
PIONEER SQUARE & STADIUM DISTRICT

Our Home Hotel Condominiums - 75 S Main St
Talk about a front row seat to all the action.  This condominium building is one of the closest buildings to the current viaduct.  Being within 20 feet of the structure this building will greatly benefit from the removal of the viaduct structure.  New view opportunities to the west will be likely as well as a reduction in noise and increase in light.

80 S. Jackson Condominiums
Although 80 South Jackson Condos are not directly adjacent to the viaduct, several of the west facing units have their views obstructed by the concrete structure not to mention the fact that there is quite a bit of road noise currently.    Upon the viaducts removal, residents will enjoy much better westerly views,  more light,  a reduction in road noise and a much more enjoyable connection the waterfront since they won’t have to walk, ride or drive under the viaduct.    I just hope for their sake the building to the west does not get redeveloped, as that will re-block the westerly views.  But that is always possible.

 Merrill Place - 97 S Jackson St
Being only one block from the viaduct the Merrell Place condos will enjoy some of the same benefits of less road noise, increase in views for those units that face north and northwest, and a much more enjoyable jaunt to the waterfront.

Waterfront Place - 1009 Western Ave
This unique condo building is missed by many folks that mistake it only for an office building, but this high end luxury building has the top floors occupied by condos.  The main benefit for this building will be a reduction in road noise, more enjoyable walks, rides and drives to the waterfront once the viaduct is removed.  Not to mention the views from the units will no longer have the grey concrete and road ways, but rather a much improved Alaskan Way with more walking space, bike trails, and hopefully views of the street car again if it is reintroduced.

WRAP UP
Aside from the obvious issues with construction, traffic due to construction and noise from the construction it appears most of the condo buildings in Pioneer Square will benefit greatly from the removal of the two level viaduct.  A negative could be a potential increase in traffic on some of the east/west streets since the connection to the waterfront will be easier , and frankly more enjoyable.  But this part of town is used to traffic from Mariners, Seahawks, and Sounders games and the countless events throughout the year at the Stadiums.

Soon Pioneer Square and Stadium District area condos will have a newly revamped waterfront less than a couple blocks away, and in some cases condos will almost be waterfront.  What an improvement for them.

Part 2 of this series we’ll take a look at condos a bit further north in the West Edge Neighborhood that lies just south of Pike Place Market.  For more information on the tunnel’s proposed route, its scheduled construction timeline, and a really cool video of the proposed completed tunnel checkout the links below.

Click here for a video simulation of the new tunnel
Click here for a map of the tunnel route and for more general information about the project.

Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

There are a lot of changes coming to this Seattle neighborhood and some will have an effect on the view outlooks of condos already in the area.  Condo buildings that I feel will be most affected by this new 425 foot tall office tower will be the west building of 2200 Westlake which will lose a bit of the city skyline outlook and Enso Condominiums south facing units which will see some reduction of skyline views to the SW.

Whether you are pro change, or resist the inevitable it’s good to know what’s going on around you.

                                                 

                                                           View of demo with 2200 in the background

                                                 

                                                            View of demo with Enso in the background

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers. - See more at: http://www.seattlecondoreview.com/2013/02/condo-review-madison-tower-in-downtown.html#more

The stats:

• 47 units
• 25 stories
• Built in 2006
• Units range from 1-3 bedrooms and have 1.5 or 3.5 bathrooms
• Range in size from 805 to 3,740 square feet
• All have 1, 2 or 3 parking spaces in the Valet  run garage
• 5 units sold in the last year ranging in price from $425,000 to $4,000,000
• 1 condo is available at the time of this article – 1 2bd 2.5ba home listed for $899,000
• Amenities: Rooftop deck with BBQ, fire pit, pet area and water views, gym, business center, priority for meeting room bookings and hotel restaurants reservations, 24 hour concierge (shared with hotel) and access to the hotel amenities (for a discounted fee) including virtual golf simulator, room service, in home catering, housekeeping, laundry and dry cleaning, in home massage, car wash and treatments at Spaahh in the hotel
• HOA dues include: water, sewer, garbage, central hot water, cable TV, earthquake insurance, 24 hour concierge, master insurance policy

