The Frenzy continues

A new building in Belltown had presales this past weekend. According to a REALTOR I spoke to who attended, it was packed. Earlier during the week when trying to secure an appointment on the Monday prior to the Sat/Sun pre-sale event, all sessions were full and no reservations were taken or available.

In a less dense area of Ballard, but still popular and growing in interest, a building called the Canal Station marketed by the same folks who sold out the Cosmopolitan took appointments. While the building didn't sell out, it appeared as if about 70-80% or so of the building was sold out at 1:30p this past Saturday and it was the first day of sales. Minus being away from the central area of downtown, this building also suffers from ont being completed until about 18 months out. I'm thinking if the completion date was sooner, the interest may be higher. However, if interested, a couple other buildings in the same area (Noma and Metropole) will be built sooner & have some presales coming up. Check out this page on various buildings to be built: http://www.brandonna.com/Bellevue_WA_listings/open_houses.shtml

Seattle low on the "Overvalued" Housing markets list

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2005-08-17-housing-valuations.htm

Fifty-three metropolitan areas representing 31% of the total U.S. housing market are considered extremely overvalued and confront a high risk of future price corrections, a study conducted by National City Corp. says. The study determines a market extremely overvalued if prices are 30% above where the study estimates they should be based on historic price data, area income, mortgage rates and population density.
Metro areas that are extremely overvalued and vulnerable to price correction:

(SEATTLE RANKED #86 OUT OF 100 HERE)

Source: National City Corp.

Fifty-three metropolitan areas representing 31% of the total U.S. housing market are considered extremely overvalued and confront a high risk of future price corrections, a study conducted by National City Corp. says. The study determines a market extremely overvalued if prices are 30% above where the study estimates they should be based on historic price data, area income, mortgage rates and population density.

Metro areas that are extremely overvalued and vulnerable to price correction:

Rank Metro area Q1 valuation
1 Santa Barbara, Calif. 69%
2 Salinas, Calif. 67%
3 Naples, Fla. 62%
4 Riverside, Calif. 60%
5 Merced, Calif. 59%
6 Stockton, Calif. 58%
7 Port St. Lucie, Fla. 58%
8 Madera, Calif. 57%
9 Napa, Calif. 57%
10 Medford, Ore. 55%

VARIOUS OTHER CITIES
20 Los Angeles, Calif. 48%
21 Miami, Fla. 46%
36 Las Vegas, Nev. 38%
48 Boston, Mass. 31%
51 San Francisco, Calif. 30%
52 Prescott, Ariz. 30%
68 New York, N.Y. 25%
77 Honolulu, Hawaii 23%

SEATTLE
86 Seattle, Wash. 20%

The New SOHO's

http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/29/real_estate/buying_selling/western_trends/index.htm

A few more interesting condos on the Condo Craze

I like condos, but at the same time, I do have to admit that certain gains & growth are aggressive. These articles point out some of the negatives of the recent growth:

Cuckoo for Condos

http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/17/real_estate/investment_prop/cuckoo_condos_0509/

Price to rent ratio -- interesting numbers, I believe:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/19/real_estate/investment_prop/cuckoo_condos3_0509/

Three myths of condo investing
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/19/real_estate/investment_prop/cuckoo_condos2_0509/index.htm

The reasons that explain the explosion of the Seattle Condo(minium) Market:

1) Paul Allen has some big plans to revitalize the South Lake Union area -- read in this article (if you have problems b/c USA Today changed the url on the article, email me & I'll send you the complete article). Also, for more info, visit his company's website which sort of promotes the future there (Discover South Lake Union).
2) The Mayor of Seattle and other folks have decided denser and taller is better. Read more about it here.
3) We have probably the leading and best companies in the world based out of Seattle or nearby in Bellevue and surrounding cities.
4) Our region is host to many of the leaders in many arenas throughout the world.
5) We have some of the best weather especially in the summer. Everywhere I've visited in life from Chicago to New York to Boston to L.A. or even abroad in many countries, humidity is abound. Seattle is one of the dryest feeling places in the world! I love that I don't feel like I have to take more than one shower a day.
6) Two things will increase in value over time in life: a) land and b) water -- people complain about the rain in Seattle, but let's think about what people will want the most when global warming reaches it's worst extremes. People will be wishing they lived in an area that gets so much rain -- even though I believe we don't get as much rain as people proclaim. I think there is scientific data out there identifying many other areas throughout the world getting more than us. Nonetheless, we do get enough which makes us still one of the greenest placest in the world & let's not forget what fuels oxygen in our systems -- lush green plants!
7) The people here are some of the most reasonable, but yet enterprising people in the world. We're nice & generous people, but also know how to make a buck for our families that will follow behind us.
8) We're finally getting serious about Transportation locally. While the Monorail debate swings one direction and the other, we at least have some movement on Light Rail. And more importantly, we have these things on the ballot & we're spending money on them trying to do something about our lack of transporation solutions locally.

The Market's Hot & thus, the blog...

The Seattle Condo market is going nuts and so I decided I'm going to start a blog on it marking the beginning of the next New York City. It feels like it will literally be the next Major Urban center. I've been at both the 2200 Sales Office prior to the opening and to the Pre-Sale Event at the Cosmopolitan and have been amazed at the activity that my home city is getting with Condos...but then, I think about it and I realize there's good reason why people are buying condos in Seattle like they believe it will become the next New York.