Building:	Newmark Tower
Location:	Downtown Seattle
Client:	Intrawest USA
# of Homes:	194
Year Completed:	1992
# of Stories:	27

Challenge

This was the first condominium high-rise to go to market since the many foreclosures that downtown faced in their early condominium properties that were built from the late 1970's through the 1980's. The location, while a stones throw to Pike Street Market, was a hotbed of drug and transient activity in 1992. This building was built in the late 1980's as an apartment and had been sold to an investor. The investor ran into financial difficulty and the building went through a deed in lieu of foreclosure before being sold back to Intrawest USA who had developed and built the building in the first place.

The Owner asked us to put together a program to sell out the building in 12 months - absorption unprecedented to date with an average absorption throughout Puget Sound of 3 homes per month in any given condominium property.

Solution

Williams Marketing positioned the community to appeal to young, single professionals who wanted an upscale lifestyle in the heart of the city at an affordable price. To date there had been little interest in city living for this fast growing group of potential homebuyers. The homes' styles and finishes were very basic apartments and there was no plan to upgrade the homes so we worked with a graphic design firm to create a working tagline, "Between the Market and the Museum" to emphasize the location advantages. Advertising revolved around being in the "center of everything." We emphasized the advantage of homeownership when compared to rents.

Our first and most important customer was the existing renter group. We had a 60-day window to sell just to renters and were able to convert 56 renters into owners - the highest percentage of conversion from renters to owners in the history of downtown Seattle with a nearly 30% conversion. When we opened the marketing to the general public, we employed a consistent and focused direct marketing campaign targeted to apartment dwellers. In addition we advertised in newspapers and magazines, employed an excellent signage campaign and sent flyers to area businesses, as well as heavy promotion to real estate agents.

Result

All of the homes were sold in less than 12 months with an absorption rate exceeding the Owners' goals. We were able to convert nearly 30% of the renters into buyers - a conversion ratio unprecedented in Seattle history and a huge plus in creating the frenzy for a fast sellout.