Milwaukee Condo & Real Estate Scene

BizTimes.Com: Construction begins for Third Ward apartment development

There’s been a lot of real estate news about the Historic Third Ward lately - none of which has to do with condominiums.

In March The Mandel Group began construction of its Corcoran Lofts. Located next to Mandel’s Gaslight Lofts, Corcoran Lofts will feature 76 apartment units and ground-level retail space.

Robert Joseph recently began construction of his 81 apartment unit building called Jackson Square. Similar to Corcoran Lofts, Jackson Square will also feature ground-level retail. Jackson Square is located on the corner of Menomonee and Jackson Streets. Joseph expects to be completed in 2010.

My Thoughts

Why are we seeing so many newly-constructed apartment buildings? During the past few years we have seen our supply of downtown apartments shrink. Many real estate investors purchased existing apartment buildings and converted them into condominium units. It was an overnight success. With the units already in place, all one had to do was to start calling them condominiums.

Now, the demand for apartment units is greater than demand for condominiums. The economy has caused consumers to question their investments. In the wake of collapse of the mortgage markets, banks have significantly tightened their lending practices. This means that we’re assisting fewer qualified condo buyers in this market. Between the lending policy and the shaky economy, many are choosing to rent and hope for better days in the future.

However, if you are in a position to secure a mortgage (i.e. sufficient savings for a down payment and decent credit scores), then there is no better time to buy a condo than now. Condominium prices continue to remain affordable. Many of today’s sellers are now selling their homes for what they could have sold their home for back in 2004 and 2005. Interest rates remain affordable at historically-low rates. Your dollar is going much farther today than it has since the downtown condo boom began in the late 1990s. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is encouraging first-time homebuyers to enter the market by providing a refundable tax credit of $8,000. In addition, IRS is still offering incentives to homeowners by allowing deductions for real estate taxes and mortgage interest. We all know that the housing market will rebound which means that housing values will appreciate. Start building equity as we get the housing market back on track.

Don’t get me wrong, I am pleased that Mandel and Joseph are adding apartments to the downtown area. We need a decent mix of rental units and condo units to sustain the diversity of our downtown residents. This diversity is what makes downtown fun to live, work, and play.

What are your thoughts?

Real Estate Weekly and the BizTimes.com provide more details about Jackson Square and Corcoran Lofts. Click here to read more about these two new apartment developments>>>

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Labels: Real Estate

posted by David Ray @ 3:11 PM