146 replies to this topic

[Jones133]

The landscaping and exterior appears to be complete. I rode by on my bike today, and at least one couple was being shown around by the sales agent. Tjis prompted me to check the website again........the marketing is always..blah....the "colleges and schools" tab brings up a map with Peace, St Mary's, Meredith and NC State.  St Augs and Shaw are closer than Meredith but left off......Cameron village has a tab too but it does not highlight Cameron Village shopping but the residential neighborhood north of the famed shopping center.  Whoops. Under "parks" you see of course Nash, Moore and Pullen, but also shown are the Farmers Market,  Dorthea Dix...I guess thats ok, but Centennial Park? Their new name for Centennial campus....

[ChiefJoJo]

Bloomsbury is the topic of an N&O article today.  John Bruckel, the developer, says 34 units are under contract, but we'll see how many units close after all the delays.

[DPK]

Quote

Luxury condos, in general, are slow to sell downtown. There were just three luxury condos sold inside the Beltline during the first quarter, according to a Triangle Area Residential Realty report that tracks sales of homes listed at $500,000 and above. That's up from none during the same period a year ago. More than half of the unreserved condos at Bloomsbury carry price tags north of $500,000.

With tongue in cheek (because I realize that when some of these projects started the market was different), I really wish a developer would build downtown that "gets" Raleigh.  Stop with the luxury condos already.  Build a ton of apartments and condos that the average working class, grad students, etc can afford.  I don't need luxury space and I don't care about marble imported from some foreign land or bookcases covered with gold leaf.  I know a ton of people that would love to rent downtown, but there really isn't (ignoring Hue because it makes my eyes bleed and The Tucker because the rent is a bit high) a good size project that's been build lately to cater to your average young adult renter.

Again I say that with tongue in cheek.

[Euphorius]

Looks like Bloomsbury Estates has been sold. Link

[Jones133]

$8,000,000 is a steal with 44 units still unsold. Only need to average 181k per unit to break even (not counting overhead). Bad for the original buyers (if they need to move or sell ever) as this will keep their values down for years.

[ctl]

Jones133, on 26 May 2011 - 03:17 PM, said:

Only need to average 181k per unit to break even (not counting overhead).

The devil is in the details! Those overheads include property taxes and insurance on the 44 units, real estate agent fees when they're ultimately sold, utilities in the meantime to keep the some of the units showable, and a partial make-good of the common expenses that those 44 units would be contributing towards if they were occupied. The investor may have to add some lipstick to the pig to make the units attractive to potential buyers.  Also, the investor will want a return higher than a risk-free 5% on the money that's parked in the building. My guess? Depending on how long the units are held, the average selling price will have to be $250K+ before the deal is a winner.

[Jones133]

^ given that 250 was  once the price of the smallest  units, I think there will be no problem meeting that. The developer should have been paying dues on anything that had a CO all along. Water and sewer are billed on a different schedule than typical residential and end up cheaper, and lights are cheap. But yes you are right, there is a long list that comprise the details.  Insurance would be covered by a master policy though which is currently maintained via the HOA, even if the HOA is funded and under the control  of the majority owner still. Common utilities should be paid via the HOA too. I was thinking they might drop to $200 a sqft and still turn a profit