The pros:

• Newer building no longer in litigation with its developer – getting loans is easier now
• High-quality building amenities
• Access to hotel amenities
• Valet parking available for all residents and their guests
• The golf simulator is a cool and unique amenity.  You can get bar and food service into the simulators as well so playing a round of golf with friends is a lot of fun. 
• Close to the Seattle waterfront and easy access to Highway 99 makes trips to the airport easy and quick

The cons:

• Parking is an additional fee of $125/month on top of your HOA dues - also, your car must be brought to you by the valet (some people might like this so could be a pro as well)
• In an area with very little street parking for visitors
• Located on the edge of the financial district which has fewer amenities in terms of restaurants, cafes, night life, etc.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

For those of you who are still curious about distressed properties and their impact on the market (bank owned and short sale inventory), this is for you. More than 6 months ago, we pulled some data from NWMLS on bank owned and short sale condos. At that time, bank owned and short sale condos made up about 19% of the total listings. Last month's data shows that it was almost the same. However, if you compare that to almost 2 years ago, distressed assets as a percent of all on the market went down significantly.

In the first half of 2012, we had a total of 315 distressed condos, during the 2nd half, it went down to 259 sales. Interestingly, bank owned properties sales dropped from 186 to 93  in the 2nd half of last year while short sale condos went up by almost 30% from 129 to 166 sales perhaps an indication of banks starting to work with owners when a short sale is proposed.

In summary, we had fewer distressed condos coming on the market in 2012 than in 2011; so far we are not seeing any influx of bank owned properties coming on the market. I agree with Marco's prediction that we are not likely to see an increase in them in 2013; this will be a good news for sellers.  

( Data extracted from NWMLS on 01/29/2013 and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. 

By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Related posts:

Seattle Bank Owned and Short Sale Properties July 2012

Seattle Bank Owned and Short Sales Properties April 2011

Trends of 2012 and Events Worth Noting

We saw our condo market absorption rates increase and inventory dwindle to the point nearly all segments of our Seattle condo market were leaning toward a seller’s market with less than three months of inventory. 

Multiple offers returned but interestingly enough we did not see a sharp incline in pricing. This is likely due to buyers who were much more conservative and resistant to overpaying in light of the recent market crash. This could also be due to more stringent appraisal review practices by lenders, which many applaud.

2200 Condominiums in South Lake Union reached the largest construction defect settlement in state history with its developer for $26 million dollars.

We saw the return of investor buyers. An increase in all cash purchases seemed to indicate investors gained confidence in spending again.

Many newer condominium buildings entered litigation with their developers in accordance with the Washington State Condominium Act’s construction warranty time frames. This further limited available condo units on the market because units that are for sale in buildings with pending litigation have a very hard time obtaining buyer financing.

Short sale process time lines seemed to have become a bit more efficient and streamlined. Some outlying deals still took up to 9 months to a year to complete but most were much shorter. We saw many short sales go from offer to close in about 75-90 days, even with two mortgage lien holders.

Developer Vulcan caused a brief shutter when it announced it was selling all of the buildings that make up the South Lake Union Amazon campus. That shutter was pacified quite quickly when Amazon decided to go ahead and buy it to the tune of $1.1 billion dollars. Amazon further calmed our post-recession concerns by saying, not only will we buy your buildings Vulcan, but hey Clise family, we need another 3 million square feet, so let’s strike a deal so we can build three more buildings. Oh and we might need more, so let’s do an option where we have the right to buy some more of your land (and no, that’s not an actual quote but does illustrate the point).

What was going on with new construction in 2012?

