Recent Stories with tag commercial

"much can be said" courtesy of our Flickr pool's +Russ

How is the Seattle real estate market like an ice cream cone? It's frozen and it either is currently "clearly a double-dipper" or will be. (Once again, Portland gets there first.)

Hell may have frozen over as well as Seattle; the Seattle Bubble says this could be a good time to buy a home. Granted, they're talking about prepared buyers taking advantage of that below-market deal they've found. Anecdotally, this is echoed by Redfin's report on the Seattle area market, which notes that a few first-time home buyers are making their move. 

Otherwise, of the Seattle area homes pulled off the market in November, a full 60 percent were delisted by owners who plan to wait out the winter. Only 40 percent were sales. Of the city of Seattle 1,700-house November inventory (down 14 percent from October), 344 sold, while the time it took to close on a sale continued to lengthen thanks to difficulties finalizing financing.

Seattle condo sales remain way back in the deep freeze section, down a full 50 percent year over year. 137 sold, but 200 were delisted, to wait for spring. The Bubble warned that the home buying credit program was simply pulling demand from the future, and that once it ended, we'd see the frozen wasteland currently before us. But it is also true that many first-time buyers went the condo route, and now sit underwater, unable even to think of taking a short sale's loss; the average condo sale price per square foot is down just 1.2 percent from last November.

Meanwhile, bottom-callers have these home-price declines to stare at. (Here's the Bubble's latest Case-Schiller graphs.) It's not just Seattle, of course--Seattlepi.com reports that Seattle and ten other metro areas are seeing a "triple-dip," and analysts predict anywhere from another six to fifteen percent slide over 2011. (Nor is the problem limited to residential real estate--the Wall Street Journal reports that Beacon Capital Parters, owners of the Columbia Tower Center, are selling their best-performing asset to raise capital to meet debt obligations.)... (more)

The Benaroya Companies are moving to the Eastside, reports the PSBJ. They're taking up residence in a 79,000-sq.-ft. Benaroya-owned building they've been working on refilling since Zango closed. The short story seems to be that it was easier to pick up stakes and move themselves than find someone to lease the last 8,300 sq. ft. Still, it's a portentous shift, given that Benaroya is the name of Seattle's symphony hall.

Meanwhile, mega-developers Schnitzer West have sold two major properties, notes Eric Pryne in the Seattle Times, Bellevue's Advanta Office Commons and Seattle's Equinox apartments née condos. (Equinox and Escala were among the last--if not the last--condo buildings to complete as the downturn shut off financing.) In both sales, Schnitzer West beat the properties' appraised value by wide margins--$75 million for Advanta, and almost $20 million for Equinox.

And last week Target announced they were coming to Seattle's Pike Plaza, at the foot of the Newmark. Downtown residents rejoiced at the news, and if CHS polls are to be believed, Capitol Hill hipsters think it's just far enough away for them to retain credibility while slinking off-Hill for bargain-shopping.

Sunergy solar power projects

It seems every few days we are inundated with claims of new sources of clean, green energy. But these new directions tend to offer a lot of potential, rather than proven results. Yet, as the Gulf oil spill demonstrates, little good can come of staying the course of fossil fuel.

So what's behind door number three? Solar energy isn't a new technology. It's growing comfortable in middle age and showing surprising perseverance. Solar energy systems for homes are still pricey, but if you live in Seattle and have watched your electric bill rise almost 20 percent this year alone, you might have started weighing your options.

"The first question we get from customers is always, 'Will a solar energy system work in Seattle?'" says Jeremy Harvey, the advertising and marketing director for Ballard-based Sunergy Systems. "The answer is yes." (A thick cloud cover does reduce the electricity you get, but partly cloudy days can actually improve power production.) Our long summer days help compensate for the dark December half-days, and at the exact time of the year when our hydroelectricity supply is at its limit.

Sunergy is one of the largest installers of solar energy systems in Washington. (Find more here.) They focus on residential systems, but can also install commercial systems, and Harvey says they are on track to double their installation total from last year.

The sun has been harnessed for energy in a variety of ways since the earliest days of man, but the solar power industry as we know it is really about 40 years old. It first began to attract public interest as a viable residential application in the 1970s and many people's perceptions are still shaped by early versions of solar energy technology.

One thing is still true, which is that the sun pours out much more power than we can get at: Even cutting-edge photovoltaics don't transform more than 30 percent of sunlight into electricity. (They're working on it.) But in terms of what you need to power your home, panels take up much less space and look snappier to boot.

Shoreline Community College's 18-kW system

"We've evolved in every way," Harvey says. "The systems are more efficient, easier to install and maintain, and there are many more types of systems available. Some of the biggest innovations in the industry are government incentives."

Solar energy systems are not cheap up front. The "average" price for the installation of a 5-kW solar electric system is between $20,000 and $40,000. Seattle City Light says a 2-kW system can run $12,000 to $20,000. To make that money back through electricity bill savings and incentives might take 10 to 12 years, though that recoupment time, remarkably, is down by almost half from what it used to be.

Costs are lessened through tax breaks and incentives at the county, state, and federal levels--more or less, depending on where you live. It's not just a free ride for hippies with big screens--policy wonks, like our friends at Sightline, have been pushing for incentives that take into account not just homeowner savings, but also the savings from not adding power infrastructure. Do you know what a new nuclear power plant costs these days?

Issaquah Fish Hatcher's 1-kW panel

Currently, the IRS will allow a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the cost to purchase and install a system. Below that, the incentive game can get confusing. The state will reimburse 15 cents per kilowatt-hour, and up to 54 cents/kWh if your system was manufactured in-state (currently, there is only one manufacturer in Washington State).

