Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty Announces The Neighborhood Collection – A Portfolio of 133-units “For Sale” in Three Buildings in Capitol Hill and Wallingford
The Attainably-Priced, Brand New Condominiums Will Be First and Only to Enter Local Markets in the Current Decade
As featured in The Puget Sound Business Journal
SEATTLE, WA (August 9, 2018) – Executives behind the Neighborhood Collection, an assembly of local visionaries, investors, developers, contractors and leading market professionals today confirmed the listing for sale of 133 recently-developed multi-family homes in the preferred communities of Capitol Hill, the nearby Pike-Pine Corridor and in the heart of Wallingford. During development, the collaborative maintained the optionality of either leasing or selling the homes based upon prevailing market conditions and took the necessary steps to introduce condominiums for sale instead of apartments for rent.
“Our prospective buyers will enjoy this new construction inventory at attractive price points in one of the best real estate markets in the country,” said Elliott Severson, a principal of The Wallingford Development, LLC and a member of the Neighborhood Collection.“Our group of companies had three individual communities delivered within weeks of each other and all were in distinct Seattle neighborhoods, so it made sense to offer them for sale all together at the same time with one marketing platform.”
The Neighborhood Collection consists of three highly desirable addresses:
ATRIUM (750 11th Avenue E) – 34 Units (Occupancy Early Fall 2018)
WALLINGFORD 45 (1601 N 45th St) – 48 Units (Occupancy Fall 2018)
EDISON (121 12th Avenue E) – 51 Units (Occupancy Fall 2018)
All homes offered are targeted to be in the price range of below $400,000 to more than $800,000 (subject to change).
Severson collaborated with longtime developer, Robert Hardy – a 25-year veteran of construction in the Puget Sound Region; real estate investor Greg Walton; Bradley Khouri, Principal of B9 Architects; Carlene Pride Managing Broker of Pride Group NW of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty along with its President and CEO Dean Jones; and Brandon Ehrlich of HomeStreet Home Loans; to deliver attainably-priced homeownership options with first occupancy by Fall 2018.
The collaborative will introduce, promote and sell the aforementioned units in one campaign beginning with an opportunity to secure an individual home for priority presales through a reservation system. Prospective buyers (and their brokers) can identify a preferred home with a price range for a $5,000 fully-refundable deposit held in escrow while the development team finalizes the offering, including necessary permits to occupy the new buildings and sell the individual homes. Reservations guarantee the buyer a first right of opportunity without fear of multiple offers or price escalation that is commonplace with new NWMLS listings in today’s market. A Neighborhood Collection Preview Center located at 1420 E. Madison Street, Suite 113 on Capitol Hill will open in early September 2018 to help prospective buyers learn about the individual neighborhoods and the product offerings in advance of touring the buildings later that month. Each property will soon include a series of model homes in a furniture partnership with Alchemy Collections and InForm Interiors with audio/visual and home automation displays by Wipliance.
“The time is now to move into homeownership,” said Pride. “I’ve been watching these popular in-fill neighborhoods for years and our portfolio will be the first and likely the only, new construction, for-sale offering in the current decade. Waiting will cost more.”
Pride points to an overwhelming preference for developers to build rental housing in the past cycle – in fact, more than 93% of the 27,000 housing units built throughout downtown Seattle neighborhoods were apartments. Furthermore, most of what’s been de- veloped for sale and occupancy in downtown Seattle high-rises by 2020 has already been presold or is currently optioned for pur- chase by reservation holders. A recent report by O’Connor Consulting Group, a leading real estate appraiser and economic thought leader, discovered the second half of 2017 witnessed a decline in apartment demand throughout King and Snohomish County of approximately 5,000 units while same increase occurred in home sales compared with the prior year.
“We believe this is evidence of a pivot when former apartment dwellers who decided to purchase a home,” said Brian O’Connor, principal of O’Connor Consulting Group. “There’s definitely been a shift of focus towards homeownership and developers are attempting to play catch up – it can take several years to entitle, build and sell new condominium inventory.”
The reality is that interest rates are increasing and affordability is slipping away for many consumers.
“It’s a significant advantage for homebuyers to lock into today’s rates, secure introductory pricing at these communities and plan ahead with confidence,” said Ehrlich. “Signing another 12-month lease will likely result in higher prices and larger mortgage payments. Fortunately, the Neighborhood Collection inventory is mostly priced below the conforming loan limit of $667,000, allowing buyer to qualify with lower FICO scores, enjoy 3.5% (FHA) or 5% down payment options and lower interest rates.”
To be sure, the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index revealed Seattle was again the top metro area in the US for median home price increases as of May 2018 – a title held for 21 straight months in a row. Another report by RSIR found that the first half of 2018 garnered median home prices of $700,000 in downtown Seattle with average unit values increasing 20% year-over-year from $726 per sq. ft. to $873 per sq. ft. Given rising property values and the lack of new construction in recent years, the total number of homes sold in downtown below $500,000 dropped from 112 condominiums in the first half of 2016 to just 39 homes in 2018.
“The market needs new construction and more inventory, especially homes priced below $700,000,” said Dean Jones, President and CEO of RSIR. “The Neighborhood Collection delivers on this goal with immediate occupancy. New construction is on the horizon but rising land and construction costs will be passed on to consumers and the only thing for sure is that interest rate increases will signif- icantly affect affordability. The approaching condo pipeline will generally be in excess of $1,200 per sq. ft. or about 20% more than the current inventory, not to mention delivery dates that are two years out or more.”
For more information and to register for reservations, visit: www.NeighborhoodCollection.com
EDITORS NOTE: Property renderings, development team headshots, bios and additional market statistics are available upon request.