How To Get A Discount On A Seattle Condo
Are you a Seattle condo buyer?
I’m going to help you purchase a Seattle condo at a discounted price. In this specific example, We are going to look at Nexus Condos. It is a brand new building located at Minor and Howell in the Denny Triangle.
To some, this strategy may seem a little opportunistic, but it works. You can be thoughtful to a seller while also being a savvy negotiator. I’m going to show you how.
I’ve discussed in the past how you can leverage multiple units to drive the price down. See that video below. We are going to explore the same type of strategy in this new example at Nexus.
Let’s first examine the facts. There are currently 29 units listed for sale in the building. 6 of those are still owned by the developer and at the time of this post, the Developer (Burrard Properties) has 50 units in total for sale out of the 389 units in the building. That represents roughly 13% of the building. With that said, we are not going to focus on the New Construction inventory.
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Owners Lounge -
Fitness Facility -
Rooftop Views
In this specific example, I would encourage you to look at the 23 units that are being sold by individual owners. Here is a list of those units. They start at $349,000 all the way up to $1,300,000. When you have 23 different units for sale, that represents nearly 6.5% of the total building. If you are a buyer this is a GREAT opportunity to take advantage of market conditions.
The reason there is so much inventory is not just related to Covid-19. These units sold at a premium. Often as high as $1,200-1450psf. Now that the building is complete, the owners that bought as investments are trying to sell their units to create or profit or in some cases a loss. You can tell how many people speculated in their purchase not just by how many units there are for sale but by the number of rentals as well. There are currently 39 units for rent. That means more than 1 out of every 10 units in the building is a rental.
Let’s make some basic assumptions.
You have done your research and have been committed to living in Downtown Seattle. You have also decided that Nexus being a brand new building with world-class amenities is a great place to live. Now let’s focus on how to use leverage in this current environment to get you a great deal.
INVENTORY SURPLUS
Every once in a while, macro economic conditions or specific financing or construction defect mediation issues will create a surplus of inventory in a building. As I mentioned above, this happened last year at Insignia Towers. There was a rumor of construction defect meditation and because of that -lending options disappeared and inventory grew. Due to the increase in inventory it created a buying opportunity. As you’ve noticed in the video above, my clients took advantage of it. I would encourage you to do the same with the current situation at Nexus.
Due to the surplus of inventory at Nexus, you have such an awesome opportunity to put this strategy to work.
IDENTIFY YOUR PREFERRED UNITS
This is the fun part. You will want identify not just 1 unit but multiple units that you would be happy with. If you are the type of person that can only narrow in on one specific unit, this strategy might not be for you.
The idea is to find 2-3 units out of the surplus of available units. This creates a situation where you would be happy if you ended up with any of those units you have chosen. It could be the same floorplan on different floors. It might be 2-3 units with similar views or layouts. The idea is to find a few units that you would be happy with and that allows you to focus on negotiating and creating leverage. It removes the emotion from the purchase and gives you mental freedom to work tirelessly in your negotiation for the right deal.
TELL YOUR STORY AND BE THOUGHTFUL AND DELIBERATE
Now that you have your 2-3 units identified, you want your expert condo specialist (real estate agent) to start the negotiations. They will need to convey to all three sellers that you are willing to write offers on all three units. You approach each of the owners with your intent to purchase with a focus on your preferred terms of the contract (price, deposit, closing date, etc..)
You want to carefully and thoughtfully approach each owner so you don’t offend them. The idea is that you are conveying your sincere interest to purchase but you are open to other units, layouts, views etc…
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
The important element in all of this is your pricing strategy and how your agent is conveying your intentions. The excess supply of condos is creating the environment for you to deploy this strategy. The execution is dependent on you, your preparedness and the delivery from your real estate agent.
SHOW GOOD INTENTIONS
Something that is very important is how you convey to the seller what your intensions are. Some sellers will get offended. Some real estate agents could be offended. This will not happen if you are transparent and you focus on good communication. The reality is, every single one of those sellers want to sell – otherwise they wouldn’t be on the market. You have to use that to your advantage. Thoughtfully present your intensions to each owner – then let them decide.
BOTTOM LINE
The results can be tremendous. I have lots of examples in my 18 year career that put this strategy to work. Have questions? Get in touch! jeff@urbancondospaces.com
Here is a list of all the condos on the market – including the rentals!
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