Downtown Condo Prices

By Larry Hotz, All Denver Real Estate

"City Condo Prices: Sky’s The Limit".

That was the lead headline this morning in The Denver Post, Denver’s daily newspaper. Despite a softer market outside the downtown area, developers are raising prices on new condo projects downtown.

Dee Chirafisi of Kentwood City Properties is sometimes called "the Mayor" of Downtown  Denver. She meets are greets about every third pedestrian as she meanders the sidewalks of Lo-Do. She is also the top selling Realtor in those parts of the city and a listing broker of the 51-story tower

at 1401 Lawrence Street being built by Great Gulf Group.

"It is typical of any (new) project to raise prices", Dee told the Post. She says that way previous buyers are happier with their decision to buy early. They are then more likely to help spread the good word. 

It is a marketing technique that suburban builders used when the market was better. After all, the technique only works if buyers continue to buy at the new, higher prices. And, so far, it appears that buyers are paying more for new and even resale condominiums in the heart of downtown these days.

Many other downtown condo projects saw higher prices as units sold. Pinnacle near City Park and Wyncoop in Lo-Do are just two recent examples.That is a far cry from high-rise condo projects in cities hit hard by a real estate recession. LA Vegas and Miami have seen developers slash prices when they needed some additional sales. That does not seem to be the case in Denver.

Other downtown condo projects have had price increases recently. Komorebi has increased some prices from $500 per square foot to $700. That is not uncommon in the hot downtown market. Resale prices have not generally increased as dramatically. That may be due to the high demand for "brand new".

"Some people want to pick their own colors and be first to use the bathtub", said popular downtown broker, John Ludwig. "New always commands a premium in price." John specializes in helping buyers find the right condominium for them downtown. Once found, he is an effective Buyer’s Broker when it comes to negotiating the most favorable, price, incentives and terms.

 

 

 

March 27, 2008 | Filed Under Denver Real Estate News, Downtown Denver, Kentwood Company 

Comments

2 Responses to “Downtown Condo Prices”

  1. Rob Lawrence on April 8th, 2008 11:59 am

    It is interesting to see what is happening in other parts of the country. This crisis is nationwide and is hitting all segments of real estate. In terms of luxury condos there will always be a market at the high end, it’s the low end that suffers.
    Warm Regards,
    Rob Lawrence
    http://www.battlecall.com

  2. larry on May 31st, 2008 7:40 am

    Opps, Great West has just pulled the plug on their project at 14th and Lawrence. They raised the prices in March but just announced that they are refunding all buyers their deposits and canceling the project.

    In spite of a generally robust downtown market, this project obviously did not have enough pre-sales to justify going ahead. The only unanswered question is whether it was the developer who made that decision or the financial investor. Remember, the “credit crunch”?

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Copyright 2007-2008 by Loren S. Hotz. All Denver Real Estate.