• Overall most buildings were drawing to the end of their sales with only a few new units remaining for sale
• Marselle Condominiums in Belltown sold out
• Fifteen Twenty-One in Downtown reached a level of 97% sold with only 4 units remaining
• Olive 8 in Downtown reached a level of 95% sold with only 7 units remaining
• Hjarta in Ballard reached a level of 97% sold with only 2 units remaining
• Escala in Belltown reached a level of 82% sold which should be about 49 units remaining
• Insiginia Tower Condominiums in Belltown/Denny Triangle broke ground and is the first post-recession new condominium community in Seattle to do so- projected to be complete sometime in 2015

What were buyers doing in 2012?

• First time and repeat buyers were taking advantage of continued historic low interest rates and affordable prices
• Investors, local and foreign, were a larger percentage of the buyer pool than in the previous several years as confidence in the rental market, low interest rates, and affordable prices were a draw to would be landlords. According to Dupree and Scott vacancy rates for all rental types in the last quarter of 2012 was a 3.06% with 81% of landlords surveyed saying they plan to increase rents. That's markedly different from 2009 where their report showed vacancy rates at 5.87% with 11.9% of landlords saying they were increasing rents. Click here for the Rental Market Report. (Courtesy of Mike at Dupre and Scott www.duprescott.com)
• Both buyers and their agents were more open to short sales and more comfortable with the process as banks seemed to become a bit more responsive - perhaps due to federal regulations requiring it
• Percentage of FHA insured loans seemed to decrease – perhaps due to the return of more flexible and lower down payment conventional financing options that are typically cheaper for the buyer than an FHA loan and also due to several condominium projects losing their FHA approval status as high rental ratios and delinquent dues seem to have caught up with a few HOA’s during the recession
• Many who decided to rent back in 2010 and 2011 were facing sharp rental increases and decided it made more financial sense to buy

What were sellers doing in 2012?

• Refinancing their homes into low interest rate loan products – loan modifications seem to have all but vanished
• Many still held onto their condos and/or are renting them out hoping prices will increase so that they can potentially recoup even a little bit of their lost values
• Many decided to keep their condos because they feared they wouldn’t be able to find anything to buy due to low inventory
• Those that did sell, in some cases, saw multiple offers and saw their condos sell for more than list price
• Velocity of sales in completed new construction condos gave condo developers much more confidence in their newly adjusted prices and led them to be more firm on their pricing last year as most were nearing the final few units remaining (and none of them offered a smart car last year as part of a marketing campaign to attract buyers)
• No condo auctions last year
• Many sellers who had to sell still had to short sell their condos as they were “under water”

Wrap Up

Before we go into the outlook and my predictions for 2013, we should take another quick look at 2012. It was a year of slow recovery for market values in most segments, but shockingly low inventory levels led to, in some cases, very short market times and multiple offers. However, the down side is that it frustrated buyers and left sellers wondering why pricing still wasn’t getting markedly better.

The usual cycle of more condo listings coming on in the spring and continuing into summer amazingly never happened as condo inventory slowly declined through the entire year. The election had less of an impact on the market than many expected. But the good news was that year over year median prices did come up in the later months of 2012, likely due to buyers motivated by great interest rates, rising rents pushing some renters off the buy vs. rent fence, and the indication of prices increasing, not to mention the strong job market locally. All and all, 2012 was a year of slightly increasing prices, decreasing inventory, multiple offers, and low interest rates.

2012 By the Numbers (for Seattle Condominiums)

• 2,199 sales in 2012 in Seattle as compared to 1,738 sales in 2011
• 704 listings in January sunk to 366 in December
  
  

• 2012 saw 56% less listings than we saw in 2011
  
• Median price in 2012 went from $208,000 in January to $285,000 in December but was not a consistent upward growth 
  
• Median price year over year was higher in 2012 in 7 out of 12 months
  
• 2012 saw more sales per month in every month compared to 2011 despite having less inventory 
• We also broke these numbers out by neighborhood. For those of you who love graphs, they can be found at the end of the post : )

For 2013, I'm going to take a stab and make some predictions:

