Daniels Real Estate and Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty Commence Presales on Graystone Condominiums April 22/23
Now Under Construction, the 271-Unit Tower is the Only New Condominium Delivery in 2023
Executives of Daniels Real Estate and Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) will officially commence presales to the public at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, 2022. A Presentation Gallery located at 1711 Madison Street will host the event, which includes a model home vignette and interactive virtual tours of the building. The Introductory Sales Release will offer 70 homes including studio, urban one-bedroom, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom condominiums priced from below $500,000 to more than $2 million. The 31-story tower is now under construction with first occupancy scheduled for mid-2023 and is slated to be the only new condominium delivery that year.
“We are elated to be accepting purchase and sale agreements on a limited number of priority presales as part of our Introductory Sales Release,” said Luis Borrero, Senior Project Manager for Daniels Real Estate, the developer of Graystone Condominiums. “We’ve been patient to enter the market, and we’ll enjoy a pole position in a new market cycle with relatively few peers as the residential renaissance of downtown Seattle continues on a very positive trajectory.”
To be sure, the market headwinds experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption, and most recently the concrete workers’ strike, has delayed progress with the project, however, a favorable shift is noted by market pundits. As housing demand in downtown Seattle increases, supply is challenged – groundbreakings of new apartment and condominium projects witnessed a 90% drop in 2021 compared with the prior year, so there’s upward pressure on rents and condominium values.
“We’ve experienced an inflection point in the in-city housing market — savvy presale buyers know how to time the market and the best pricing and preferred selection is now,” said Stephanie Schuessler, Executive Director of Sales for RSIR’s New Developments Division, the listing broker for Graystone Condominiums. “The market has stabilized, and prices are rising again.”
Schluessler points to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service that indicates resale median home prices in downtown Seattle (NWMLS #701) have risen by 3.5% year-to-date in 2022 over the same period in 2021. More notable was resale inventory levels have contracted by 40% and the supply of new construction is finite. According to RSIR research, there are currently ten active new condominium projects for sale, both recently delivered or under construction, in the City of Seattle. The unit count totals 2,077 residences, however, 60% of this inventory is already under contract with no additional deliveries expected through at least 2025.
“If you’re wanting to reside in a new condominium by the middle of the decade, what you see today is what we get for inventory,” adds Doug Sonnenberg, Community Sales Associate for Graystone Condominiums. “And Graystone is the only new offering for sale on First Hill – the Upper Eastside of downtown Seattle.”
Sonnenberg highlights the advantage of purchasing in presales at Graystone given its advanced construction status.
“We’re able to offer hard hat tours to enjoy the view,” adds Sonnenberg. “Given we’re just over a year away from occupancy, we’re also able to offer interest rate lock programs to provide some solace at this time of inflation, and if rates drop, the automatic float down is also observed.”
Presale contracts require only a 5% earnest money deposit, and for a limited time, buyer bonuses of up to $10,000 are being offered to help with closing costs. As such, prospective buyers can control their purchase price, interest rates, and schedule for move-in. Planning forward is especially helpful for would-be sellers of an existing home that can prepare for their move to Graystone a year from now and enjoy the potential for capital appreciation in both properties, which Schuessler refers to as “double equity”.
Some prospective homebuyers have been patiently waiting to make their purchase opportunity at Graystone through a reservation program and are now converting to purchase and sale agreements.
“I so appreciated the opportunity to tour the construction progress and finalize my home selection this weekend,” said Ramona Jones, a reservation holder and future homeowner at Graystone. “As a real estate broker myself, I’ve studied the market carefully and I’m eager to move forward – I view Graystone as a lifestyle investment.”
Jones was among more than 300 attendees during the 2022 FutureCast Forum event on March 30, 2022, which included a panel discussion by industry experts on the state of downtown housing, and the enviable market fundamentals that are supporting the city’s residential renaissance. She also just returned to Seattle from attending the 2022 Inman Connect in New York City, which witnessed its own condominium revival and according to top producer Nikki Field of Sotheby’s International Realty is “beyond back” as a new market cycle begins.
“Great investments in real estate are always defined by time and place,” concludes Jones. “Now is the time, and this is the place.”
