condo projects

New data from four of the top five newly constructed downtown condo projects (the Austonian won't release data) suggests that sales have been remarkably slow over the last six months at W Residences, Four Seasons, and BartonPlace and that many buyers who entered into contracts have failed to close.

At BartonPlace, for example, 15 fewer units are reported sold or under contract than 6 months ago. Spring, in contrast, has seen a dramatic surge in sales with more than 201 units closed -- more than the other projects combined -- and 14 additional units under contract.

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According to the Statesman, the former Whitley Printing Co. building site on third between Brazos and San Jacinto is under contract to Riverside Resources which is evaluating plans to build an apartment complex on the site.

While only marginally relevant to downtown condo buyers, all remaining units in the Bel Air condos in far south Austin were sold in auction this past weekend.

The remaining two dozen townhouse-style low rise units south of Ben White sold during the one day auction by Kennedy Wilson -- the same firm that auctioned the Brazos Place units earlier this year.

In spite of the difficult economy, the major downtown Austin condo projects continue to move toward completion. Lots of news updates this week:

Over the last year, there has been an amazing flow of rumors about the major downtown Austin condo projects.

Most of these rumors have been false. In particular, both the Austonian and W have been plagued with gossip that the projects were facing cancellation.

Even in the last month, when construction patterns changed during the normal building process, rumors again started that the project would not be completed.

UrbanSpace Realtors, a large real estate firm focused on the downtown residential market, has published a comprehensive guide to downtown neighborhoods and living options as well as dozens of their favorite dining, entertainment, and cultural destinations.

The guide is amazingly comprehensive: it profiles more than 80 rental and condo projects in and around Austin and shows nearby Urbanspots -- the cool community destinations that draw people downtown.

The guidebook groups projects by downtown neighborhood and includes written profiles and a variety of useful maps.

Last week, the Statesman wrote a very strongly worded article suggesting the impending collapse of the downtown condo market.

The article was based on the following assertions:

- With mortgages tough to get and consumer confidence eroding, it is a tough time to sell real estate
- The capital markets are a mess, making it difficult for new projects to get the financing they need to get off the ground
- Sales absorption has slowed as the economy has weakened

The Magnolia, a $40M, 5-story, 139 unit condo project on South Lamar has been cancelled after a lender foreclosed on the property.

The story of the Magnolia sheds much light on what can go wrong with a condo project, especially in an unforgiving market.

When a restaurant or retail store closes, most people assume that it was ill-conceived or poorly run or a bad location or simply a bad product.

Rarely do people say “I told you, people don’t want to shop” or “the business of eating out is destined for an ugly demise.”

The developer of the 290 room Hotel Van Zandt and the 55 luxury Residences at the Hotel Van Zandt have announced that they are abandoning plans for the condo portion ofthe project.