People’s down payments just lost a third of their value and Ava sends out this note about nothing.
Dear Matt,
We want to thank you for your continued interest in AVA Residences. We are pleased to offer such a dynamic residential highrise in an ideal location and we are pleased to have captured your interest.
In our previous communications, we outlined our planned timeline for moving forward with construction and opening of our presentation center. We stated that we would be submitting for building permits, which we have done. Additionally, the presentation center is ready to open, the interactive website is ready for project launch and we have a full time presence for any inquiries and questions that may arise. We are in a position to launch the project as soon as market conditions improve.
The next few months will lend quite a bit of insight about where the economy is headed and how quickly the credit crisis will clean up. We are confident AVA will bring an unparalleled presence to the retail district of Downtown Seattle and we will strategically begin development when the local residential real estate market conditions improve and the national financial crisis subsides.
While there has been much “doom and gloom” in the headlines as of late, we have done consistent market research and know that AVA will be a tremendous success when launched. Our goal is to provide you with a downtown residence in a well-planned development, as well as a home that is a sound investment.
We strive to be honest with you in our communications about our plans moving forward. We are ready to launch when the time is right to guarantee success for all parties. All markets go through cycles and as soon as we see an indication that conditions are favorable, we will open our doors for you to see the contemporary elegance that is AVA.
As always, please feel free to contact me any time if I may be of any assistance.
Warmest Regards,
Lacie Doman
Word on the street is that Ava is getting canceled. But most of you are more plugged in than I am so let us know!
In related news here’s what the PSBJ has to say about construction loan defaults:
With respect to commercial and condominium construction loan delinquencies, both the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett (5.6 percent) and Tacoma (8.7 percent) vicinities fared worse during the second quarter than the top 100 markets combined (4.9 percent).
Popularity: 11% [?]
12 responses so far ↓
1 Mark W // Oct 11, 2008 at 2:51 pm
“We strive to be honest with you in our communications ”
That’s one of those things that should go without saying.so when I see something like that, I tend to find it the opposite of reassuring.
That said, if they understand the currrent conditions and local market as well as they seem to suggest in their note, and given how long it takes to take one of these projects from breaking ground to occupancy, and it doesn’t look like they think that the downtown condo market will turn around anytime before 2011/12.
2 Mike // Oct 11, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Hey Matt,
How did you arrive at that 1/3 of their value assessment? I’m not trying to bust your chops, just curious.
Median selling price downtown fell 18% year-over-year in September, which certainly isn’t good for owners, but still better than 33%.
3 Matt // Oct 11, 2008 at 6:58 pm
What I meant was that people who have been saving for a down payment by investing in the stock market likely just saw the value of those down payment savings significantly decrease based on the drops in the major indices over the past two weeks.
4 Mark // Oct 11, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Why would you put your down payment in the stock market? Isn’t that investing 101: don’t put short term investments in the stock market?
I suppose I shouldn’t be all that upset that my down payment just lost about 5% of it’s value.
5 Jeff // Oct 12, 2008 at 1:41 am
Mark,
A lot of us sideliners have invested down payment resources in the market, not as a short term [”buying next month”], but a long-term place to amass an eventual payment.
But yeah, I’m looking at 38% paper losses.
Time to write that next rent check, my low 6-figure income can’t get me into home ownership in Seattle.
6 Justin Bowers // Oct 12, 2008 at 8:07 am
lol Great title
7 jo // Oct 12, 2008 at 8:35 am
ava es tostado
8 uptown // Oct 12, 2008 at 2:43 pm
When someone says this -
“We are in a position to launch the project as soon as market conditions improve.”
It means - this project is toast.
9 Dan C // Oct 12, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Mark
Investing 101: Don’t put your hard earned dollars into a balsa wood and glue shoebox with granite counter tops with the hope that it will appreciate 20% per year forever.
Guess the American public didn’t take that class…
10 The MD // Oct 13, 2008 at 8:04 am
The Ava project is SOOOOOOO dead. Isn’t Real Logics also the firm that tried to bring Hotel 1 & Residences to market, but kept stringing the public along with misinformation and false timelines? This is the EXACT same scenario/tactics they played when it came to that development, only to eventually tell the public it isn’t going to come to fruition (yeah, they’ll tell you its still “in the works,” but they did such a lousy job of marketing it that the developer decided to go with a different firm). I find their marketing tactics deplorable and unnecessary.
Also, are we SERIOUSLY going to take economic advise/predictuions from Dean Jones? Ummmm, anyone that listens to this guy needs to have his/her head examined ASAP.
11 R B // Oct 13, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Maybe I’m naive, but how does this letter indicate that AVA is toast?
12 C // Oct 13, 2008 at 4:44 pm
esta tostada, I think.
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