I spoke with Erik Mehr of Team Builder JLS yesterday regarding the progress at Escala Condominiums.  According to Mehr, they have successfully closed 6 sales since taking the project over.  They have over 40 pending sales and for those of you interested, you can follow their pending sales in the MLS.  They made a commitment to adding all their sales to the MLS last month.

In summary, Erik felt that they were making great progress.  He said that the HOA dues approach that reduced the owners monthly payments was very well received.  I inquired about what units were selling well, and as you might have expected the units priced between $450,000 and $550,000 have seen a lot of activity.  Mehr also mentioned that the “F” plans were seeing an abundance of sales as well.  They are the 3 bedroom units, generally priced over $2,000,000 dollars.  Thus far out of 20+ 3 bedroom units, Escala has sold 8 of those floorplans.

In terms of financing, MetLife, the projects preferred lender, is lending conventionally and will continue to do so.  This squashes a lot of the rumors that were suggesting that you had to purchase “all cash”.  I was also surprised to hear that the project is only a few weeks away from FHA approval as well.  This will be a monumental step for the success of the project.  I will confirm when they get their approval.

Overall, the 30-40% in reductions seem to be moving the majority of this inventory.  As the number of “new” units downtown continue to dissapate, Escala will be looked at as a good option for downtown living.