The Park Modern (website) is a boutique condominium project in the Ravenna area in Northeast Seattle at 5611 University Way NE.

With only 12 condominium homes, Park Modern features one-bedroom, one+den, two-bedroom and townhome floor plans ranging from 746 to 1,933 square feet. The current available homes range in price from $399,000 to $525,000.

Homes feature:

• Floor to ceiling windows
• Bamboo and New Zealand wool carpet flooring
• Solid maple wood cabinets in kitchen & bath
• Welded-in stainless kitchen sink
• Jenn-Air & Bosch stainless steel appliances
• Cast iron tubs in bath
• Radiant floor heating
• Centralized boiler
• Below grade parking

The Clise family, a major land owner in the Denny Triangle area, has put nearly 13 acres up for sale. With the recent zoning changes, this large swath of land is prime real estate for redevelopment. The parcels have a capacity of 13 million square feet of development which could exceed $7 billion in investments.

- Seattle Times article & this one

- Seattle PI article

- PSBJ article

The proposal for the old Vitamilk block has been recommended for approval for its Master Use Permit. The one block project called Green Lake Village will consist of three mixed used buildings comprising 280 residential units and 57,000 square feet of retail space.

Two buildings will front Woodlawn Avenue and the third is on 5th Avenue NE. All buildings consist of 5 framed levels over 1 concrete base level with central pedestrian pathways and courtyard. Project is being developed by Lorig Associates (Welch Plaza, Uwajimaya Village) and designed by Hewitt Architects (the Klee, Lumen).

Luxe Condos - Lower Queen Anne

The Luxe will be hosting its public Grand Opening this weekend at 500 5th Avenue W (map).

200 West Highland - Queen Anne

Work is underway for 200 West Highland. The 5-story concrete & steel building will feature just 25 condominium homes ranging is size from 1,600 to 2,800 square feet. The project is located across the street from Queen Anne’s famed Kerry Park. Completion is slated for fall 2008.

Condo Re-sales

I wanted to highlight a few re-sales currently available. Please see our Condo Listings page for more information.

The Klee, Belltown - 1 bd, 761 sq ft, listed at $465,000

Towne Terrace, Queen Anne - updated 850 sq ft 1-bd condo, listed at only $379,500

Ballard Condominium - large 458 sq ft studio available for $205,000

2200 Westlake - 2 bd, 1.75 urban condo, views, for $749,950

The Luxe Condominium on Lower Queen Anne will be holding its Grand Opening this weekend from noon to 6 PM. Luxe is located at 500 5th Avenue W (access from Mercer).

The Luxe conversion features 39 one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes, many with city or Sound views. Prices begin in the mid-$300,000s.

- Luxe website

- SCL Luxe Review

The Max Condominium (website) is the newest condo project in the Greenwood area, located on Evanston off of 85th (map). It’ll be a conversion of the apartment building just north of the Evanston Condominium.

Max will include one-bedroom, one-bedroom + den and two-bedroom homes starting from the mid-$200,000s. Sales is expected to begin around September. Please be sure to check back later for more information.

1 Hotel & Residences - Downtown
1 Hotel & Residences broke ground this past week. The $200 million project states they are more than 50% reserved on condo homes and oversubscribed on city suites (hotel / condo units).

AVA Condos - Downtown
AVA Condos will begin scheduling private preview events in July for interested buyers. At 445 feet, AVA will be Seattle’s tallest residential tower.

aZul Flats - Fremont
aZul Flats is offering a $7,500 buyer bonus on 2 bed / 2 bath homes for a limited time.

Fini Condos - Phinney Ridge
Fini announced that interested buyers still have time to select their color scheme. The color scheme selection deadline is July 1st.

CityView - Leshi
CityView reduced prices on select homes and are still offering paid HOA dues for a year and a $5,000 buyer bonus.

The Parc - Belltown
Parc is 85% sold and approaching completion. Homeowners will be able to start moving in later this Summer. Units are still available starting from the mid-$300,000s.

Escala - Midtown
Escala reports they passed the $50 million sales mark during the 1st month of sales.

Trace Lofts - Capitol Hill
Trace reports they have sold over 60% of their homes and have released 10 additional units. The buyer’s lounge is now open in the Gun Club 4-9 PM on weeknights and 10 am - 6 pm on weekends.

For additional information or questions about condo or loft projects, please contact us.

John L. Scott Real Estate rolled out its new home search feature allowing users to pinpoint their home searches to a specific neighborhood or block. The feature, called “Neighborhood Wizard”, allow users to use a polygon tool to draw any shape search parameter they desire.

For condo searches, this is a great tool to narrow down specific areas, including a specific project.

Here’s a screen print of the new feature in action (highlighting Belltown):

For more information, additional screen prints and step-by-step instructions, please view the John L. Scott’s New Search Feature article at Seattle Housing Buzz.

May continued to exhibit an active condo market with double digit increases in units sold city-wide. Interestingly, NE Seattle and West Seattle showed the greatest increase in unit sales, mostly attributable to a robust resale market.

City-wide, condos appreciated approximately 6% based on average sales price. However, across the board, median prices took a tumble from the prior month. Inventory has increased helping to create a buyers market, particularly with high-end properties, though I believe interest rates play a role as well. As rates continue to creep upwards, buying power decreases which move buyers to a lower price point. And, though the market has softened, sellers are receiving +/- 1% of the asking price.

Year to Year Comparison - May 2006 & May 2007

While the month-over-month figures show a downward movement in median sold prices, year-over-year figures indicate the Seattle condo market is performing quite well, with increases in units sold and value appreciation. Most notable is NW Seattle with double digit percentage increases in both sales and price value.

- Downtown / Belltown area - changed from prior reports, now only includes downtown, Belltown & Denny Triangle.
- NW Seattle - MLS area 705, north of ship canal, west of I-5.
- NE Seattle - MLS area 710, north of ship canal, east of I-5.
- Source: NWMLS - statistics not compiled by the NWMLS. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data used was available on May 6, 2007.