Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of Michelle Poitevin of Realogics Sotheby's International Realty

(January 19, 2012) SEATTLE — Construction on The Sanctuary—a 12-unit, residential conversion located within the former 1906 First Church of Christ, Scientist in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood—is now complete.

Originally built between 1906 and 1911 and designated an historic landmark by the City of Seattle in 1977, the completed project—now consisting of fee simple, concrete and steel town homes—offers a rare mix of intricate historic features, artisan craftsmanship and innovative modern design elements. The construction team was spearheaded by Belfor Property Restoration, Runberg and Associates, Robin Chell Design and The Justen Company.

A compelling example of adaptive reuse and historic preservation, redevelopment on the project initially began in 2007 but was stalled in 2010. An affiliate of San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners, LLC, acquired the construction note on July 7, 2011, and funded an additional $2 million to bring the project to its full potential. In readying the homes for sale, Resource Transition Consultants, LLC (RTC), the seller, responded to feedback from local real estate brokers, prospective homebuyers and other market experts.

“We made many improvements and are thrilled with how the individual homes and common areas turned out,” says Rob Nall, a principal of RTC. “The additional construction and restoration was worthwhile—we’ve optimized the final product and the pricing for positive market acceptance.”

In addition to changing the building use to residential with the City of Seattle, RTC worked through the Landmark Preservation Board to protect key architectural features while improving livability. For example, the century-old stained-glass windows now slide to the side, revealing new vision glass, which adds natural light, territorial views and fresh air to the unique residences.

“Our job is to complete construction, realign values and sell the homes at prevailing market rates,” adds Nall. “This is a unique scenario in which an inspiring product designed at the peak of the housing market may well sell at bottom-of-the-market prices.”

Despite its Classical Revival-style architecture, the former church now boasts modern interiors and technology, as well as high-rise construction quality within. Each home features soaring 30-foot-high ceilings, metalwork and cabinetry crafted by Seattle area artisans, polished concrete floors, re-purposed marble from the original building and top-of-the-line appliances and fixtures that include brands such as Wolf, Bertazzoni, Liebherr, Asko, and Kohler to name a few.

Ranging from four to six levels (including roof top terraces); the town homes are sized from 1,600 to more than 3,000-square-feet and will list from the low $500,000s to $1.1 million – about 45% below original asking prices, according to the listing brokers.

“Waiting paid off for patient homebuyers trying to time the market at The Sanctuary,” said Dean Jones, principal of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “We’re offering a greatly enhanced yet highly affordable product by virtue of dramatically lowered purchase prices and historically low interest rates. And the landmark designation means significantly reduced property taxes for the next ten years.”

Two model homes will be opened this weekend for public previews from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The official sales debut is scheduled for January 28, 2012 when the sales office opens. More information can be found on the recently launched website at www.liveatsanctuary.com.

About Resource Transition Consultants, LLC.

RTC, headquartered in Edmonds, WA, was founded in 2008 by Robert Nall, Douglas Barnes and Kevin Hanchett to provide receivership services to lenders on financially distressed real estate transactions. The firm has been active in the successful disposition of numerous communities, in addition to distressed commercial and business assets. For more information, visit www.rtcreceivers.com.

About Realogics Sotheby's International Realty

Seattle-based Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty is a nationally-recognized, full-service real estate brokerage that specializes in new construction sales and marketing services for its developer and lender clientele. Representing high-profile multifamily communities in the Seattle area, the firm is a top selling residential brokerage in Seattle by dollar volume for multifamily, according to Trendgraphix. For more information, visit www.realogicssothebysrealty.com.

For high-resolution photography of the Sanctuary and additional property information, please contact Michelle Poitevin at 206.448.5752 or email Michelle@Realogics.com.

Courtesy of Michael Edlund, Director of Technology at Luxury Real Estate

Here at Luxury Real Estate, we are constantly updating our website to make it more useful for you, our members. We like to hear what features you like and could use, so due to popular member feedback, we recently added new functionality in the Luxury Lounge.

