Dean Says Seattle is Different; Keep Buying!

It’s not just Trace North that wants you to keep buying Seattle Business Monthly wrote about the “Real Estate: Condo Conundrum” (via Marlow) and talks to Dean Jones of Realogics who after Leslie Williams profits from keeping us buying:

“The media spectacle makes it difficult for the average consumer to understand that Seattle is significantly different from the rest of the country,” says Dean Jones, president and CEO of Seattle-based real estate research firm Realogics. “Real estate is hyperlocal.”
According to Jones and other industry insiders, the condo market in downtown Seattle is doing amazingly well. Demand is high, and it’s going to stay that way, Jones says. According to Realogics, 93 percent of new-construction condos delivered in 2007 have sold, and 73 percent of 2008’s new inventory has already found buyers. While many people are buying, a lot of others are not selling. Despite a nationwide panic to offload property, Seattle has experienced a decrease in new listings; just 99 in June 2008, compared to 150 in June 2007. What’s even more intriguing is that almost 1,000 new units were added to the market in 2007. If the trend continues, the downtown condo sales absorption rate will soon eclipse that of last year.

I would love to see a spreadsheet of the projects that Dean believes are 93 and 73 percent sold! As well as his projections for 2009. Dean?

Off the top of my head let’s go through the all out failures: Domaine, Expo 62, Moda

And those struggling or who have struggled to move inventory: Queen Anne High, Veer Lofts, Rollin Street, Trio, Trace North, Brix