• Apartments to Condos? I predict we will see some previous apartment building developers announce they will be converting to condos. The low inventory has to be getting them interested in jumping into the condo development game again.
• Recent Vulcan developments and the expansion of Amazon will boost both buyer and seller confidence in the South Lake Union and Denny Triangle areas, as well as create retail opportunities. I think we’ll see new restaurants, bars, shops, and services announced in 2013 in these two neighborhoods. And in turn, I believe that condos in these neighborhoods will be in higher demand and see the highest increase in pricing.
• I also predict Belltown will awaken from its 3-4 year slumber as a real estate market numbers leader. Past concerns of increasing crime and businesses leaving will be overshadowed by no inventory.
• Investors will continue to be a big part of the buying picture but will need to be increasingly aware of the rental restrictions and occupancy requirements in the buildings’ they buy in.
• Condominium buildings with pending litigation and construction defect warranty repairs underway will further limit our available inventory as would be sellers in these buildings will not be able to sell as easily and for as much money. This would be due to buyers being weary of potential assessments and active construction we well as their lenders saying no thank you to approving loans in buildings in litigation or under major repair. However, local Lenders who can serve the needs of these condominium owners and buyers will be in high demand. If you know a lender that is willing to loan on building under major repair and or in litigation with a developer we’d like to hear about them.
• Shadow inventory of foreclosed properties (bank owned) - Really, where is it? Not sure that this fear is founded as we did not see the “flood” of bank owned properties come to the market in 2012 and I don’t think we’ll see it in 2013 either. Although we could use the inventory honestly.
• Buyers, frustrated by lack of inventory, will still want to buy and will take advantage of loan programs, such as the FHA 203K rehab loan or the conventional rehab loan, to allow them to customize the condo to their liking instead of sitting and waiting for the perfect condo that may never come on the market.

We wish everyone a happy and successful 2013 and as our condo market slowly recovers and we become accustomed to the “new normal” market I’m sure we’ll see some exciting things develop and witness some surprises as well.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

“Hey Marco, I'm still on the fence, but am leaning towards staying put until later this year. The lack of inventory is a concern, as I don't want to be 'homeless' for an extended period.”

Great question and valid concern “Mr. If I sell, will I find a new place?”

It’s no secret we don’t have a lot of inventory in Seattle condos right now.  This presents an opportunity and a challenge to those condo owners who would like to move up and sell their current condo and purchase something different.  In this client’s situation, he is a young professional that has some equity in his condo and would like to take advantage of lower mortgage rates and buy while prices are still affordable (compared to pre-recession prices). However, the concern is that with hardly any options on the market, can he find something he likes.

In general, my advice is have some confidence in the fact that new inventory will be coming on the market.  Many people are in the same situation, and if we can in affect, break the log jam of on the fence sellers, we will in turn, see more options for buyers to choose from.

We turn to a couple graphics from the stats and data team at Windermere to illustrate the inventory levels here in the area month over month from 2008-2009 and 2011-2012  (click on the images below to make them larger).
                                                                     (Click to see larger image)

And recently, at year end of 2012, you will see that all but two areas are red indicating a wide spread seller’s market with less than 3 months of inventory available for buyers to choose from (for reference: Downtown Seattle and South Lake Union are in area 701, with Queen Anne/Magnolia being 700, and Capitol Hill being area 390).

What this all means to me is that if you are considering selling, and might be on the fence, it could be a good time to do so this year as many low interest rate and affordable price hungry buyers are looking.  Everyone’s situation is different and not everyone can afford to sell, but as long as you are able to be a realistic seller and are willing to list at an appropriate market value, this could be a good window. And although inventory is low when you go to buy, we have been able to get all of our buyers who have been looking this last year into a property. So it isn’t impossible, it just takes being patient and then ready to move when you see the right place. And remember, when you do find the right place to buy you are also getting those low interest rates and affordable prices on the flip side.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

On the heels of this press release, we thought it would be a great time to update our Condo Review on this building.

