November 29, 2006
Condo sales trace a different seasonal pattern, agent says
Omaha’s condominium projects hit milestones in recent weeks and face more in the next month.
The vigorous competition among projects has prompted some owners to sweeten the deals for buyers and to plan more moderately priced units.
Prices, however, have remained steady or increased as developers strive to maintain values for previous buyers, said Tasha Henninger of Prudential Ambassador Real Estate’s Urban Omaha team.
She and others involved in marketing condos said that individual projects saw the sales pace slow this summer as pent-up demand was met, more projects came on line and the overall housing market cooled. Several agents said they are working with clients who are waiting to sell houses before committing to a condo.
But the agents said condos follow a different seasonal pattern than single-family homes. Traffic of potential buyers and sales currently are strong, particularly in the lower price ranges, the agents said.
“We had two new contracts at 1101 Jackson and five contracts at the Kimball (Lofts) in the last four weeks, so we’re seeing some good activity,” said Tim Steinbach of Prudential’s Condo Shoppe team.
His St. Clare project at 2315 Harney St. apparently is the first of the projects launched in the last two years to sell out. He said he just received a contract on the final, 24th unit this week.
October was the Urban Omaha team’s busiest month of the year, said Henninger, whose team has focused on downtown condo sales for three years. She said it may be because suburban empty-nesters are facing the prospect of raking leaves and shoveling snow for another year, or because of the fall activities that draw people downtown.
Prudential’s Karen Fries, who represents Beebe Runyan downtown and a developer converting Dundee buildings into condos, said she sold two Beebe units in the last month, will be writing one contract this week and has three other good prospects for the project that is more than 85 percent sold.
Fries said she put three deals together in recent weeks for the Dundee projects, the Arlington Place and Roycroft at Dundee, and has a fourth about to gel.
“There’s a definite domino effect: People have to sell their houses before they’ll enter a contract for a condo,” she said.
As of the end of October, 886 condos have been sold this year compared with 757 through the same period in 2005, according to Trendgraphix reports for NP Dodge Real Estate. The supply is up 26 percent - 804 listed for sale this October vs. 640 last year.
A Mitchell & Associates’ analysis called the inventory a 12- to 48-month supply, with the higher-priced condos having the longer-term supply.
Despite the competition, Henninger said prices are holding up. She said the average closing price in 2006 was $161,000 compared to $134,000 in 2005.
While the Rows at SoMa and Beebe Runyan projects are far enough along to have a lived-in feel - the Beebe Runyan concierge last week scheduled a wine-tasting – other projects just now are welcoming their first residents.
Some of the milestones cleared this month and planned next month include:
- The redevelopment agreement for the 32-story WallStreet Tower Omaha has been completed and will have its first reading before the Omaha City Council on Tuesday, City Attorney Paul Kratz said. The 275-unit tower is to be built on the city-owned site of the former Union Pacific headquarters at 14th and Dodge Streets.
- Purchases of 12 of the Riverfront Place townhomes have closed and eight are occupied, with the first tower residents expected to start moving in, a floor at a time, any day now. By New Year’s, 10 to 15 tower condos should be occupied, sales manager Ben Proctor said. “It’s living and breathing now,” he said. “We’re nearing the point where this lifestyle comes to life, and it’s pretty exciting.” The unveiling of a second tower’s design is planned, probably in January, Proctor said. He said it will have a different look from the first tower, be closer to the river and include more lower-priced units.
- The first residents of the Paxton moved in during November, and an average of two or three a week will move in through February as unit interiors are completed, developer Mike Moylan said. The ground-floor Paxton Chop House is open. The Paxton is taking reservations for its ballroom, and the professional center next door is about completed, Moylan said.
- The jLofts project has hit its pre-construction goal, with 26 of 55 units reserved, including the two largest penthouse units. Depending on how financing, design and contracting schedules go, demolition and construction could begin by the end of the year, said developer Mike Brannan.
- Ford Lofts’ developer NuStyle Development recently offered tenants of rental units in the Old Market Lofts and TipTop projects the opportunity to apply the last year’s rent to the purchase of a condo in Ford Lofts. Henninger said the promotion – which allows tenants to apply the funds toward a down payment, closing costs or upgrades – pushed the project to more than 80 percent sold, a point where the homeowners take over the homeowners association from the developer.
- Similarly, remaining Park Plaza condos are getting upgrades such as wood floors, granite countertops and new appliances. An exercise facility and roof-top deck are close to completion. Both Park Plaza and Farnam 1600, which involve converting apartments to condos, are about 70 percent sold, Henninger said.
- The Brandeis Building, which has 10 units occupied and some closings scheduled before the end of the year, has two more units to sell before it starts construction on its next phase, the fifth floor. The lower floor’s plan has been reconfigured to feature more units at lower prices – $150,000 to $375,000 – than those already completed on the eighth and ninth floors, said Steve Borgmann, co-manager and investor.
- In the Dundee area, sales of 10 of 11 Dundee Place units closed in November. Developer Troy Meyerson launched a new project of six row houses called Dundee Pointe Lofts at the same intersection, 49th and Davenport Streets. CBSHome agent Cindy McCawley said her other project, Condos on California at 5016 California St., has three of 12 units closed and other units are selling as fast as they are converted.
BY DEBORAH SHANAHAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER