Yesterday was an exciting day for some home buyers eagerly packed into the Grand Hyatt for Brix and Gallery auction events. I just came back from vacation and missed the Brix event but managed to get in just in time for Gallery. Probably 400-500 people were in the room with about 1/3 as bidders. So how good of a deal did these home buyers get? Here are some thoughts and observations:
1.) The original listing prices were 15%-25% higher than current fair market values. So getting a discount of 10% off the original listing price may not mean that you are actually getting a good value. Fortunately, most buyers managed to get 15%-40% lower than than the previous listing price.
2.) Buyers who bid for one bedroom's averaged anywhere from 5-15% discounts off fair market value; buyers for two bedroom's got a discount of ~10-20% off fair market value.
3.) Most realtors/buyers thought that the bidding prices went higher than they expected. They were probably hoping for steals.
4.) Overall, buyers got good deals but not steals.
Brix Auction Results : Homes sold were averaging 70% of the previous listing price and $410/sq.ft.
Gallery Auction Results: Homes sold were averaging 68% of the previous listing price and $439/sq.ft.
Matt has covered the Brix Auction event on his blog.
Related Posts:
Brix & Gallery Auctions
Lumen Auction
Queen Anne High School Auction
Press Auction
Seventeen07 Auction
My guess is some of these “deals” won’t close when the bidders sober up and realized that they paid too much in a falling market. Once again the madness of crowds in evidence.
I hope the $439/sq.ft. is for a high-floor unit with a very nice view. Units at the Enso are starting at about $470/sq.ft. last I check (no acutions, no nothing) and the Enso is so much better than Gallery. Makes me wonder what those folks are thinking.
The bidders at the Gallery paid close to market on average. Some got good deals, some overpaid.
Enso is a nice building but being in South Lake Union, that is a different market. You can compare the pricing on a per square foot basis, but that would only apply to the pool of buyers that doesn’t care about the location difference. Most people I know shopping in Belltown does.
My point actually was that Enso’s location is better 🙂 Walking distance from downtown, 5 min driving from I-5. 10-15mins walk from mostly anything in Belltown. 12 new Amazon buildings right next to it. WholeFoods across the street. What does Gallery have that’s better? A view of the Space Needle?
JT, A few other good points to add in favor of SLU:
The tram, The lack of pan handling and a better planned neighborhood.
Yep, Enso is hot. I was never a fan of SLU but it has come a long way and I think it’s fair to say the neighborhood probably is about to hit the tipping point in terms of livability and conveniences. That said, some people will always prefer Belltown for the personality and energy.
SLU is filled with investors who is pinning their hope on Amazon – anyone actually thinking of living there will see, as it now stands, it’s vastly inferior to Belltown.