The stats:

• 143 units
• 38 stories
• Built in 2008
• All units have 2 bedrooms and most have den spaces as well with 2 or 2.5 bathrooms
• Range in size from 1644 to 2999 square feet
• All have 1 or 2 parking spaces and some have more
• 27 units sold in the last year ranging in price from $825,000 to $4,250,000
• 4 developer owned units and 1 resale are available at the time of this article
• Designed to LEED Silver standards
• Amenities: Rooftop deck with outdoor kitchens and fireplaces, 24 hour concierge, building manager, business conference space, fitness center, yoga/pilates studio, playroom for children, bike storage, pet area, and optional wine room and work studios
• HOA dues include: water, sewer, garbage, central hot water, earthquake insurance, cable TV, 24 hour concierge, master insurance policy, building manager

The pros:

• Expansive water and/or city views from every unit
• High-quality building amenities
• Ultra luxury finishes
• AC in every unit (important for high floor west facing units especially)
• High speed elevators
• Being on 2^nd Avenue you are close to Pike Place Market, the retail and financial districts as well as Belltown’s amenities
• Private Decks/Outdoor spaces are an innovative open and closable solarium sliding window

The cons:

• 2^nd Avenue is a busy street and can be noisy
• Close by bars and night clubs can be an annoyance
• Nothing available under $800,000 price mark
• As it may be a pro above to some buyers, it’s also a con to others that the private decks/outdoor spaces on the units are not fully open like most traditional decks. They were designed more as solariums which can be opened and closed.   

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

The Braeburn is a two building condominium community in the Pike Pine district of Capitol Hill. The buildings sit on E Pine Street between 14^th and 15^th and are close to a ton of great shops, services and restaurants in the Pike Pine corridor as well as Cal Anderson Park and not too far from the future Light Rail Station.

The stats:

• 153 residential units (there are also 5 commercial units)
• West building is 4 stories, East building is 7 stories
• Built in 2005
• Studios, 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms
• Range in size from 373 to 1149 square feet
• All have 1 parking space and 1 storage unit
• 9 units have sold in the last year ranging in price from $145,000 to $305,000 and consisting of studios and 1 bedrooms (no 2 bedrooms were sold last year)
• As of today there are no active units and 5 pending units
• HOA dues include: garbage, building maintenance, on-site manager, master building insurance, earthquake insurance
• Amenities: guest suite, gym, party room, theater room, game room, yoga room, hobby room, 5 roof decks (some with views or BBQ), zen garden, pea patch

The pros:

• Neighborhood location – close to a ton of restaurants, cafes, shops and services
• A lot of building amenities to enjoy
• Newer building with modern finishes
• Every unit has parking and storage – pretty rare on The Hill
• Many units have city views
• Many units have walk-in closets – even the smaller square footage units
• FHA Approved through 7/11/13

The cons:

• No fireplaces
• No gas cook tops or appliances
• Several of the units do not have private decks and those that do are quite small
• The only utility covered by HOA dues is garbage service

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Below is the chart and some key takeaways from my point of view. Hope it's helpful and interesting to you!

• Except for the >$800K segment, we are definitely in a sellers' market with only a few months of inventory for condos <$800k.

 

• The $300-500K price point in Belltown/Downtown and entry level price points in Capitol Hill, et al. are the hot segments right now from a number of units sold point of view.

 

• The one pro-buyer segment is the top end.  If you are a buyer and are looking for a condo >$800K in Belltown/Downtown, you've got almost 50 units to choose from and sellers bracing themselves to have the units be on the market for almost half a year so take your pick.  Everyone else in the <$800K segments will be more worried about finding a unit and real buyer competition.

 (Data from NWMLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Co-op's are removed from the data. Sold listings refer to listings sold over the last 6 months. )

By Wendy Leung wwith Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos and Downtown Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

Client Question of the Week: “I'm considering selling in the new year but I am seeing long market times in some newer buildings and that concerns me, I thought things were picking up and getting better for condo sellers in Seattle?”

Dear Scared To Sell:

This is a common question these days, and it comes down to a condo unit's ability to be purchased and the risks associated with its purchase.  Condo ownership is a wonderful thing, but like any real estate purchase (house, townhome, land, floating home, etc.) there are risks to that investment. The newer buildings you are seeing with long market times likely are those in the middle of their warranty investigations or those in the various phases of litigation with their developers.