Each second home market has feeder markets—the areas that buyers most often come from. For example, Seattle is a feeder market for second homes in Idaho. It's of great value for brokers in a market to network well with brokers from their feeder markets so that they can pass referrals to people they know and trust. Previously as an agent in the Luxury Lounge, you could only display your particular service areas, but you can also now add your Feeder Markets. If you’re an agent in Hawaii, you may wish to add Seattle as one of your feeder markets—or if you’re in Brazil, Florida may be a lucrative feeder market for you.

When you log into the Luxury Lounge, click on the blue “My Lounge” button in the top right hand corner. Then click “Profile” to edit your personal profile. From this page, you will notice a horizontal line of tabs, one of which says “Feeder Markets”. We’d like you to be among the first to take advantage of this new tool in the Luxury Lounge—so go ahead, fill it out. I’ll wait.

Done? Good. Very soon, we will make it possible to match service areas and feeder markets between different members and suggest who you ought to network with based on this information. We are excited for the new business opportunities within the LRE® network this will enable!

So please, keep trying out all the features in the Luxury Lounge, and as always, let us know what you think—we are here to work for you!

Courtesy of Matthew Haber of Real Sparks LLC

Saint Petersburg, FL– With demand for social networking, SEO, design, content creation and website construction services on the rise for small businesses and professionals, it is with great pleasure that Real Sparks LLC announces the launch of their West Coast Division. Under the direction of Sonya Winterhalder, the company is now poised to bring a wealth of professional and marketing services to companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Sonya comes to Real Sparks with a history of media management, marketing and sales experience. Originally from Eastern Washington state, Sonya graduated from Western Washington University and attended Graduate School at Seattle University. Most recently operating as the Real Estate Sales Manager for the San Francisco Examiner, her professional background also includes periods at Hartle Media, California Home & Design Magazine, 7×7 Magazine, Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and a notable position as Director of Estates Marketing at Pacific Union International Real Estate, an exclusive affiliate of the Christie’s network.

“We are thrilled to have Sonya as part of our team,” says Matthew Haber, owner of Real Sparks LLC. “Sonya is a marketing and media expert with a tradition of providing over-the-top service for her clients. Her experience and personality blend perfectly with the philosophy behind Real Sparks.”

About Real Sparks LLC

Real Sparks LLC is a full service design, marketing and consulting agency based out of Saint Petersburg, Florida. Formed in 2011, Real Sparks LLC is founded on the principles of providing excellent service and accessible technology to businesses. Real Sparks personnel grew up during the dawn of the Internet and are experts in the fields of website construction, social networking strategy, search engine optimization, logo, brand and identity design, content creation and consulting. For more information, please visit: realsparks.net

Courtesy of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty  

SEATTLE, WA – The senior development loan on The Sanctuary -- a century-old church in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood that was converted into a 12-unit multifamily community -- has been sold by a syndicate of lenders to Pathfinder Pollin Sanctuary Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of San Diego-based Pathfinder Partners, LLC, a leading acquirer of loans and properties from financial institutions.

According to Robert Nall, managing member of Resource Transition Consultants, LLC (RTC), which has served as the court-appointed receiver for the lender syndicate since September 2010, the loan sale is a key step toward rejuvenating the long-stalled development and reintroducing The Sanctuary to the market at dramatically reduced prices.

Guardian Real Estate Services, a national real estate investment bank, represented the selling lenders. RTC will remain in place and oversee remaining construction and sales activities. Seattle-based Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty has been appointed the exclusive listing broker.

Originally built in 1908 as The First Church of Christ the Scientist, The Sanctuary was redeveloped a century later, as 12, fee simple concrete and steel townhomes within the historic structure. The original borrower defaulted on the development loan in August 2010 and construction and marketing has been halted for more than a year, Nall said. “With the support of our new lender, we can now complete construction and sell the individual residences,” Nall added.

Ranging from 1,278- to 2,438-square-feet, the townhomes will be marketed at significantly less than the original asking price – which averaged over $1 million apiece -- when complete in fall of 2011. “While the original developer had an incredible vision that we intend to fully realize, we also recognize that values must be recalibrated for today’s homebuyer,” Nall said. “We anticipate our prices will start at below $600,000.” Additionally, new homeowners will enjoy a 10-year property tax abatement, with a special assessment designation for historic structures.

