Big Times Downtown

Jim Edmunds to sing at Copia? Wouldn't that be special. Watching Adam Wainright strike out Carlos Beltran to win game 7 and the NL pennant was awesome. After the hysteria, we finished some work to get ready for the Fall Downtown Living Tour being held this weekend. All of our loft listings are being held open and there's lots of preparations. The thought crossed my mind that an even better opportunity to show off our wonderful downtown neighborhoods may come when the Redbirds come back in town for the World Series. The World Series berth would also be a great springboard for the Cardinals to start selling Ballpark Village condos. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that can happen so quickly. Despite my doubts, I attempted to contact Cordish Co. today. Hopefully more to follow soon.

Be SEEN at the Loft Tour!

2 Story Loft of the Century!

The absolute coolest loft downtown has just been placed on the market. This unbeatable 3000 square foot space in the Jack Thompson Square lofts will be open both days of the Downtown Living Tour on October 21 and 22 from 12-4. Regardless of whether someone is in the market or in this price range--go see it!! It is the first time I have EVER related a loft to the grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

What also makes this loft stand out is the incidental expenses of condo living. The fees for this baby are less than the fees for a 703 square foot loft in the Knickerbocker!! Taxes are abated too.

A bit of Frontenac on Washington Ave for $589,900

National Fan Base

In the past year, its been tough keeping up with the tremendous amount of press that our downtown renaissance has gotten. A friend from afar, the New York Times, has published on our city several times in the past couple years. Outside of the St. Louis Business Journal--downtown's biggest fan--the Times has had lots of favorable write-ups.

This weeks article discusses the turning point that developer's and loft buyer's are beginning to face. Since most of the projects have stopped offering tax abatment, the market has continued without significant disruption. Now it's the developer's turn: will they continue to build without the incentives that they have been granted that helped start this movement? The answer seems like a clear, "yes" at this point.

Awesome New Listing!

Today we held our newest listings downtown open. What a perfect day! Between Taste of St. Louis, the NL Central Champion Cardinals game, and the return of Mad Mike to the dome, it seemed like downtown was stuffed with people.

This new listing at the 2020 Lofts is a 1 or optional 2 bedroom 2 full bath loft with a perfect view of the downtown skyline. Most of the viewings of a residential property are during the day. This great space has just an incredible eastern view all day but especially at night. Around the corner from Nectar and Schlafly's Tap Room, the Lofts at 2020 are situated in the center of the development in Downtown West.

This unit has 2 parking spots, a great common rooftop deck and the LOW LOW tax bill of around $135 per year. The $229,900 price would have the same payment as a loft selling for around $185,000!!

Interest Rates Drop Again

For those committed to analyzing the real estate market, it seems to have picked up a bit downtown. Who really knows why? One explanation may be the interest rates have continued to drop. Pretty good news, huh. Maybe if interest and gas prices continue to drop, we may see another real estate frenzy.

Seriously though, while it stinks to see good properties sit on the market, seeing the real estate market level off in 2006 isn't all bad. It's just the way it is.

600 Washington Designer Contest

The St. Louis Business Journal, now relocated in the Old Post Office, has always been a wealth of information about the rebirth of Downtown. The first thing I do after the mail comes on Friday is scour the paper for downtown news.

This week the paper had an article about Pyramids redevelopment of St. Louis Centre. Of course, this redevelopment may be the most anticipated since the construction of the Gateway Arch. Some basics: 120 units, prices starting at $155,000 through $800,000, first floor retail facing the street with pool and courtyard inside for owners. All & all it sounds like a plan.

At the Pyramid Sales office lately I've been looking at the three different arcitechtural renderings for the building and the one selected seemed like the top contender. As described in the article though, it was a difficult decision to go with a firm who was also a competing developer. Its so nice to see everyone playing nicely in the downtown sandbox!

Downtown's Most Important Event of the Year!

Downtown, like every neighborhood in every city, has its issues. The time to really air things out seems to be on the immediate horizon.

Thanks to the good work by the Downtown St. Louis Residents Association, their group wide meeting next Thursday will host Phyllis Young and Lewis Reed, two of the Alderman serving downtown and Kevin Farrell of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership. If you care about downtown and want to be a part of the positive changes happening, BE THERE!

As the downtown population continues to grow, it is important for the new residents to appreciate what has already been accomplished by The Residents banding together to make downtown a better place to live. While there may be lots of other people standing up to take credit for what has happened to our inner city, the vision of the people who live here HAS TO BE HEARD above all the rest of the hoopla. As the population grows, so can the positive benefits of this organization.

DETAILS:

Thursday September 14th, at 6:30pm. Webster University Old Post Office Campus, classroom 2.

To Join DSLRA its just $7.50 after July 1.

What does a Buyer's Market mean to me?

