The Seattle Condo Blog

I’ll be hosting an open house at The Portal Over Lake Union on Sunday, May 18th from 1 - 4 pm. The Portal is located at 655 Crockett Street, access is from Dexter Avenue.

Unit #A102 is one of only a handful of live/work lofts available within the complex, perfectly suitable for office or artisan studio space. The unit is a spacious 1,214 square feet of open living space with 12′ ceilings. Other home features include:

• Master suite with walk-in closet, built-ins and a huge 5-piece master bath
• Open living/kitchen space with oversized windows
• Separate loft area with an adjoining closet. The space is completely customizable - use it as an office, studio, 2nd bedroom or media room - whatever fits your need.
• 2nd full bathroom
• Stone countertops, stainless steel appliances, gas fireplace
• Bamboo, carpet and tile flooring
• Private deck, in unit w/d, parking & extra storage
• Pet friendly

The Portal was constructed in 2004 consisting of 76 condominium homes in two buildings overlooking Lake Union. Though the buildings back to Aurora, the homes are on the East-side with the common hallway buffering the homes from Aurora. Amenities include a courtyard off the community club room and an expansive roof top deck. Access to the Portal is via Dexter Avenue.

Moda Condos just released a few units in the NWMLS today, providing a sampling of the home plans available. These range from sub-300 sq ft studios to two-bedrooms and are priced between $184,950 and $365,950. Though Moda sold exceptionally well during pre-sales, word on the street is that the mortgage upheaval impacted a few buyers thus making these units available.

Moda has re-opened its sales center on Bell Street between 4th & 3rd Avenues in Belltown. The sales center is open daily, except Wednesdays, from noon to 5 pm.

Occupancy is slated for September.

Here’s a quick look at designs of several non-condo housing developments in the Belltown & Denny Triangle area.

2612 3rd Avenue (Corner of 3rd & Cedar)

2612 3rd Avenue has a new design than the one I posted a few months ago. The 17th story apartment will house approximately 185 units, a commercial space and just 82 parking spaces. Overall, it seems like a nice addition to this rather dead end of Belltown.

View looking SE, corner of 3rd & Cedar.

Looking NW from 3rd Avenue. Mosler Lofts is to the left.

Main entry facing Cedar Street.

6th & Lenora

The 6th & Lenora Apartment is a twin tower development spanning 1/2 block on 6th Avenue between Lenora & Blanchard. The towers will rise 18 stories with a 6 story podium encompassing 654 units, retail space and 419 parking spaces.

Looking West along 6th Avenue.

1900 1st Avenue

Located close to the Pike Place market at 1st and Stewart, the proposal for the 11-story 1900 1st Avenue development includes a 100 room hotel, 75 apartment units and 325 parking stalls. If built, it will replace a surface parking lot and would obscure lower level views from the proposed 1915 2nd Avenue condominium project.

Farren West is the owner of Key Inspection Services and is a contributor to the Seattle Condo Blog.

Many people feel there isn’t a need to inspect new construction because the home has been “Code” inspected by the city. And, to a certain degree this inspection could be accurate but here’s my take as a home inspector and as a potential buyer.

As a buyer, purchasing a home and scheduling a move is stressful enough without having to worry about potential structural issues. The cost of a new construction home inspection runs with median home prices in the Puget Sound area. So, with a median price around $400,000, a new home inspection runs approximately $400 (condos inspections are generally priced lower than single family homes). Thus, you’ll gain additional peace of mind for roughly a tenth of a percent of the price of the property for an inspection.

Now here’s my impression as an inspector. I have been inspecting properties for over 8 years and haven’t found a single one without a problem. Small or large, most need some sort of attention to prevent a safety hazard or a potentially significant financial investment if not tended to in a timely manner. With new construction a list of corrections can be just that, a simple punch list with photos to assist the buyer and contractor to ensure all details were corrected by the time of the final walk through. Also, since the home is new, systems and appliances haven’t been thoroughly tested or used to ensure they’re functioning properly before you move in.

Here’s a sample list of items that would be tested during the inspection: run water throughout in the home, flushing toilets, test appliances for proper installation & function, test the furnace and heat distribution, the fireplaces, review in the attic/roof and crawlspace areas (single family homes).

If you have any questions, or if you’d like to view a sample new construction report, feel free to contact me.

