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May 18, 2012

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Condos that will benefit most from Seattle’s new waterfront

September 21, 2010 By 1 Comment

Seattle’s waterfront is about to change.  The visual scar and obnoxious noise of the viaduct will be a distant memory to future generations.  People from the city and from around the world will marvel at our completed project.   We’ll have to live through the mess of construction but at the end we gain a fabulous reward!

Speaking of reward, I’m urging buyers to consider investments in some of the condo buildings that will most greatly benefit from the removal of the unsightly concrete creature.  There are many to choose from and the increase in value could be very lucrative.  Just imagine having your current neighbor be some big name Belltown DJ who spins techno tunes 24-hours a day at wall pounding volume. It would reduce your value, yes?   Now image the HOA FINALLY kicking that kid to the curb and selling the unit to a quiet, calm and attractive neighbor. Someone with style and world class charm. Do you think that would make the price of your home go up? I’m sure of it!

Which buildings should benefit? Of course everyone within earshot of the nuisance will notice the improved sound quality but the following buildings are close enough to FEEL the difference too:

Pioneer Square Neighborhood

West Edge Neighborhood

Belltown Neighborhood

Waterfront Neighborhood

Is now the time to investigate an investment in one of these communities? Interest rates are ridiculously low and prices have stepped back five-plus years. With this large of a neighborhood upgrade you’d be doing yourself a favor to do some snooping. I’m ready to help.

Filed Under: Bellora, Belltown Lofts, Central Waterfront, Colonial Grand Pacific, Featured, FIX, Florentine, Four Seasons, Hillclimb Court, Market Court, Merrill Place, Our Home Hotel, Pike & Virginia, Pomeroy, Post Hotel, Post Mews, Site 17, Urban Development, Waterfront Landings, Waterfront Place, Watermark Tower

Review of final pricing from all Seattle condo auctions

September 12, 2010 By 1 Comment

There sure does seem to be a lot of excitement regarding the Olive 8 auction which takes place on September 19.  Seattle has had seven auctions for dowtown condominium properties since March of 2009 and hopefully we won’t be seeing any more.  Curious if the history of these auctions have proven to be a significant amount of savings for buyers, I went around and collected all the sales results for six of the seven buildings that went to auction (no results for The Press could be found).  Here is the median for the original list price, minimum bid and final sold price for each condo project.

Auction Date Condo Project Orig List Price Auction Min  Bid Final Sold Price
3/22/09 Queen Anne High School $510,000 $280,000 $355,000
7/11/09 LUMEN $579,040 $260,000 $347,500
9/27/09 GALLERY $491,995 $225,000 $344,000
9/27/09 Brix $475,000 $185,000 $319,500
3/28/10 5th and Madison $607,500 $235,000 $390,500

NOTE: The minimum bid price was approximately 45% off the original list price.  After comparing final sold prices the discount average out to be approximately 35% off the original list price.

Now, if we were to take the median price of $592,950 and apply 35% off, that gives you a 1 bedroom, 1.5 bath with approximately 1,100 square feet on the 24th floor facing south for around $386,000.  If you were to now do a search for units around the area between $375,000 and $400,000 with a minimum of 1,000 square feet, here’s what your options look like.

Not only will several buyers get new construction for less than the price of current resale properties, but buyers for the Olive 8 auction will also be able to enjoy the benefits of living above a hotel.  As of today, the only other places in Seattle where you can live above a hotel are the Four Seasons, Madison Tower and 2200 Westlake which are all priced at significantly higher price points.

If you’re considering a purchase, prices look good.   We can also provide you with more information about the building, the neighborhood and what it takes to write an offer for free.  Contact us if you have any questions.

Filed Under: 2200 Westlake, 5th and Madison, Auction, Featured, Four Seasons, GALLERY, Madison Tower, Olive 8 Tagged With: , ,

Two new BIG neighbors to Mosler Lofts coming to Belltown

August 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I love reading the Dept. of Planning and Developments “Land use Information Bulletin” in the morning. Not because it’s as dry as toast and goes well with coffee but because it provides me with exciting news for me to pass along to you, my loyal readers…..and I’ve got a doozy of a scoop for you today!