What a joke! A buyer's market.....who knew?

Back in the 2nd grade, we all learned how to add and subtract. That is all we will ever need to determine the type of housing market in a given area. Take the number of available units, subtract the number of buyer's in the market, if the number is zero, we have a neutral market, if the number is positive then we have a buyer's market, negative...a seller's market.

That may be a slight oversimplification.

In reality, looking at that simple formula the loft district has probably always been a buyer's market. It is the greatest neighborhood expansion within the city of St. Louis since the 1940's. In the past two years, if you consider pre-construction, there has never been a period when buyer's have outnumbered the available units on the market.

Having said all this, what does all this mean to the person buying or selling today. Have lofts started to depreciate?

Thanks to the national media, the perception exists that all you poor saps selling a home today will practically give your place away. Buyer's are coming into the market expecting greater than 10% off the price of lofts.

Of course, if a loft is overpriced by 10%, which is not at all hard to find, then maybe we will see that type of drop. If you sell with an agent that understands the way of pricing lofts and ALL the factors--square footage, number of windows, parking, finishes, comparable sales--the whole tamale, then you shouldn't have to drop your price by more than a few percent.

In all the loft re-sales since July 1, only one loft has sold for more than 10% off its asking price--and considering it was only on the market for 30 days I was
shocked. The average percentage of asking price that buyer's paid from 7/1 through 9/1 is 97.26%. I doubt that figure differs much from the average for the super hot year of 2005.

What's the final assessment? Are we seeing lots of buyer's starting to swarm the market getting decent deals? Hardly. What I've seen is a lot of buyer's walking away from good opportunities due to unreasonably high expectations of what the buyer's market means.

Mortgages Hit 5 month Low!

A mortgage banker friend of mine sent me this piece of good news.

Something that has been really hideous lately is how big of a deal the media makes about interest rates climbing. People that I come in contact are afraid they are loosing if they buy a house now. How far can that be from the truth.

I bought my first home in 2000 when interest rates were roughly 7.25% for a fixed rate 30 year mortgage. At the time, people were talking about how favorable the interest rates were. Of course, none of these people knew that rates would drop down as low as 4.75% a few years later. Now it seems that home buyer's are afraid to commit to an interest rate above 6.25%. Like renting is a better deal? That's the same as having a 100% interest rate, isn't it?

Anyway, its great to see the interest rates flattening out. I hope it makes the news.

Washington Ave Musicfest Postponed

One thing that I was looking forward to this weekend is the Washington Ave Music Fest. Unfortunately, for reasons I am unaware of, it has been postponed to October 7th. Visit their website to get more information about this great event.

I am actually pretty excited about it being held in early October despite my plans changing this weekend. I'm actually on vacation in Mexico and was sort of thinking that I'll have had my fill of sitting out in the heat by then.

Check out Downtown St. Louis Partnership's website if you would like more information about events downtown.

Great New loft for sale

I am so excited to see the doors open at Moon Brother's Carriage Lofts. I was in that building so much over the last year observing the construction work progressing forward. Now that the buildings complete its just wild.

We listed the Southeast corner unit last week and have had a ton of excitement so far. We had three realtors in it within the first day on the market. Shoot me an email on Friday or later with any questions or a viewing.

This building has tons of exposed brick and great timber ceilings. Loftworks has done a great job of turning so many spaces into cool 2 bedroom lofts also. I am excited for all our clients going in. It's a gem.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Oh how I wish it was still May. It wasn't 100+ degrees outside, the grass wasn't brown, and I only had 8 lofts to put in the list of monthly sales. For June and July the MLS says there are 47 sales. In truth there are many more. In June, move in's started in Banker's; July saw Lucas Lofts, Moon Brothers, and Meridian. Moon Brothers Carriage lofts, the Meridian, Banker's Lofts and Lucas Lofts all are begining to come to life. Last summer, when a bunch of projects had move in's around the same time, the neighborhoods suddenly felt different. I couldn't get a parking spot as easily in the typical places, I no longer could get a seat in Flannery's during a ballgame and so on. I'm bracing myself. Here's the sales for June and July.


June

Banker's Lofts Units
#208------------------------------------------$161,934
#310------------------------------------------$180,185
#202------------------------------------------$182,172
#205------------------------------------------$220,823
#307------------------------------------------$229,661
#306------------------------------------------$233,986
#204------------------------------------------$318,810

This would be an appropriate place to comment that Pyramid, like some of the other developers lately, should be commended for listing all the units on the MLS so that 1. Realtors can learn something about selling downtown neighborhoods without having to pull teeth, and 2. most importantly, so appraiser's can appraise lofts without looking like complete buffoons. I've had appraiser's tell me more than once that they can not use information that isn't on the MLS to justify a price. While I don't believe that, they do have constraints.

