More distress signals from the luxury condo market
The Bryant auction over the weekend is the latest sign that all is definitely not well with the once seemingly invincible luxury condo market.
The posh new South End project managed to sell off a third of its 30 units in one day, but at a big cost.
The question now becomes how much longer developers of some of the major new deluxe condo towers in downtown Boston can hold out before they go the auction route?
The new W Hotel and condo tower in the Theater District is preparing to open later this month, boosted by a $10.5 million city loan that will help it build out a crucial restaurant and retail space.
But the project’s marketing team has refused to release sales figures, a sure sign that efforts to move the W’s 123 condos are likely nothing to boast about.
The Clarendon, the new Back Bay condo and rental tower by the Hancock nearing completion, and the already opened 45 Province St., have also kept profiles as they have struggled to move units.
For its part, the Byrant is just the latest auction of units at new condo projects in the Boston area.
Developers have turning to the mass sales and their promise of steep discounts in a desperate bid to move units at the Longwood in Brookline and at the Nouvelle, a condo high-rise built at the revamped Natick mall.
But with the Bryant, the auction action appears to be creeping steadily closer to some of the big new condo towers in downtown Boston.
The recession and all the complications it has slammed the luxury condo and real estate sector, both across the country and in Boston.
Developers behind some of the big new condo towers downtown are likely studying the Bryant auction results very closely. The Herald reports an interesting detail on this front.
Still, the idea we will soon see auctions at some of the big downtown towers is far from a sure bet, either.
For one thing, the situation is far from hopeless. Overall residential sales are climbing, and there have been signs recently the high-end, jumbo market might finally be thawing.
The economy is on the mend, even if the job market is trailing.
For some of these downtown condo developers, the question becomes how deep are their pockets?
The next several months should be telling.
Comment
Permalink
E-mail
