If you've been paying attention to the Redfin South Lake Union listings feed in the right column, you'd have noticed that Vulcan's condos are dominating the results, as they've released several units to the MLS in the past weeks.
It seems that fear the housing downturn will hit Seattle is keeping buyers on the fence, and Vulcan and other developers are now in a contest against one another to come up with the most enticing perks. From the
Puget Sound Business Journal:
In the coming weeks, Vulcan will roll out incentives aimed at buyers living and working in South Lake Union, where it has three condo developments under construction.
While its incentive plan is still in the works, one of its perks will be to pay a chunk of the closing costs for buyers who are currently renting at a Vulcan property and want to buy in the neighborhood, said Lori Mason Curran, real estate market research manager for Vulcan, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen's real estate investment company.
"There has definitely been a slowdown in condo sales at all projects in Seattle," said Mason Curran, who declined to release Vulcan's pre-sale figures.
Vulcan's move is a reflection of the slowdown in the housing market across the Puget Sound region that's given prospective condo owners the upper hand. Developers of condos, fighting stagnant sales, are offering more perks than ever to potential buyers -- including cars, vacation packages and, in one case, Vespa scooters.
"We have a substantial amount of buyers out there, but they are all on the fence," said Matthew Gardner, whose consulting firm Gardner Johnson works with Vulcan.
"The last thing anyone wants to do is buy in a market that is declining."
What would get you in the mood to buy? An old fashioned haircut, or something a little more unique? Stay tuned to see what ends up going in the grab bag.