Celebrating the architectural significance of the historic structure, The Sanctuary project has already won numerous design awards, including “Building Restoration of the Year (2009)” from Seattle magazine. The development features an expansive stained-glass dome, now the building’s atrium, which provides abundant natural light. Residences feature high-end finishes and amenities, including soaring 35-foot-high ceilings, metalwork and cabinets by Seattle area artisans, solid wood stair risers, re-purposed marble from the original church and top-of-the-line kitchen and plumbing fixtures. Each unit has a street level entrance, as well as a shared elevator to secured underground parking. Some units have rooftop terraces with expansive views of downtown Seattle and Elliott Bay.

Dean Jones, principal of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty, anticipates that The Sanctuary will be a welcome addition to the in-city housing market. “Buyers and brokers are starving for exciting new inventory like this, as the for-sale pipeline has been shut down for several years and no new developments are planned,” said Jones. Additionally, “this is a unique development – one part residence, one part architectural landmark, one part objet d’art – and with just 12 homes available, we expect them to be in high demand.”

Visit www.liveatsanctuary.com for photos and further information.

About Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty

Seattle-based Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty is a nationally-recognized, full-service real estate brokerage that specializes in new construction sales and marketing services for its developer and lender clientele. Representing numerous high-profile multifamily communities in the Seattle area, the firm is a top selling residential brokerage in King County by dollar volume for condominiums, according to Trendgraphix. For more information, visit www.realogicssothebysrealty.com.

About Resource Transition Consultants

RTC, headquartered in Edmonds, WA, was founded in 2008 by Robert Nall, Douglas Barnes and Kevin Hanchett to provide receivership services to lenders on financially distressed real estate transactions. The firm has been active in the successful disposition of eight communities over the past three years in addition to numerous distressed commercial and business assets. For more information, visit www.rtcreceivers.com.

About Guardian Real Estate Services

With a specialization in real estate, loan sales, and asset management transactions, Guardian delivers solutions to asset managers, bankers, and investors. Through an innovative process that combines capital market experience and local market knowledge, Guardian also offers a combination of expertise for transactions of all sizes, leveraging the Guardian MarketMaker platform to connect buyers and sellers dealing in distressed properties, single-asset, and portfolio loans of all sizes. Visit www.gres.com or www.guardianmarketmaker.com for more information.

EDITORS NOTE: For high-resolution photography of The Sanctuary, please contact Sydnie Moore at 619-823-8448.

Courtesy of Realogics Sotheby's International Realty

Sales of waterfront houses are picking up again. Recent deals and at least one new listing point to this.

Earlier this month, Dorothy L. Simpson sold a Mercer Island manse on Lake Washington to an LLC headed by Liberty Dialysis CEO Mark Caputo for more than $5.95 million. And as the DJC reported, Detlef and Marianne Schrempf sold their place on the lake for $5.76 million to Yahn Bernier and Beth McCaw.

The latest listing is a six-bedroom, six-bath home at 2000 Beans Bight Road N.E. on Bainbridge Island, designed by Stewart Silk Architects.

Realogics Sotheby's International Realty said the design is meant to recall the “nostalgic summer homes of the Atlantic coast.” The company's Dennis Paige is co-listing the property with Bob Bennion of Windermere Real Estate. The asking price is $8.5 million.

Bennion said the market has been sluggish for the last few years, but now there's record sales volume for Lake Washington houses.

Sellers on Bainbridge are listing properties. Realogics Sotheby's reports two other “significant” Bainbridge waterfront properties are on the market in the private residential enclave that surrounds a country club.

The most expensive estate now on the market is Harmony on Proctor Lane, a Mercer Island property that Tere Foster of Windermere is listing for just under $26.9 million. It knocked Boulevard Place, also on Mercer Island, from the top spot when that $28.8 million property was taken off the market.

Brokers say demand for luxury properties is rising because the economic outlook has improved, prices have fallen and home buyers are moving here from out of state for the lifestyle and Washington's tax-friendly climate for the wealthy.

Courtesy of Ilya Moshenskiy of Ilya’s Photography

Ilya Moshenskiy, the official photographer of LuxuryRealEstate.com events, released a new, advanced version of his website www.ilyaphoto.com today. The new luxury photography website has a more user-friendly design, reflecting Ilya’s professionalism, outgoing personality and focus on customer service.

