Condo Comeback
Ship Lofts mentioned again in Puget Sound Business Journal Article
“Condo comeback? Growing demand spurs development plans in South Sound” by Shawna De La Rosa
Full Text:
After years of without much condominium development going on in the South Sound, a comeback could be underway as demand for housing prompts more investment in this previously overlooked sector of the market.
“Regionally, in every metro market the single-family home price is just bonkers,” said Josh Nasvik, managing director of Polaris Pacific. “Buyers are getting fed up. Condos are the natural first step for the entry-level homebuyer.”
Condos have not eluded the forces driving the single-family market, however. Since 2015, condo prices have gone up 87% in Pierce County, according to statistics collected by Polaris. In 2015, the median sales price was $179,000. As of June 2021, it is $335,000.
That’s in line with what’s happening in the broader residential market. Median home prices in Tacoma have shot up nearly 90% from June 2016 to June 2021, according to Redfin, going from $239,900 to $455,000 over that span.
Meanwhile, a shortage of supply and an increase in demand means condos are staying on the market an average of only 17 days, which compares with 69 days in 2015. There has been an average of 51 listings per month in 2021, compared with 166 in 2015. The number of monthly listings has dropped each year since 2015, with the exception of 2020 when the number stayed about the same.
Developers are heeding the call for more inventory.
Gig Harbor-based Harbor Custom Development is planning four condo developments in Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties, and is looking at property in Port Orchard. The units will be designed to be affordable, Sterling Griffin recently told the Puget Sound Business Journal.
“It’s so hard to find affordable housing that is being built anywhere,” he said. “We feel that if you can build an apartment and rent it out, why can’t you build a condo and sell it? We do that whenever we can.”
Point Ruston developer McBride-Cohen Management Group is teaming up with Bill Riley Communities Family LLC in a proposal to build a mixed-use 60-unit condominium project in the heart of downtown Puyallup.
Last week, developer David Grieshaber announced plans to construct luxury condos starting at about $1 million per unit on Dock Street along the Foss Waterway.
He predicts that more companies will start growing into the Tacoma market and those executives will want high-end housing.
“Tacoma needs more luxury housing options,” Grieshaber recently told the Puget Sound Business Journal. “Upper management and owners of companies don’t want to live in affordable housing units.”
Nasvik agrees there is a need for luxury housing in Tacoma, including condos.
“There is money in Tacoma,” he said. “Look at the beautiful single-family homes in parts of the city. Inevitably people are going to want to sell their houses as they age in place and they are going to want something they can lock up and leave. That site will give them beautiful views and no maintenance. That’s a very attractive solution.”
