Aug
26
2010
These condos are located atop the Hyatt Hotel and include many amenities. Olive 8 indicated it will auction 34 units on Sunday Sept 19,2010 at 1:00 pm. The Auction website is www.Olive8CondoAuction.com This is just one more auction in the Seattle area in the past year. Continue Reading »
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Oct
11
2009
I’ve been watching an interesting chain of events unfold since attending the highly successful Gallery and Brix Auction. In the 10 day since, Brix has sold ten more condo homes and Gallery, eight. The pricing set at the auction remains in place and, with the seller determined to fill the buildings in the next couple of months, patient buyers who have held out for fair deals are being rewarded.
Excited auction buyers came well prepared, most putting down 20 percent – certainly the tax incentive was part of the motivation. And, very few investors bought units, which in other times would be the other way around. As Ken Stevens, CEO of Accelerated Marketing Partners, put it: “The auction added a dimension of transparency to the process and sellers aren’t going to go right back to the original pricing… they are now willing to accept the mandate for this new pricing for the remaining inventory. It’s the only way the trust factor will return.”
For those looking to purchase a condo home at this time, there are two big incentives to consider (not including the $8,000 tax credit due to expire in November): the first is that in my opinion there is no way these buildings can be replaced for the cost at which the condo units sold. Which leads to the second: that buyers can feel really great about making a very secure investment. Gallery currently has about 15 condos left to sell, and Brix, about 20. Going…going….?
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Sep
27
2009
The Gallery Auction was held tonight at the Hyatt hotel in Seattle. I attended with a buyer who was interested in a unit at this condominium. There was a full room of people, it looked as though there was close to 350 seats and they were all filled. Some of the bidding seemed to be emotional and the following table shows the results of the auction. All the units sold and there were multiple bidders on all of the units. Four units were added just prior to the auction. Click on chart to enlarge.

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Sep
02
2009
If you’ve convinced yourself that you need to give up your dream of living in downtown Seattle, in a luxury condo with a view, here’s a chance to rethink that. Multiple units of different sizes in Belltown’s upscale Gallery building are going to auction on Sept. 27 with a wide range of affordable starting bids. Schnitzer West, the Northwest development company, is including units in Gallery in its auction plan (along with Brix – see previous Blog), in the hopes of shrinking Seattle’s condo vacancy rate. When we see this begin to happen, then we know the market is beginning its climb toward stability and we’ll all see prices level out. For now, both first-time homebuyers (remember that $8,000 tax credit due to expire on Nov. 1), as well as those looking for a way to move up, will see the Gallery condo auction as a unique opportunity worth jumping on. Gallery condos, at 2911 Second Ave. offer upscale urban living in Continue Reading »
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Aug
02
2009
The neighborhood that’s considered one of Seattle’s favorite hubs for living (we counted more than 27 seattle condo buildings), dining and nightlife will soon incorporate a park boulevard into the mix. In June, a unanimous vote by the Seattle City Council voted to turn five blocks of Bell Street into a beauty spot, complete with landscaping and attractive night lighting.
Between First and 5th Avenues, there will be only one lane of traffic (at present there are two) and the sidewalk will extend out to Continue Reading »
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Jun
29
2009
Green is the new buzzword in new Seattle condo building construction –– just in case you haven’t noticed. But what makes a building “green” and who gets to make that claim?
Basically, a building that is designed, built, or fixed up for a new purpose in a resource-efficient way can call itself green. Some builders stretch the limits of the word… they may use a few materials such as bamboo flooring and water-saving plumbing and call it good (i.e. green). Others may take the concept seriously and meet certain global objectives, including using materials that protect both the environment and the long-term health of the occupant.
To truly be a green building it all needs to start at the ground level, with the owners, the designers and the architects. The building needs to be sustainable, which means it has to reduce its overall impact on the environment. Energy use, water use, integrated systems throughout the structure are the fundamentals of green building, and what ultimately affect its surroundings.
If you’re interested in living in a green condo building, here are a few questions you can ask when shopping for your next living space:
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Jun
12
2009
Thornton Place Condos offer Summer Incentives for Easy Breezy Northgate Living
Thornton Place is the new buzz around Northgate – one of six Seattle neighborhoods identified for urban renewal by the Mayor’s office. It’s big, it’s classy, it’s convenient, its design is sleek and airy, and its mixed use, community-focused goals are bound to set a precedent in the greater Seattle area. Six separate buildings constitute a European-style village where staircases weave together private areas with the open space plaza, all incorporated within the natural parkland surrounding Thornton Creek.
Seattle-based and family-owned Lorig is a highly respected developer with a track record of community involvement. Mithun, who designed the REI Continue Reading »
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Jun
10
2009
Although the housing sales pendulum is still swinging, we Seattle area residents are starting to feel a little less dizzy these days. Because the Northwest market has not fallen nearly as far as other areas – like California, Arizona, and Florida, for instance – our rebound has been a little quicker. That all has to do with the fact that the economic climate here was not quite as stormy as in much of the rest of the country. Knock on wood.
One buzz word that seems to be surfacing these days is “overvaluation” – that is, that with the big boom in tech and other industry in the past five to eight years, housing prices climbed much faster than anywhere else. So right now, given the bust in some of those industries, our market is Continue Reading »
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