urbnlivn, a seattle condo & real estate blog

I’m back from Maui!
While I was gone the New York Times had two articles you may find interesting. The first is And Do I Hear 2 Million for That Condo? No? 1 Million? Sold! and the second is Apartment Buyers Abandoning 6-Figure Deposits.
And the Marlborough officially went into foreclosure. Poor Live Historic.
And here’s a few [...]

Popularity: 17% [?]

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The Seattle PI has a full page, above the fold, lengthy story on the danger of increasing condo dues for new construction projects. I guess people are tired of reading about the election and the bailout.

After moving into the building and forming their own homeowner association two years ago, 2200 residents were faced with [...]

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Okay, I’m back from California. Here are the interesting units that have hit the market in the last week.
5th and Madison
Prices are going up and down at 5th and Madison.
Penthouse #2403 came on the market at $2,199,000 dipped to $1,995,000 on June 26 and is now back up to $2,149,000.
Whoever is flipping #302 [...]

Popularity: 43% [?]

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Wow, we go from a spring with no exciting units to a summer just jam packed with inventory. If you were sitting on the sidelines there is finally some good condos to choose from. Here’s a roundup of what’s caught my eye in the last week.
Cosmo – Huge price drops
Ashley has the scoop on three [...]

Popularity: 50% [?]

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Seattle Times, Developer slashes number of stories for Watermark site:

A developer who proposed a 32-story condo tower two years ago on the site of Watermark Credit Union’s downtown Seattle headquarters now wants to build an office building less than half that tall instead.

This is of particular interest to Cosmo residents as it affects their block. [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

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Aubrey at the Seattle PI has an article on the well discussed tower spacing issue at Cosmo, Condo owners struggle for views as Seattle rises.
The article mentions two folks who have actually left the building because of this. One sold, the other is renting their place out. The article also has a sound bite [...]

Popularity: 18% [?]

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The Cosmo Blog has posted a letter to the mayor about the development going up next door:

Dear Mayor Nickels-
We the community of Cosmopolitan Condominium owners and residents are writing to inform you of a problem with our community. All of us are supportive of Seattle urban growth, otherwise we would not have chosen to [...]

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Thanks to ‘jo’ for sending me a pointer to 819 Virginia St #3102. Turns out for $1 million you get both a 1310 square foot condo at the Cosmo on the 31st floor and a “2006 CLS 550 AMG Silver on [sic] Black Mercedes”. Here’s the marketing remarks:

Incredible views of Elliott Bay, lake Union & [...]

Popularity: 8% [?]

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2200
25
Bellagio
Added 3 more units to the MLS for a total of 4. Their HOAs feel really low at $0.26/square foot.
Cosmo
28
Decatur
Decatur recently dropped prices on a number of units between $3k and $10k. Though oddly raised the price of #1306 $3k to $302,950 and #1007 $5k to $465,960

Equinox
Added 12 more units to the MLS for a [...]

Popularity: 48% [?]

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This was just going to be a bonus link but I thought it was a good opportunity to check in on our favorite flipper condos…
First the link: Forbes, Best Places To Flip A Home:

However, those looking to make a quick buck may do so in a number of markets ripe for a well-spotted flip.
Best among [...]

Popularity: 14% [?]

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