Other Sales in June
1627 Locust #204-----------------------------$156,000
1511 Locust #401-----------------------------$161,500
1501 Locust #403-----------------------------$176,900
1501 Locust #1003----------------------------$183,000
2020 Washington #210-------------------------$185,000
2020 Washington #214-------------------------$222,900
1511 Locust #307-----------------------------$229,900
1709 Washington #706-------------------------$247,900
1010 St. Charles #501------------------------$289,000
1501 Locust #1008----------------------------$311,500
703 N 13th St. #402--------------------------$325,000

July

Banker's Lofts Units
#308-----------------------------------------$179,212
#302-----------------------------------------$180,900
#303-----------------------------------------$211,586
#406-----------------------------------------$214,900
#311-----------------------------------------$224,926
#304-----------------------------------------$294,487
#209-----------------------------------------$311,788

Lucas Lofts Units
#202-----------------------------------------$115,290
#212-----------------------------------------$115,815
#211-----------------------------------------$118,590
#302-----------------------------------------$128,595
#412-----------------------------------------$129,650
#512-----------------------------------------$134,725
#612-----------------------------------------$135,000
#301-----------------------------------------$135,840
#311-----------------------------------------$139,275
#411-----------------------------------------$139,880
#502-----------------------------------------$140,300
#401-----------------------------------------$144,685
#312-----------------------------------------$144,920
#601-----------------------------------------$148,870
#501-----------------------------------------$149,300
#712-----------------------------------------$151,425
#611-----------------------------------------$152,210
#511-----------------------------------------$154,440
#701-----------------------------------------$156,685
#711-----------------------------------------$169,130
#210-----------------------------------------$193,475
#410-----------------------------------------$205,505
#304-----------------------------------------$206,875
#309-----------------------------------------$210,492
#404-----------------------------------------$210,975
#610-----------------------------------------$214,830
#208-----------------------------------------$216,055
#609-----------------------------------------$216,205
#710-----------------------------------------$220,970
#408-----------------------------------------$225,140
#403-----------------------------------------$225,820
#303-----------------------------------------$227,000
#313-----------------------------------------$247,815
#405-----------------------------------------$256,040
#205-----------------------------------------$256,637
One of my mortgage broker friends told me that Lucas lofts hadn't fully applied for abatement as of his closing at a unit. The developer had to kick in some additional funds at closing to cover the difference. Was that the case for all those closings? I wonder but have been too busy to find out.

More July Sales
1627 Locust #404-----------------------------$150,000
2020 Washington #510-------------------------$169,000
1501 Locust #1203----------------------------$182,000
1501 Locust #1202----------------------------$188,000
1501 Locust #405-----------------------------$260,000
1611 Locust #405-----------------------------$290,000
1203 St. Charles #6D-------------------------$410,000

Can anyone blame me for putting this post off 'til mid month?

And also, to my faithful readers, my sincere apologies for not posting lately. With all the technical problems and all the selling going on, its no wonder I haven't been up to date. Hope to see you at Washington Avenue Music Fest this Saturday!

Downtown Restaurants Fare Well

Tell me something new! Ok....if I wanted to break up with someone and still be seen....go to Lucas Park Bar & Grill.

In looking through the latest reader poll from Sauce Magazine I was pleased to see that many of the best downtown restaurants were highly regarded by the readers. Pleased, but definately not suprised.

When it comes to restaurants, downtown just has a superior collection. What's also nice is that many of the other recognized establishments may not have been "downtown" like Eleven Eleven Mississippi, but are just outside the downtown area.

Bon Apetit!

The Million Dollar Question

What's all the confusion about tax abatement?

Questions are always asked about tax abatment. People have different ideas. We've even heard of buyer's agent's who advised clients that Abatement means "No Taxes". YIKES!!

The principal behind tax abatement is that the building is in drastic need of repair. In blighted areas, if someone is willing to do the right thing and make the necessary repairs, the building will be taxed at the same rate as prior to the improvements. This is of course, the theory only.

Important points to consider:

Downtown St. Louis is no longer considered a blighted area.
There are only 2 buildings under abatment that are new construction.
The majority of abated lofts and condos are re-sales.
Abatement is temporary. Taxes were previously reduced for a 10 year, transferable period.
Currently new construction in other neighborhoods in the city is being offered for 5 year periods. It is getting more and more difficult to qualify for this reduction in taxes.

By comparison, taxes in Missouri aren't bad. A friend in the metro east pays over twice my property tax bill for the same valued home. Abated taxes can be just a fraction of our already reasonable tax rates. Never in my experience though, has the abatment meant total elimination of taxes. That's just not reality.

Where's the Party, Dude?

Last weekend, loft tour, this weekend, East Meets West Block Party, next weekend, Washington Ave Music Fest. We just can't stop celebrating the changing going on, can we?

