MLS Watch: Re-sales galore

April 3rd, 2007 · Comments

Alright, no more silly exchanges in the comments! I’m too busy enjoying the sunny weather in San Francisco to keep deleting all the off topic comments. Let’s keep the discussion focused on condos. If you want to stray off topic or want to talk about something else please use the forums. To get us back on track here’s my MLS Watch update. If you spot a neat listing be sure to forward it one, I can’t look through them all :).

2200

More new listings. Now up to 33 to choose from.

Cosmo

Cosmo is trying to catch up to 2200 and now has 19 listings. I haven’t made the time to tour either of these buildings. Perhaps you have? If you have, could you let us know the pros and cons of each? Is one built better than the other? Etc. Or if you’re looking to rent Urban Ashley has a 2 bedroom unit for only $3,800/month.

Meritage

Little sleepy Meritage apparently doesn’t want to be out done by the big boys (disclaimer: I own a unit at the Meritage) and now has 5 (of 48) units on the market. The latest addition is #207 a 455 square foot studio for $298,000. That’s $655/square foot. I know I should be rooting for it since I live in the building but seriously, the Meritage does not comp out against 2200 and Cosmo.

Portofino

417 E Pine St #208 is 902 square feet and is listed at $439,950. Looks like from the photos like it has two bedrooms though one is likely non-conforming. I also think that wood / glass divider for the main floor bedroom looks a little weird.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Tags: 2200 · Cosmo · MLS Watch · Meritage · Portofino

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Viewing 12 Comments

jo 2 years ago 1 point
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the meritage unit does have an outdoor patio with it, however it does seem high. probably paid somewhere in the low 2's for it originally

$3800 for that cosmo 2 bedroom? nuts - someone must be trying to cover their mortgage

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Cameron 2 years ago 1 point
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417 E Pine...is that a drop ceiling in the living room? Like one above most of our heads at work? Now THAT is weird. The divider just looks kind of cool to me, like it was possible a former office or something.

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mattgoyer 2 years ago 1 point
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Cameron, I've never been in the building but I have walked by it a lot and it does look like it has a drop ceiling. I'm wondering if you could take it out and expose the guts, I think that'd be cool :).

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EconE 2 years ago 1 point
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I had the same feelings about the 417 Pine unit...it is quite unique and makes a strong statement...especially the glassed in bedroom.

With regards to removing the Drop Ceilings and exposing the guts...I'm all for that. The only consideration that I would have is what is the floor structure above. I have heard about people who moved into/been in lofts in TriBeca (NYC) that had the exposed wood ceiling only to complain about the fact that the noise transmission from upstairs neighbors simply walking was pretty annoying.

Oh...and there's a $4200 2br at the Cosmo on CL.

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chris 2 years ago 1 point
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jokers. The high-end apartments in the pipeline for Denny Triange are planned to come on at 2.40-2.50 psf in 2008-9...which is still "only" $2500 for a 1,000sf. ...and those numbers are including two years of escalation

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mattgoyer 2 years ago 1 point
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Chris, can you comment on apartment psf in Seattle? How does it vary by neighborhood and quality? What are people forecasting for psf over the next five years? I don't know about other readers but I'd love to find out more about rents.

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chris 2 years ago 1 point
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Dupre and Scott is the best source of available data. Some data on their website is for free but most is available for pay. Dick conway and Peterson Consulting are also good sources of data. for a very macro, free view of the rent picture, check out Seattle's Office of Housing. They do a good job of tracking median rents in comparison to income levels.

I'd guess the average market rate apartment rent in Seattle for all units is somewhere between $1.25-$1.40 psf per month. At the low end, rents in SE Seattle, North seattle for a 1960's era building with less than 20 units are in the range of $0.80-$1.00 and at the high end I'm guessing Harbor Steps is $2.50 on average. New construction (post 2000+) in Seattle averages $1.80 or so. Anyone building any type of new construction anywhere in the city needs at least $1.90-$2.00 average rents (2007 dollars) to make a market rate project work.

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chris 2 years ago 1 point
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as far as where are going the assumed escalations in development community are:

2006 (observed) 6%
2007 (anticipated) - 7%
2008 (anticipated - 7%
2009 - back to historical 3-4% average

Rents typically track inflation, but have just returned to the year 2000 level. so look for big rent increases if we have a soft landing from the housing market. If its a rough landing we hit some sort of recession and most can't see how rents could double inflation in that case (unless 1970's-style stagflation driven by energy costs??)

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Matthew 2 years ago 1 point
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Matt,

Its painfully obvious that people are not adhering to the rules that only a certain percentage of these condos are sold to investors. Isn't there any ramifications for so many of these units flooding the market, or are those rules just merely guidelines that investors are ignoring?

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Paul 2 years ago 1 point
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Portofino just made a HUGE special assesment for repairs to the roof deck area that is used by the top floor units only. Aparently water has been seeping under it.

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EconE 2 years ago 1 point
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Looks like 201 Galer (QAHS) is trying to catch up to 2200 & Cosmo.

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chris 2 years ago 1 point
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there's a handful of sizeable price reductions on at the Cosmo. All except one are out of town sellers (Redmond the other). I'm surprised more on the S and W corners are not being filled with the office developments next door moving along

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