I am reserved in Dorsa, and I hope that rates don't go up by too much. Economists can guess at the increase/decrease in interest rates over a period of time, but that isn't much different than guessing what loft appreciation will be in 3-5 years. (a question I am asked daily I might add.
Anyone know why the price/reservation list hasn't been updated for over 2 weeks? It had been updated once a week for a while, and all of a sudden ... nothing.
Are they deciding on a raise in prices? On vacation? Something else I don't know about?
JimJim15 wrote:Anyone know why the price/reservation list hasn't been updated for over 2 weeks? It had been updated once a week for a while, and all of a sudden ... nothing.
Are they deciding on a raise in prices? On vacation? Something else I don't know about?
Probably figured what's the use. The updates really have not chanegd at all from week to week. Still have basically the same number of reserves and prices have not changed either. Just does not seem like much is happening down there,
JimJim15 wrote:Anyone know why the price/reservation list hasn't been updated for over 2 weeks? It had been updated once a week for a while, and all of a sudden ... nothing.
Are they deciding on a raise in prices? On vacation? Something else I don't know about?
Probably figured what's the use. The updates really have not chanegd at all from week to week. Still have basically the same number of reserves and prices have not changed either. Just does not seem like much is happening down there,
I've noticed that Pyramid has also started taking out adds in the RFT for Bankers and Dorsa, which hasn't happened in the past. Also, doesn't the Arcade building start taking reservations in January? That could also have something to do with it.
Are we starting to see the end of the super high demand for lofts?
I would say the answer is yes, for the ones over $200k. Everything is Dorsa still available is over that price.
Ely Walker went fast, but that was for all the cheaper ones. The cheaper ones still have tons of demand left, or it's just people trying to flip them.
I don't think that's the case at all. Bogen is MUCH more expensive, and they're selling well enough to have raised their prices recently.
And I don't think it's true that Dorsa hasn't been selling much lately. In the weeks leading up to the last update 2 weeks ago, there were consistent sales of a few lofts per week
And I'll agree that less expensive lofts are more popular, but that's true of all housing. There are more houses between 100-200 thousand than there are between 300-400. That's just the way it is.
And you REALLY can't look at Ely Walker as your average building. They are having huge problems with flippers, speculators, and artificial price inflation. The building has no restrictions on how many units can be rentals, or how many units can be purchased for speculation purposes. Because of this, they had people buying 3, 4, 5, and even 6 lofts at a time. These buyers artificially inflated the price so that they could flip. That's not a good thing for those who purchased AFTER the price increase went into effect.
I love that building, but I don't like the current $170/sqft that is now being charged because of flippers. There will be a price correction at some point in the future. Or it'll bite the people who bought high.
they had people buying 3, 4, 5, and even 6 lofts at a time
I?m just curious where you got your info. Are you basing this on fact or speculating that people were buying multiple units. I would be interested to learn what percentage are multiple buyers. I?m sure that some people who reserved a single unit would not be too happy to hear that 50% of reservations were multiple buyers.
The next 2 years will answers a lot of our questions about the demand for lofts and condos. I wouldn?t be surprised if Ballpark Village creates a snowball effect. The old Busch Stadium is down, and condo sales will surely begin soon.
I was told this by the people at Ely Walker ... one actually told me that (I will stay gender neutral and use the female sex throughout this post) she had 3 units herself. She (again, remember, gender neutral) said that there we NO caps on how many could do this. She said some people bought as many as 6 (I think ... may have been 5).
Go over to the Ely Walker board. They had a discussion about this a month ago. It's a serious problem.[/i]
JimJim15 wrote:Anyone know why the price/reservation list hasn't been updated for over 2 weeks? It had been updated once a week for a while, and all of a sudden ... nothing.
Are they deciding on a raise in prices? On vacation? Something else I don't know about?
Your post is dated 7 Dec, the last DORSA update was on 6 Dec! But your right, I think sales have slowed somewhat.
JimJim15 wrote:Anyone know why the price/reservation list hasn't been updated for over 2 weeks? It had been updated once a week for a while, and all of a sudden ... nothing.
Are they deciding on a raise in prices? On vacation? Something else I don't know about?
Your post is dated 7 Dec, the last DORSA update was on 6 Dec! But your right, I think sales have slowed somewhat.
Sorry ... weird browser tricks. The link still showed up as the old one. I've refreshed everything now.
About the slowdown in sales, I just wanted to point out that the Christmas season (from Thanksgiving to after New Years) is the SLOWEST time for all real estate transactions.
Dorsa website has been changed around, now has current progress of project along with completely new format. I didnt know they had already started demolition inside.
I haven't seen the pictures or walked through the build-out -- but, I did live in the Dorsa for a few years in the early 90s.
When I moved to St. Louis, I wanted to live downtown. There were almost no lofties or developers. However, I tracked down some building owners, including the owner of the Dorsa. After some cajoling, he agreed to build and rent me a loft. 5,000 square feet, $500/month rent. Garage parking. He paid the utilities; carpeted it in remnants; and spray painted the whole thing light green. Most of the time, there was heat. I didn't have furniture, so he lent me 10 of pretty much everything (chairs, tables, lamps, night tables . . .).
Living alone in the building, I used explore it at night. There was an old stage/showroom in the basement where buyers from across the country would come for fashion shows of the dresses assembled in the Dorsa. And there were still stray bits of the homeless people, artists, etc. who had camped in it over the years.
It is a great building. Having lived in several others in the intervening years, I can tell you that a wooden building (like the Dorsa) sounds/feels different than a concrete building. Not better, not worse. Different.
The stage and the wonderful Meyer-Loomstein-designed Modernist fantasia of a first floor interior still exist. I will be posting photos to my website soon. Unfortunately, without a commitment from a tenant that will agree to preserve the interior space, it is likely to be destroyed. A plan to put a movie theater on the ground floor using the interior space as a grand lobby failed, so the space is available.
Hopefully, Pyramid can find a tenant who won't gut this unique space. How many intact Art Moderne interiors exist downtown? Or even in the city?
Looks like sales have been flat, with 2 br/2ba units and units on the west side of the building selling better. Granted this must be a slow time of year, and things should pick up as spring approaches.
Between Thanksgiving and New Years is always the slowest time of year for real estate ... but interestingly Dorsa has sold 2 of its Penthouses in the past 2-3 weeks. And there are only 19 non-penthouse units left (including the display). They're over 50% full, and aren't scheduled to be delivered for another 12-16 months.
Besides, Pyramid is focusing pretty hard on Banker's Lofts right now. Once those are much closer to being finished/delivered, I expect them to push hard for Dorsa.
As for which lofts are being sold, it's not so much the western units as it is the southern units - basically, those on Washington. The front 4 floorplans have a total of 5 units remaining ... the back 5 floorplans have a total of 13 remaining.
But I've gotta say ... I would have thought floorplan 7 would be selling better than it is. Even though it faces away from Washington, the mainroom in that plan has window on 3 sides. My wife and I were pretty close to reserving that one a few months ago. Could be pretty neat, thought. Any thoughts?
Wow. I'm very impressed. Is that a little outdoor cafe in front of Dorsa? That would be fun, though I doubt they're letting anything slip with this rendering.
It also looks like another penthouse has been reserved. That's 3 of 8 gone.
As for the normal units, there are still 18 remaining (not including the display), but one of the bigger/more expensive units has been reserved, and one of the smaller/less expensive units has opened up.
I'm glad Dorsa has been getting some attention amidst the flurry of Banker's activity.
I might add.
