Late-breaking news just as I was about to hit send! Avenue Bellevue, the $1B two-tower condo development with 365 units, is officially rebranding as Nobu Residences (per the PSBJ). On top of the rebranding, they've officially landed Nobu as their anchor 10,000-square-foot restaurant, which is slated to open next year.

To say this project has had challenges is an understatement. Sales originally launched way back in 2019, yet here we are seven years later, and the development is only about 35% sold, even after finally opening its doors in 2024. Along the way, their lender (Silverstein) had to step in and take over from the original developer, and three previously announced flagship restaurants backed out.

Will rebranding as Nobu finally capture buyers’ attention and move inventory? We have questions!

• The Name Game: Do the Avenue Estates become Nobu Estates? Does Avenue Residences become Nobu Residences?
• The Map: Will they actually rename their street from Avenue Square to Nobu Square?
• The Global Brand: Since Nobu is planning future residences in cities like Miami and Orlando, will we refer to this specific spot locally as Nobu Residences Bellevue?
• The Refresh: How will they update the common spaces to match that ultra-luxury Nobu aesthetic?

This is the first condo to rebrand post-completion that we can recall. It's a big move for Avenue, especially coming just a few weeks after Park Row started sales. From what we're hearing, sales at Park Row have been brisk despite record-setting prices. We will keep an eye on this!

Sellers hit the brakes.

Both Eastside and Seattle sellers paused ahead of the long weekend, making last week incredibly quiet for new listings. But we should see a wave of new listings hitting the market this week.

Buyers braved the interest rate roller coaster.

Despite holiday weekend prep and volatile rates, Seattle buyers remained incredibly busy (see the second chart below). Fortunately, we saw mortgage rates improve Friday and today; last Tuesday, rates were sitting at 6.75%, but today we’ve dipped down to 6.61%.

The First Light Auction Results

A condo at First Light went up for auction recently. The seller originally paid $828,994 (including parking), and the auction's starting bid was $500K (with no parking). The result? It didn’t receive a single bid.

Just Sold: Views, Forest Vibes, & Walkability

We were thrilled to hand off the keys to 412 36th Ave last Thursday to buyers who are the perfect stewards for the home and land. It is a dream property with views of the lake and Mt Rainier, and it honestly feels like living in a hidden forest; yet it’s only a half-mile walk to the heart of Madrona's retail and dining strip.

I don’t have any bidding war stories this week. Or maybe I did and forgot, thanks to the long weekend. Either way, hit reply if you have any stories we should share!

🏠 Listings that caught our eye last week

• Most expensive pending: Washington Park new construction at $7M (I’ve toured this twice, it is really nice!)
• Highest % over asking sale: Lake Forest Park rambler for 21% over
• Most expensive sale: Laurelhurst waterfront for $12.55M (4th off-market sale in Laurelhurst this year!)
• Least expensive sale: Queen Anne condo for $275K
• Most popular Seattle listing on Redfin: West Seattle waterfront for $2.25M

📰 Must-read real estate news

• Downtown Seattle visitor traffic jumps as cruise season gets underway (PSBJ)
• Think owning a Seattle home is pricey? Here’s how much harder it has become (Seattle Times)
• Chef and food writer, J. Kenji López-Alt buys Denny-Blaine home (PSBJ)
• Meta lays off nearly 1,400 Washington employees (Seattle Times)

Sellers pumped the brakes ahead of a long weekend

Seattle: 302 new listings last week, down 28.8% w-o-w
Eastside: 274 new listings last week, down 23.5% w-o-w

Last week was the busiest of the year for Seattle buyers

Seattle: 236 pending last week, up 12.4% w-o-w
Eastside: 149 pending last week, down 7.4% w-o-w

🔥 The hottest new listings

$9.8M Laurelhurst waterfront by Tom Kundig

$8.4M North Capitol Hill estate

$3.8M Mount Baker modern

Check out last week’s market update, Tale of Two Markets: Offers vs. Zero Showings?

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