Unfortunately, this is common with new construction condominiums.  Due to the Washington Condominium Act, which was intended, I think, to protect the condo buyer in new construction, developers of new condo buildings have to provide a warranty for certain aspects of a building's construction against defects. Sounds like a great thing right? Well, since our condo buildings are built by humans, none of them are built perfectly. So things do come up that need to be repaired, replaced, fixed etc.  There are limits to how long an HOA can hold a builder/developer accountable for certain construction defects.  I'm not an attorney so my specific knowledge is limited to the exact terms of the state statute, but basically what this results in with nearly every new condo building in our city, is that something in a building will result in a dispute on whose role or responsibility it is to fix it.  If the HOA and the developer do not agree, a motion is filed by the HOA to protect their right to sue if they can't come to agreement.

Issues can range from water intrusion (leaks) into the building through windows or exterior vent louvers, to heating and air condition system issues, building ventilation, plumbing fittings and on and on.   It happens in concrete and steel buildings, and it happens in wood framed condo buildings.  It happens in tall ones and short ones, ones in Belltown, ones in South Lake Union, even ones in Capitol Hill, those with curtain wall exteriors, rain screen panels, or stucco type exteriors. I’m not an architect so forgive me if those exact terms are not technically correct, but you all get the idea, no building is really exempt.

Why longer market times in these buildings? Well, mortgage lenders avoid loans in buildings with pending litigation.   This means that buyers wanting to purchase in buildings currently in litigation or in process of undergoing major repair after such litigation, either have to pay all cash, or find a lender willing to grant an exception which often means a substantial down payment of 20-30%.   The majority of buyers do not have such funds, or they do not wish to purchase due to the unknown factors that surround the pending litigation, or they fear the building "wrap" that might be coming and the nuisance and inconvenience that goes along with that.

When you have fewer buyers able to put large chunks of money down or fewer buyers that are willing to buy because of the inconvenience and risk, then that equals longer market times in some buildings in my opinion.

Buildings currently in various states of either warranty investigation or pending litigation in Seattle are numerous.  So we are seeing artificially heightened market times, in my opinion, in several buildings constructed since 2006.  Buildings older than that have, for the most part, already gone through this.  Once litigation in these post 2006 buildings is settled (which I hope for, for everyone's sake including the HOAs, the owners and the developers) you will see more inventory coming to the market place I believe, and likely if inventory levels are still low, you will see them move a bit quicker than they are now due to the factors above.  There are many condo owners who need to sell for various reasons who will finally be able to do so once litigation and repairs are settled.

Additionally, it’s my belief, that since we are already in a low inventory market for condos in Seattle, buildings that are in litigation are further limiting supply.  Therefore, in the meantime, if you are not in a building with this issue, it is quite possibly a great time to get on the market. From what I'm experiencing with both seller and buyer clients, there is limited competition if you are a condo seller, and lots of buyers looking and having a hard time finding condos that work for them.  If pricing is appropriate, sellers are realistic, and the condo is presented and prepped well, units are indeed moving and competition for those units can be stiff because rates are still amazingly low and prices are still more affordable than they were pre-recession. There are a lot of people are trying to buy, even during this Holliday season.

So to answer the question asked by Mr. Scared to Sell is go for it, the market likely wants to see your condo in the New Year. 

Stay tuned for more information for those considering selling in the New Year.

Happy Holidays!

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers

• After several year-over-year thumpings of monthly 2011 sales, November 2012 was higher than November 2011...but only by ~15% (versus the ~30% advantages we saw in September and October year-over-year comparisons).  Perhaps the we're finally settling in for our winter hibernation.
• Median prices for Seattle overall saw a soft landing, slightly higher than November 2011 but considerably lower than the banner October 2012 numbers ($245K versus $275K).
• At the neighborhood level Belltown/Downtown remains the most solid overall with sales almost as high as October 2012, median prices up 10% month over month, and inventory still tight.   