East Meets West is a great concept though. Like many events, it may have to be held year after year to really get going. Downtown stores and restaurants are popping up left and right. Last week we just found out about Simply Fondue opening up in the Printer's loft building C. As a creature of habit, I find that I have to make an effort to get out and visit new places. This is just the opportunity.

The setup of musical acts was sent to me (thanks DS!) at the Downtown St. Louis partnership site. I hope to see you there!

Spring Loft Tour Day 2

On the frozen tundra of Washington Avenue we set up shop for day 2 of the tour. The much cooler and breezy weather paid off. It seemed like there were more people out and about than on day 1 when the Komen race brought in 64,000 people.

My overall impression of the attendance this year was that it was lighter than last spring, but more of the people that came stated they wanted to
buy. People seemed really excited about what they were seeing and really were impressed with the area. We felt that there were more "empty-nesters" that are really excited to live downtown.

Some of the feedback we got from people was that they liked the re-sale lofts we had open more than some of the new construction displays. Despite that, of the developer's I've talked with so far, most of them are optimistic. Traffic was really good at the Avienda and Bogen. Most of the developments that have move-ins within the next 12 months are ahead of their sales forecasts also. From where I stand, the St. Louis loft market is in great shape.

St. Louis loft tour--Day 1

Day one of the Downtown Living Tour was a blast! Special thanks to our friends and clients that stopped by to help and visit. Also a thanks to McGowan Brothers Development for letting us set up in front of the Goodman Building.

Having the Komen Race for the Cure on the same day as the downtown living tour seemed to help to get people who normally wouldn't attend. The attendance in general seemed to be lighter than last year. Possibly because the buildings are a bit more spread out (try walking from the Motor Lofts to the Syndicate in 5 minutes). All & all it was great.

My favorite part was the music and dancing troup that was there to promote MacroSun. You just can't beat belly dancers.

St. Louis Lofts Sold in May

Loft sales in May felt a bit slow. That may be in part because much of the activity was in pre-construction sales. As a realtor, I sometimes gauge my level of activity by trips to the title company. In pre-construcion, that is delayed by several months. In looking at the sales for this month, I also looked at pending sales for pre-construcion lofts. That list exceeded the actual closed sales by 1, and that's just MLS listed properties. There are certainly more in the buildings not listed on the MLS.

Here are the May loft sales:

1720 Choteau #402----------$170,600
1511 Locust #104-----------$179,900
1511 Locust #309-----------$208,825
1511 Locust #205-----------$241,300
1611 Locust #201-----------$272,500 (congrat's AB!)
703 N 13th #405-----------$287,000
1511 Locust #806-----------$293,010
1121 Locust #401-----------$435,469

It looks like the Annex cleaned up this months sales. More of those to come in June too. More and more buyer's are coming to the market asking for things like workout facilities. They definately had foresight in having a great workout room, as did the Printer's lofts.

In the past, loft sales seem to really peak following the loft tour. We'll see what June and July brings.

Gearing Up for the Downtown Living Tour

The month of June is upon us and what a month we are looking at! The annual Spring Downtown Living Tour will be June 10th & 11th and that is all I can think about lately. More and more lofts are starting to come on the market, sales seem to be picking up, and crews are working at a rapid pace to turn more and more space into gorgeous lofts. I am working hard to come up with ways of showcasing the great loft spaces that we have listed for that weekend.

What the Downtown Living Tour is to me is a snapshot of the progress this downtown has made since my college days--hanging out at clubs all over Washington Avenue and Delmar, going to parties in abandoned warehouses. I don't mean to sound sentimental, but with the Meridian, Bankers, and Moon Brother's lofts all nearing completion and so many more people looking to relocate into this fantastic neighborhood I get excited. With more people comes more business, more dollars, and more development.

In 2004, looking at the Downtown Living Tour, one still had to have a fair amount of vision to see the progress. Today you can't help but feel it. The downtown living bug is catching on and the loft tour (as I always call it) is the place to do our best to showcase the fantastic downtown neighborhoods so that the bug keeps spreading.

Lofts Properties on Display
Our loft listings on the tour

The No Spin Zone

Competition must be heating up between developer's lately.

Last week I visited several developments with prospective loft buyers. We visited one project and heard about one of its competitors and all of its drawbacks. Then we visited the freshly trashed development. After a brief summary, they started in on the other development. Hmmm.

Both loft projects can stand in their own light. They don't need to try to attack another building to make themselves look better. The more established builders don't seem to get caught up in that game.

I asked my client what they thought about the exchange. They agreed that it cast a negative spin on their process and would prefer to just hear the positives in whatever building they visit.

All the loft developments depend upon each other to transform this great city into something dramatically better. Can't we all just get along?!