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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Boom You Know You Want a Condo

Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Feb 24, 2009 at 1:01 PM

Everybody is buying a condo—wait, no they’re not.

Nearly three years after the former Queen Anne High School converted from apartments to condominiums, a dozen units are still vacant. So the owner has commissioned Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson Auction Group to clear out the inventory in an auction at 1 p.m. on March 22 in the Grand Hyatt.

The announcement confirms a trend of auctioning condos that were converted from apartments, which I write about here. The Press Condos auctioned 16 units in December and the Seventeen07 auctioned its surplus units in October—both used to be apartments. The Queen Anne High School building, which has some damn fine condos, converted from apartments in 2006. But people still aren't biting.

Kennedy Wilson will lure buyers with discounts of about 30 percent—from $100,000 to $350,000 off the market price—and the always-attractive lexicon of real-estate sales. According to a statement, the condos offer “up close and friendly views” of downtown and Mt. Rainier! Mt Rainier: So close! The location also lends itself to a “refreshingly short five-minute morning commute.” Metro buses: So refreshing!

Comments (16) RSS

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Ha ha! The existing owners/mortgagees/whathaveyous at the High School must be pooping pottery.

Posted by tomasyalba on February 24, 2009 at 1:00 PM

Damn what crawled up your ass Dominic. I'd love to live in the Queen Anne High School condos: close to downtown, urban, and not a generic beige box apartment/condo.

Posted by Jason on February 24, 2009 at 1:00 PM

Actually, it's a nice neighborhood.

And it does have good views.

Posted by Will in Seattle on February 24, 2009 at 1:06 PM

A link would be helpful: http://seattlecondosandlofts.com/2009/02…

Posted by a on February 24, 2009 at 1:08 PM

Are you guys FOR bus transportation or against it?

If you're for it, quit talkin' it down.

Posted by STJA on February 24, 2009 at 1:08 PM

I want to heap scorn and ridicule on the developers for overbuilding luxury condos when the market was already saturated, but it's hard to be angry. These speculators are no worse than any who came before. They've just got bad timing and were the ones left holding the bag when the bubble collapsed.

Posted by Greg on February 24, 2009 at 1:14 PM

Hear hear, @5.

My friends just bought a condo there. I'm jealous.

Posted by EmilyP on February 24, 2009 at 1:33 PM

I think the main building is beautiful. But I wonder how many of the auction condos have stunning views of the towers...

Posted by snakes on February 24, 2009 at 1:56 PM

@5 for the win.

Posted by Will in Seattle on February 24, 2009 at 2:03 PM

@ 5, 7, 9) Being pro-public-transit means you have to be delusional about how nice it is? I mean, the NYC subway is a marvel--I want one here--but it's still gross.

Posted by Dominic Holden on February 24, 2009 at 2:13 PM

this is one of the few developments that i think is really unique and interesting. I'd buy there.... but not right now. Still lots of pain to come!

Posted by happy renter on February 24, 2009 at 2:23 PM

I think "refreshing" was meant to mean a 5-minute morning commute is a refreshing change from sitting in a car stuck on I-5.

Believe it or not some of us are actually trying to CONVERT commuters to give up the headache and try urban living. I thought the Stranger was for that....and I thought they were for saving historic buildings like Queen Anne High too.....much more fun to shit-talk condo owners/buyers I know. The ones who actually take your urban/density advice seriously.

Posted by Jason on February 24, 2009 at 3:18 PM

If the bids are low enough the Seattle School District can get in on the action and maybe, you know, open a high school on the site.

Posted by Joe M on February 24, 2009 at 3:30 PM

Jason, Queen Anne High was converted safely to apartments many years ago. High end stuff even then.

The condo conversion was simply a developer's strategem to join the rush and make more money off existing stock, and created zero additional units. That's why density is peripheral to what's going on there. What's interesting now at QA High is the fate of average speculators there. That includes folks who have some money but justified mortgaging above their heads in hopes of profit. How the high-end community gets by once their LTV ratios skew further after the auction, that kind of thing.

Posted by tomasyalba on February 24, 2009 at 3:34 PM

@10 the subway in NYC is not gross. Do you have a squigy in your shower Dominic? Do you wash your hands compulsively?

Posted by Look at you! on February 24, 2009 at 5:01 PM

One of the units (not for auction, I think). So pretty and so pricey. http://www.estately.com/WA/Seattle#listi…

Posted by C on February 24, 2009 at 8:00 PM