                                        Belltown / Downtown 

                             Capitol Hill / Madison / Central 

                                Queen Anne / Magnolia

 By Wendy Leung with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers.

This settlement comes at a good time for the owners in the 2200 complex who have been somewhat limited from being able to refinance or sell condo units for some time due to the fact the resale certificates and condo questionnaires needed by lenders disclosed issues related to the construction defects and its mediation.  These can now be changed, which should open up some possibilities for sales and refinances to happen since buyers and their lender might be more confident about the long term financial health of the building and the HOA.

Early indications are that the 2200 community will start to see the work start some time in 2013 but it’s not known exactly when, nor exactly how long the work will take.  It also remains to be seen which of three condo towers will be first and if a full wrap of each building will be needed. The board indicated at the meeting they will be working hard with the project contractor to try to make the repairs as efficient as possible and with the least amount of impact on the residents and businesses within 2200 as possible. It is not yet officially known who that contractor will be.

Although none of us owners at 2200 are looking forward to the inconvenience of the repair work that follows, it is likely that the settlement amount will cover the expenses of the needed repairs and there will not be a need for additional funds from the owners through an increase in dues nor a special assessment, which is the silver lining to the whole thing and a relief for many. In fact, the new budget for 2013 reflects a decrease in dues now that the settlement has been finalized.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers

Guess where the chefs stayed? Downtown Seattle’s Olive 8 Condominiums! The “cheftestants” all lived in a unit on the 38^th floor of the Olive 8 tower giving this condo a great national stage to be seen on. The program showcases Olive 8 with scenes of the chefs lounging around, using the gourmet kitchen and shows off the beautiful view as the chefs sit out on their private deck. Olive 8 was a good choice, I would say.

So what’s going on at Olive 8 in terms of condo sales you might ask? Here is the latest update on Olive 8’s Developer owned condo units:

• 90% sold
• 196 closed sales
• 9 pending sales in November
• 19 developer owned units left: 10 one bedrooms and 9 two bedrooms (all on floor 30 or above)

There are also a couple of units being sold by individual owners (resales) in the building:

• 1 active resale unit
• 2 pending resale units

Located at 8^th Avenue and Olive Street, its location is central to Seattle’s shopping district, the business district downtown, the transit tunnel, as well as the South Lake Union neighborhood, and just up the hill to the east is the active Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Plus residents at Olive 8 now can say they live in the same building where Top Chef was filmed, that’s a nice notch on the ole belt.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers

What’s the catch? Condominium buildings must go through the VA's condo project approval process.  Similar to the FHA approval process, an HOA would need to provide supporting documents verifying the eligibility of the condominium community as a whole.  No longer can an individual condo owner seek VA approval if they are either refinancing or selling their condo.  It's all or nothing.  VA looks at things such as overall financial health of the HOA, percentage of rental units, percentage of units that are delinquent on dues, and level of insurance protection, to name a few.  Currently, very few VA approved condominium buildings exist in the downtown core of Seattle.  Newer condo projects in the Downtown, Belltown, Midtown and South Lake Union area especially, lack this VA approval.  So it can be challenging for those wanting to use the VA loan program to find options in our already low inventory market.

One misconception is that if a condo building is FHA approved, it is also VA approved.  This is not the case, as a separate approval process is needed for VA. 

The Department of Veteran Affairs has a website that lenders and real estate brokers can use to verify the VA approval status of condominium communities. So if you are curious if your building or one you are considering buying qualifies, there is a way to find this out prior to putting in an offer, refinancing, or listing your condo.  Currently, when looking at our on market inventory, in the Downtown area, only Continental Place, Belltown Court, and Gallery in Belltown and Veer Lofts in South Lake Union are VA approved. Not a lot of options if you are a VA loan condo buyer. It might be beneficial if you are a condo owner to contact your HOA and ask them to review the eligibility requirements to see if your building might qualify and then consider going through the process to secure the VA eligibility. 

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle Condos exclusively for buyers and sellers