Ilya’s new website has several sections, which demonstrate his specialty in photographing architecture, products, food and editorials. The website also includes 20 testimonials from a variety of clients, including Luxury RealEstate.com President Meghan Barry and Miami Real Estate Senior Vice President Audrey Ross.

Based in the Seattle area, Ilya’s Photography serves clients across the country and around the world. Ilya has taken thousands of photos for restaurants, real-estate brokers and other business owners. His luxury photography helps them sell their products and services more effectively.

Ilya’s Photography clients can log into the new website to easily access all of their photos for use on their websites, print ads and other places.

The new luxury photography website was designed by Ryan Layne and Ilya’s two sons, Vlad and Alex Moshenskiy. Vlad works at Microsoft, Alex is a freelance marketing specialist, and Ryan is a Web developer.

Come back to Ilya’s website often to see his latest work, which he’ll update frequently. Contact Ilya’s Photography for your luxury photography needs.

Courteys of Maureen Buckley of Buckley & Buckley Real Estate

DID YOU KNOW?  Bainbridge has a concierge service! Have you ever wished you had an extra pair of hands or needed to be two places at once? The motto of Bainbridge Concierge is, "we're there when you can't be". And the rich and varied talents of business principals, Penny Brewer, Jessica Osborn, and Marcy Stoeven enable service offerings from practical to lavish to make life easier. Some of the more popular types of assistance include ferry transport, home and pet sitting, elder care, event planning, and grocery/prescription pick-up. They pledge that if they can't fulfill your request, they’ll find someone who can. So hire them for an hour, a week, a month or year, once or on retainer. And for every four hours of service, you will receive one hour free. Their mission statement is "to treat every home, event, issue and life as if it was our own." Bainbridge Concierge 206-780-4646 bainbridgeconcierge.com

Courtesy of Garrett McGuire of Ewing and Clark

Downtown Seattle's historic Rainier Club hosts a monthly Real Estate Roundtable. The guest speaker for November's Roundtable was John Brian Losh, Designated Broker of Ewing & Clark Inc. and Chairman/Publisher of LuxuryRealEstate.com, the most viewed Luxury Real Estate website in the world. Recognized as one of the "25 Most Influential People in Real Estate" by Realtor Magazine, Brian began his real estate career when he joined Ewing & Clark nearly 40 years ago in 1971. 

John Brian Losh spoke about the luxury real estate market in the Greater Seattle area and the histories of different neighborhoods including those of West Seattle, Downtown, Belltown, Madison Park, Broadmoor, Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, Laurelhurst, The Highlands, Bellevue and Mercer Island. Brian drew from his experiences as well as his knowledge of the local history to give insight on the luxury market in Seattle. For example, he showed illustrations of how the opening of the canal dropped the level of Lake Washington, significantly adding waterfront real estate to Lake Washington. For those of you that weren't as privileged as I was to have the chance to listen to John Brian Losh speak, then you may want to read about some of the things he discussed in his republished book Seattle Memories. The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com.

By Andy Fang

Be sure to visit our member in Sequim, Ronald L. Gilles of Professional Real Estate

The city of Sequim (pronounced ‘Skwim’) offers a small town appeal with a big city quality. Located near the base of the Olympic Mountains, the city has been increasing in population dramatically in recent years. Particularly known for their production of lavender, Sequim maintains the title of “Lavendar Capital of North America”.

With an annual average rainfall of only 16 inches, Sequim’s ideal weather is the envy of other surrounding coastal towns and cities of Western Washington. The Sequim area is considered located in the driest Pacific Coast climate north of Los Angeles. Along with the beautiful weather, you will discover unique gift shops, murals, antiques, galleries and flavorful restaurants around the area. No matter where you choose to live in the Sequim/Dungeness Valley, you will be living only minute’s away from an extraordinary number of outstanding indoor and outdoor recreational activities. Sequim is also conveniently located only thirty minutes away from the Victoria Ferry.

