Seattle Condo Blog and Community Information

The Moda condominium entry level condo development in the Seattle Area was switched from condos to rental apartments as reported in the Seattle Times.  The building was offering 250 condominiums that were as small as 296 sq ft and started at approximately $150,000.  Many building slated for condominiums are switching to apartments or are not being built .  In my opinion in the long run if this continues it will cause a shortage of available condominiums in the area with projected regional area growth predictions.  Vacancies in the area are quite low and rents are rising.  Rent in one of the condominiums I own in Downtown Seattle increased about 20 percent from last year and.  Buyers are currently waiting for prices to drop significantly and in a growing area like Seattle with new supply being eliminated has to ask will that happen.   

    

The Cosmopolitan was built in 2007 and located in the new and upcoming South Lake Union Area.   Unit 1611 in the Cosmopolitan building was just reduced to $499,950.  This Condo faces lake union and the space needle and comes with 2 storage units (your always looking for space in these new condos) and parking.     The unit is close to 1000 square feet in size and has one bedroom and a den

 The amentities of the Cosmopolitan building include a 24 hour concierge who keeps you abreast of activities in the area, a gracious lobby entrance, game/recreation room, business center and meeting room, a guest suite you can rent for visiting guest, and a roof-top view terrace. .

Its very close to restaurants, shopping, and freeways.

The unit itself is not on the side of the building with views blocked by new construction like many of the other units listed. It has forced air Continue Reading »

Mosler lofts is the latest new construction condo building to be hit by a lawsuit in the Seattle area.  There was an excellent story in the Seattle PI concerning details of the issues.  Many wonder what will happen to the new owners who purchased recently in the building.   Will they be able to refinance?  Will they have to pay a huge assessment?  In my experience during time of lawsuits prices of the condos decrease until it is finally settled

Mosler Lofts also has been hit with a separate lawsuit from Kroll Map Co., whose is located adjacent to Mosler lofts. The lawsuit indicates the builder did not do promised work on Kroll’s Map building.  It also failed to properly protect the building from construction related impacts.

Escala, a condominium tower now under construction in the heart of Midtown, recently reached a milestone as more than 50 percent of its Premier Sales Release has been sold. More than $6 million in sales were recorded in the last month alone, resulting in an Encore Sales Release happening now.

     Escala developer John Midby of LEXAS Companies says the new inventory actually represents the last near-term opportunity for new condominiums in downtown Seattle, given the reported 95 percent drop in new construction deliveries anticipated by 2010.

The Clise family who owned a big chunk of prime real estate in the Denny Triangle close to the Valcan projects currently under construction has decided to remove the land from the market due to the recent change in the real estate and financing markets.  As reported in the Seattle Timesit could take up to 15 years to develop a property that large.

Stadium lofts which will add many residents to the stadium area has been taken over by a new developer.  The Seattle times has a excellent article about the progress.  One issue in building near the stadium is the noise caused by night events.  I have represented buyers and condo owners selling in the stadium area and they commented Continue Reading »

Recently I was to speaking to several buyers who indicated they “didn’t care” about if their unit came with a parking space because there was plenty of on street parking when they were driving the neighborhood.  I reminded them of what’s happening in certain areas of the city were they are installing parking meters and parking would not be as easy.  One such place is South Lake Union where you can see more and more meters springing up. Several units in some of the bigger Seattle Condo buildings do not come with a parking space.  I guess this is alright if your a out of townee who’s buying the condo to have a place to stay while you are in the City.  But be warned,  Continue Reading »