April’s performance figures released by the NWMLS exhibited further softening of Seattle’s condo market. The median price for Seattle condos (citywide) was $312,500, a .8% decrease from a year ago and a 5.3% decrease from March’s record high of $329,975.

The available condo inventory rose to 1,572 active listings April. Combined with slower sales activity the citywide inventory supply rate climbed to 7.2 months based on pending sales, which is the highest level we’ve seen in years.

An inventory supply rate based on closed sales is also commonly used. In that case, the citywide supply would stand at 4.2 months. I prefer using pending sales as it reflects the most current sales activity whereas closed sales reflect purchase activity that may have occurred up to 2 or more months in the past (e.g. closed sales in April likely went under contract in March and February).

I’ll post the graphs and charts later.

Another Belltown condo project
The Schuster Group, developer of Mosler Lofts, purchased the site just south of the Bellora according to the DJC. Earlier proposals for the site included a mid-rise apartment and condo projects. At one point one of the proposed projects was called “Bellora 2″.

Schuster’s current plans for the site is a “green” condo project which is zoned to 125′ for residential buildings. No time frame has been provided.

Insignia Towers
The DJC also reported that construction of the Insignia Towers project at 5th between Bell & Battery has been postponed, possibly until 2009. Insignia’s developer, Embassy Development, attributed the sluggish market for their decision.

Escala
As was widely reported earlier this week, Escala announced they’re increasing the prices of their remaining inventory. While the overall adjustment reflects a net increase, sources indicate that they also reduced prices on some of the units the east side of the building.

Olive 8 held a hard hat tour event at the construction site today to show off the building’s progress (I had a prior commitment and was unable to attend). Fortunately, Megan Hilfer of Parsons PR, was kind enough to share a few photos from the event which I’ve posted below.

When completed, Olive 8 will be the tallest residential tower in Seattle and the first condo/hotel development in Seattle to achieve LEED certification. The Hyatt hotel is expected to open at the end of the year while the first occupancy of the condominium is anticipated for early 2009.

The City’s Edge Condominiums (website) is a new, gated conversion community nestled within 4-acres of protected greenbelt just 7 miles from downtown Seattle.

The development features 45 condominiums in 7 buildings which consists of 17 one-bedroom, 23 two-bedroom and 5 three-bedroom homes. Most of the homes are corner units that range in size from 481 square feet to 1,574 square feet.

Home amenities and features include:

• spacious floor plans
• brushed nickel hardware
• modern finishes
• stainless appliances
• granite countertops
• full-size washer and dryer
• private garages (for all but three units)

City’s Edge homes start from $150,000 and range up to just under $400,000 for the three-bedroom units.

The sales office is open Thursday - Monday from Noon to 5:00 PM at 11801 Ambaum Blvd SW, Burien.

Clise Properties has taken its 13-acres in Denny Triangle off the market due to the global credit market downturn. Clise received 15 offers and conducted 60 tours with the most serious offer coming from a Dubai-based real estate development company.

Clise is expected to put the properties back on the market once the financial markets improve.

More info: SeattlePI and Seattle Times

The Montage (website) is the newest condominium addition to the Pike/Pine corridor on Capitol Hill. The 6-story, 23-unit building is located at 1422 Boylston Avenue, just around the corner from the HoneyHole.

Montage includes a mix of open one-bedroom, one- and two-bedroom homes ranging in size from 661 to 1,121 square feet. Homes on the “Terrace” level have expansive decks that range up to 375 square feet, providing excellent outdoor living/entertainment space.

Home prices begin at $340,000 for one-bedrooms and range up to $690,000 for a two-bedroom penthouse unit.

Home features include:

• Stainless steel Bosch and Kenmore Pro appliances, gas range
• Cherry or walnut hardwoods and carpet flooring
• Slab quartz and granite countertops
• Gas fireplace
• Parking & storage
• Pet friendly
• Roof top deck
• BUILT Smart construction

Montage’s interior finishes appear above average for this price point on the Hill. Unlike larger developments, Montage does lack somewhat with common amenities. However, homeowners will be in the center of Capitol Hill’s urban flavor - restaurants, cafes, street side retail and boutique stores, pubs, a QFC a block away and close to major bus routes.

Also: Read Matt’s impression of the project.