There will be TWO new high-rise apartments buildings going up soon in the northend of Belltown. A 19-story at 2625 3rd Avenue and a 17-story at 311 Cedar Street. The good news is they will bring more retail space and I’m hoping for some good Teriyaki and a Jelly Belly shop. There will be commercial space as well and I trust they’ve got tenants lined up. The best news are all the rental units available to make up for the loss of the unlucky McGuire building.

What’s the bad news? Just ask the homeowners at Mosler Lofts and Seattle Heights. They’ve just gotten the awful reminder that an open view is never guaranteed. Each complex will have some of its Association members unhappy with the loss of a portion of their view….and there’s nothing they can do about it.

We have a height restriction chart on our site (Seattle Height Restrictions) providing you with a guideline of what COULD happen around town. It shows the maximum height a new building can be anywhere within the colored coded zone. You know why we spent time creating it….to remind us all that nothing stays the same. New opportunities will bring progress and Seattle Savvy doesn’t want some brand new big building stuck in front of your window to come as a shocking surprise.

As a resident of the Montreux, I often marvel at the view of the skyline from our pretty fabulous rooftop deck.  Dave and I stand up there and “ooh n’ ahh” about the golden color reflecting off the 27-story Grandview Condos as it towers over every other building within two blocks. Dave likes the fact that every unit has a great view. I take a big slurp of my cherry coke and point out the  west side of the Cosmopolitan. “Those buyers thought they had a great view too.” I say in a somber tone. Dave’s naturally pale completion bursts into a red hue as he begins a long diatribe on how “somebody” should write a post about how nothing is guaranteed and that it’s our job to help buyers perform the due diligence needed to make the best buying decisions of their lives.

After all, no one wants to share their morning coffee and toast with a neighbor living only a short alleys distance away.

With love….Somebody.

Filed Under: Architecture/Design, Belltown, Buyer 101, Denny Triangle, Featured, Grandview, Land Use Bulletin, Mosler Lofts, Seattle Heights Tagged With: , , , ,

Established Belltown business owner needs a new home

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A friend of mine recently asked if we could help with finding his martial arts teacher a new home for his business.  Since commercial real estate is a whole different business, all we could do is pass the word.   Bottom line is Belltown Martial Arts needs to find a new home, and if there is any warehouse or retail space owners looking to lease to a great established tenant, here ya go…

Sifu David Leong is looking for 3 to 5k square feet.  He is an active community member, has an established business, and mentioned that he would be open to South Lake Union.  His current location on 3rd and Cedar is being torn down.  If you know of someone or are yourself looking for a good tenant, please contact him directly.  Of course price is a concern, but really just needs some space for a dojo, and a couple bathrooms.

He can be contacted through his website and into a new home by the beginning of next month.

On a side note, I was poking around on this guys site a few months ago and read about the Lion Dance.  Pretty amazing…  Here was my favorite vid I found when I was looking about:

Filed Under: Belltown, Featured Tagged With: ,

The Belltown neighborhood…

July 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s been somewhere around 2 months now we’ve been working on this website, and it’s personally thrilling to open it up and see it come together.  We’ve done a round of professional photos for all of Pioneer Square and for most of Belltown, along with a pretty nice write up for each building.  Yesterday we added a great little description of Belltown and will be adding a photo gallery of some shots we’ve taken just hanging out in the neighborhood.

Belltown P-Patch

You’ll be impressed with all of the wide tree-lined streets throughout the large level zone between 1st & 5th and from Lenora & Denny. The western edge borders Elliott Avenue where cool breezes blow past the Olympic Sculpture Park. You’ll notice… [read more]

You’ll also see on the page a simple jQuery Google map that pinpoints each condo building, along with a link to each building where you can get more specific information including active and sold listing data.  However, we still have many moons to go before we can cross it off the list as “ready for more improvement.”  Currently, it’s still just simply under a lot of development.   Please take a peek, and if you have any ideas on how we can make it better, don’t hesitate to let us know!

Filed Under: Belltown, Featured
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