In keeping with the old cliché that “all real estate is local,” let’s take a moment to look at one local market: Kenmore townhomes and condos. I selected Kenmore because it happens to be where I live, so I am pretty familiar with the area and what projects have been built over the last couple years.
Here’s a summary of five major projects in Kenmore that have been built / converted since
Trail Walk Condominiums – 2007 conversion – 180 units – ~69% sold
Northshore Kenmore – 2008 new construction – 86 units – 0 (?) sold – (more in this forum thread)
Coventry Place Condominiums – 2007 conversion – 96 units – ~82% sold
Vermont Condos (website defunct) – 2008 conversion – 54 units – ~6% sold
Copper Lantern Homes (low income) – 2009 new construction – 0 sold
5-Project Total: 449 units, ~57% sold.
Total Unsold Units: ~157
From October through January, there were a grand total of 59 closed sales of all types (SFH, townhome, condo) in all of Kenmore reported by the NWMLS. That’s an average of about fifteen sales per month. In other words, just between these five townhome/condo projects, Kenmore has over ten “months of supply.”
It’s even worse if you only look at condo sales, of which there were a grand total of two in January. Two.
Meanwhile, over in Woodinville, a 2006 condo conversion called Timber Ridge has at least one unit on the market at half of what it sold for in 2006.
2006 sale price: $200,900
Current asking: $99,900
Half off. I shouldn’t be surprised, but somehow I still am.