Just last month, Sequim was featured in an article in Money Magazine. Sequim was featured as one of the “6 Terrific Towns on the Water” to retire to – yet won’t sink your retirement budget. “Sequim is an anomaly in the Pacific Northwest located just two hours North of Seattle. The town averages just 16 inches of precipitation a year, thanks to its location in the “rain shadow” of the Olympics. John Wayne Marina is a fabulous place to come by boat if you have one and enjoy lunch or dinner at the Dockside Grill at the Marina. John Wayne donated the land to the Port to build the Marina and the family still owns substantial real estate holdings with future plans to develop near the Marina.” Featured article: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bestplaces_retire.moneymag/3.html

By Robert Lockard

A while ago I stepped back from writing about luxury real estate to discuss a terribly destructive force that threatens to destroy families and make people miserable: debt. I would like to discuss something that I find to be just as dangerous as addiction to debt – the illogically high cost of earning a college degree.

I read a potentially explosive story on CNN yesterday about a bubble in the cost of higher education that makes the real-estate bubble or the tech crash in 2000 look tame in comparison.

I’d like to start by talking about my experience in college. When I attended college not too long ago, tuition and book costs were already getting out of hand, although they were manageable. I attended a community college in Washington state for my first two years to obtain my Associate’s degree. I had hoped to transfer to the University of Washington to complete my Bachelor of Arts in Communications, but the cost was prohibitive and, even though I graduated with honors and on the Dean’s list, I still had to wait a long time to enter that college.

Instead, I decided to accept a scholarship at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and that turned out to be a very smart decision. In addition to the positive environment that beautiful campus offered, the cost of attending there was relatively low compared to my other options and I was able to pay for my entire education without going into hardly any debt. I am one of nine children, and my parents wisely told me that I would have to find a way to pay for my education by myself. Through a great deal of hard work and tight budgeting, I made it through without having to burden my family members.

During my time in college, I kept my mind focused on why I was there. I wasn’t there to waste time or take frivolous classes; I was there to finish my degree as quickly and as meaningfully as possible so that I could put my skills to use. I am grateful for the opportunities my college degree has opened for me. However, education costs are rising so fast that there might not be much reason for people to attend college in the future.

I would probably be sympathetic to colleges if the reason for the rise in education costs was because they were improving their education techniques or doing other things that would warrant such cost increases. But the truth is that this is not the case. Many colleges are increasing tuition costs for no other reason than because they want more students to apply. It seems to defy logic, but it’s true. Colleges appear to be playing a game that they will eventually lose. When they raise prices, people assume that they must have done so because they are more prestigious or offer better learning opportunities and so the colleges usually receive an increase in applications. This pattern cannot last forever.


Education is extremely important. It allows people to rise from humble circumstances and it also helps them make informed decisions about where they want to go in life. By making education worthless, colleges are doing a great disservice to their students. By worthless, I mean that the cost far exceeds the rewards. Greater cost does not always mean greater return on investment.

Increases in healthcare, energy and real-estate costs don’t even come close to touching the rise in education costs, as you can see in the graph in the CNN article. Knowledge is power, and if the cost of education becomes so high that that the benefits of earning it become small in comparison then we will be in big trouble. I am not suggesting that college degrees be easier to obtain or that unqualified people should receive an education without working hard. I am suggesting that colleges are in danger. They spend much of their increasing amount of money on frivolous amenities that do not improve their educational services or make their students’ diplomas any more valuable. Posh restaurants, nicer dorms and other foolish perks are unimportant for students who are simply hoping to receive the education they need to progress in life.

At some point people are going to realize that an education is not worth living under such an extreme amount of debt to obtain. When that day comes and colleges must cut their tuitions drastically, many cherished institutions will most certainly be unable to cope with this dramatic shift and they will come crashing down. Destroyed by their own pride and haughtiness. They will discover that they have spent their money on things that have no value and they are unable to offer students what they promised: an honest education.

I dislike focusing on something so negative as this, but I think it deserves special attention. Thank you very much for your comments. Feel free to let me know what you think of the state of higher education.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I apologize again for sounding so negative. I am a very hopeful person and I trust that things will turn out right in the end. The photo of the bleeding wallet is from www.flickr.com/photos/adobemac/161319144 and it is the copyright of adobemac. The photo of the door is from www.flickr.com/photos/ben-zvan-photography/468487548 and it is the copyright of Ben Zvan.