By
Jim Weiker
In
July, Ben Gibson bought a 1,100-square-foot loft-style condominium at the OneNinetyNine complex
near Grant Medical Center.
The top-floor unit features floor-to-ceiling windows with a skyline view, an 800-square-foot
patio, high-end appliances and an indoor-outdoor fireplace.
Gibson paid $299,900 — about $40,000 less than the unit was originally priced at a few years
ago.
“I went in with the idea that I would just rent, to be honest,” said the 32-year-old urologist. “
But I was paying less on a mortgage than I would in rent, so it just made sense to buy.”
Throughout central Ohio, buyers such as Gibson are finding deals on unsold condominiums in
buildings that were launched before the housing market went south. In some cases, units that have
sat empty for years are selling for more than 30 percent below what they would have sold for
new.
“Developers are clearly adjusting their prices downward to facilitate sales,” said Jeff Ruff, a
partner with the German Village Real Living HER office Vutech Ruff. “We’ve seen it across the
board.”
Vutech Ruff is listing the remaining four units in the 8 on the Square development at
Broad and High streets. The units, all penthouses, are listed from $779,000 to $850,000 — about
$200,000 less than their original 2008 listing prices.
Other examples:
• At Bexley Gateway, a two-bedroom, 2,264-square-foot condominium is listed at $579,900, down
$220,000 from its original price. Next door, a 3,247-square-foot five-floor town house that
originally listed for $1.54 million can now be bought for $539,900.
• At 60 Spring St. in Downtown Columbus, a two-bedroom, 1,100-square-foot unit is listed for
$185,000 — about $80,000 less than a similar unit sold for six years ago.
• At the Tremont Club in Hilliard, prices have dropped $10,000 to $30,000 and the developer is
offering to pay condo dues for three years.
• At Carlyles Watch in Downtown, a two-bedroom, 1,475-square-foot unit can be purchased for
$259,900, down from its original price of $417,000.
• At Downtown’s CityView on 3rd complex, a 988-square-foot condo is going for $160,000 — about
$80,000 less than comparable units fetched when the building opened in 2006.
“We’re really dropping prices,” said Brianna Baiocco, an agent with RZ Realty who is listing the
CityView condos on behalf of Huntington Bank, which took over the project from its developers.
Steve Holzer, a partner in Commercial One Realtors, a sister company to RZ Realty, noted that
prices aren’t the only incentives at CityView.
“We are also offering to pay one-year condo dues for buyers, which typically run $230 a month on
average, and, in some cases, we’re negotiating other incentives or concessions, like paying buyers’
closing costs.”
Such bank-owned properties offer unusual deals for buyers. As Holzer put it, “Banks want to get
those off the books and get on with life.”
Buyers might see similar deals at Gahanna’s Creekside complex, which was taken over by a bank
after selling only 10 of its 69 units. The complex is expected to be back on the market soon.
Whether or not a lender is involved, condominium deals can be found throughout central Ohio.
“It’s still a buyer’s market,” said Connie Ballinger, a Coldwell Banker King Thompson agent
handling Bexley Gateway condominiums.
Some of the condominium buildings with unsold units have been around long enough that they are
now competing against units sold by original buyers, which can bring down prices even more on
original units.
Carole Speaks recently paid $135,000 for a 1,200-square-foot condo in the Hartman Building
Downtown. The home, which had been repossessed by the bank, sold for $267,000 new in 2006.
Speaks paid less for the condo than she would have paid for a new 700-square-foot one-bedroom
unit still for sale in the building.
“This deal was so good, I couldn’t pass it up,” said Speaks, a Vutech Ruff agent. “It’s
got two bedrooms, two baths, 12-foot ceilings, 7-foot windows, wood floors, brick walls, granite
countertops, overhead track lights. I just got so much for the money.”
Central Ohio condo sales, like single-family home sales, have dropped steadily since 2006.
Through September, 1,961 condominiums changed hands in central Ohio, down 4.2 percent from a
year ago, according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. Prices have likewise dropped, from a median
of $123,000 a year ago to $113,500 in September.
A few complexes — including the Condominiums at North Bank Park and Neighborhood Launch in
Downtown Columbus, and Arlington Crossing in Upper Arlington — have managed to hold prices steady
since the downturn.
Others have hidden price declines to appease buyers who paid full price a few years ago. Instead
of dropping the sales price, developers have offered perks such as free upgrades, garages or
discounted association fees.
Many others have rented unsold units in an effort to get some income until the market
recovers.
The remaining condominiums tend to be in the middle of the pack in price and amenities.
Although the condo market remains down, evidence suggests that the deep discounts coupled with
attractive interest rates might be starting to lift sales. In September, 260 condominiums sold in
central Ohio — almost 60 more than a year ago, according to Jim Lubinsky, a RE/MAX Affiliates agent
who specializes in condos.
Nate Caplin, the listing agent for Carlyles Watch and OneNinetyNine condominium buildings
Downtown, said his sales have jumped during the past year. He said he has sold 25 of the remaining
32 units at Carlyles Watch, leaving only seven available.
“There’s a return to the market,” Caplin said. “Since late 2007 to late 2010, every single
person who called was interested in renting, despite me telling them until I’m blue in the face
that’s it’s a great time to buy. They just weren’t interested.
“In 2008, 2009, I had two or three units in each of those years sold. In 2011, I’ve sold more
than 30 units in Downtown Columbus.”
Sales have also picked up at Arlington Crossing condominiums in Upper Arlington, across Tremont
Road from the redesigned Kingsdale Shopping Center, said sales manager Gregg Herbst.
Sales were so sluggish when the first phase of the complex opened in 2008 that developers
dropped some prices. Now, with the second phase opening, prices are up.
“In the beginning, we didn’t have the town center,” Herbst said. “We had to let a few go for
less than normal. But when the town center opened, things were different. Now we’ve seen some price
escalation in the second phase.”
jweiker@dispatch.com