Snohomish County has a magnificent program of financial incentives--offering an instant rebate or low-interest loans to pay for installation--but King County has no such program. Seattle City Light will let you collect "rollover" kilowatts, as any excess energy you generate flows back into their system. Sunergy aims for a system that leaves you holding a $0 electric bill over the course of a year.

According to Harvey, the typical solar energy customer so far is in their mid-40s to 60s--in other words, people likely to live in a home long enough to reap the long-term benefits--though some younger, green-conscious families are signing up too. Because photovoltaic panels have no moving parts, maintenance is virtually nil. Occasionally defects in manufacture appear, but these are covered by warranty.

Solar heating tubes

Though solar electric is the most common system ordered, it is not the only type of system you can install. Solar-heated hot water systems are gaining in popularity.

Hot water production is the second highest energy expense in any home, right after central heating (it may be the highest, obviously, if you have radiant heat). Solar hot water makes the most efficient use of the sun's energy, netting you almost three times the energy you'd get from photovoltaics.

In Western Washington, according to Harvey, families can meet about 90 percent of their hot water heating needs in summer, 75 percent in the fall and spring, and 30 percent in the winter. (The solar hot water heaters are "hybrid" systems, with an electric supplement that handles the darkest, coldest months.) And all it takes is some tubes filled with a biodegradable antifreeze solution.

Hot water systems cost substantially less than photovoltaics, so they can pay you back for installation through fuel bill savings in well under ten years. If you'd like to learn more, Sunergy holds special Solar Energy 101 and 201 classes in their Ballard location; contact them for the next date.

The good news is that my phone expects the temperature to reach 78 degrees today. Let's focus on that for a moment. On Monday, the clouds should be back, and the city will be announcing budget cuts.

Friday afternoon brought another bank seizure by government regulators: Washington First International Bank was sold to Pasadena's East West Bank, reported the PSBJ. Commercial real estate gone bad. That would seem to make Jon Talton's Friday morning post about the possibility of a Seattle commercial real estate crash required reading. Goldman Sachs thinks our residential real estate is about lose 20 percent in value, so maybe put the money back into the mattress.

Lots of transportation news this week: a federal judge said "Oh hell no" to Patty Murray's attempt restore King County Metro special service to Mariners games. Metro is also gearing up for union negotiations by releasing incomplete information on bus operator compensation (and ignoring media requests for a fuller picture). And the King County Ferry District would like you not to notice that Argosy Cruises ran the West Seattle Water Taxi for cheaper.... (more)

"VERY URBAN" is the title of this shot of the formerly-known-as-WaMu tower by photocoyote.

Colliers International has released its spring "knowledge report," looking back on Q1 and forecasting for the year ahead. The good news for Seattle is simply that no new commercial real estate came on the market in the first quarter, so the vacancy rate for the year-to-date, about 17.7 percent, remained the same as 2009. (Next quarter brings the opening of 505 First Avenue, with almost 290,000 sq. ft. added to the 1 to 1.5 million sq. ft. available.)

For now, landlords are holding the line on their offers and concessions to new tenants. But every month that goes by with an almost-20-percent vacancy rate represents a drag on the economy. A lot of mortgages out there were written dependent on rental income that's dropped precipitously. (See Beacon Capital Partner's claim that its rents now cover just 20 percent of its debt obligations.)

So Colliers' optimism about the housing and stock markets looks a little less persuasive at this precise moment. Here's their take:

With the residential housing market continuing to gain strength and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 4,500 points to its 19 month high (currently above 11,000), all signs point to positive economic growth.

Yet the Wall Street Journal reports that Chicago's unofficial "fear index" has jumped 18 percent following this week's market dive. Jon Talton at the Seattle Times notes that while the proximate cause may be concerns about Greece's sovereign debt, the market run-up has been driven by bail-outs (literally, and indirectly, in the form of low, low interest rates). 

Seattle Bubble has been keeping tabs on the residential housing market, and while there's been the usual spring flurry of sales, take a look at the second graph here, the next time someone mentions a "strong recovery."

The  Puget Sound Business Journal dug into King County foreclosures, and found that Seattle is, anomalously, still reporting increases in foreclosure-related "distressed sales: "By June, it’s estimated that more than 800 homes will be scheduled for auction in any given week. That’s up from an average of about 40 auctions a week in 2006 and 2007. Many of the homes don’t sell at auction." (About two-thirds of the foreclosures they tracked last year didn't sell.)

Crosscut's Feliks Banel called it back in October, just after KING FM laid off three announcers. As Banel saw it, KING FM had three options: try harder to sell ads, sell the station, or go the listener-supported route.

The email today from Program Director Bryan Lowe confirms that it's door number three: "That’s why I am excited to tell you that effective July of 2011, KING FM will become a listener supported public radio station. Instead of airing commercials for our support, KING FM will now get its support from underwriters and our listeners."

At that point, Banel says, "the station will stop airing 60-second commercial 'spots' and will switch to 20-second 'underwriting announcements' and occasional listener pledge drives."

The nail in KING FM's commercial coffin was an electronic tracking system that replaced the old audience-measuring diaries. Portable People Meters automatically sniff out which radio station is playing throughout the day, and don't rely on people's memories at all (they even come with a motion-detector, so you can't just plunk it in front of a radio and walk off).

After Seattle switched to PPM, and got its first results back in June of 2009, there were shakeups everywhere, with Star 101.5 suddenly holding the #1 spot. For KING FM, the news wasn't good: its "share of the local audience was smaller and older than it had been before, with the average age of listeners about 60," reports the Seattle Times. Not exactly catnip to advertisers.