Since the end of last month the local MLS has seen a heavy surge in new listings the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite a while. It seems now that the pandemic is more or less over, sellers are coming forth with a year’s worth of backlog. Oddly the urban condo market is just trotting along as usual thus far.

With this surge of new inventory a little bit of pressure is now off on buyers and sellers may have to be a little more flexible on price or expectations as more choices will allow buyers to be a bit more discerning than they have the past couple years.

Meanwhile here in the urban core, the condo market remains about as tight as it has been for the last year. Northwynd saw a little bit of a spike in listings but the market seems to have absorbed them comfortably. The Village at Columbia Shores remains a bit in limbo with the polybutylene plumbing issue.

Kirkland Tower is on a slow crawl to the finish line but that will be a major economic and viability indicator for the Waterfront. Renting plush $10,000 per month apartments is a strong indicator of economic viability for high end condos. Some units in Riverwest have rented in that range. But Kirkland represents a larger commitment as these will be units selling for prices deep into seven figures. A decision to buy rather than rent is the ultimate expression of local confidence in the neighborhood. I think they will sell fine. 40 units ought to be 80% sold by the end of the year IF the building is done next month.

More development is on the way Downtown and on the Waterfront. Block 18 should break ground early next year on the Springs Living high-rise senior living tower. Meanwhile the Terminal One blocks A and C project should start around the same time. These large projects create good paying jobs and the consistent flow of new proposals bodes well for the urban construction trades over the next few years.

Another Tidewater condo closed well over $1,000,000 recently. I have to wonder how many of these Tidewater exits are headed to Kirkland? We shall see.