goodfella

I agree with kinkaid on a few points - namely that warwick is top-notch. 5000 montrose and 1400 are significantly less expensive per square foot than warwick - but warwick does have great high ceilings and a certain elan. Mosaics status is questionable at best. Commerce tower has a ton of problems - not the least of which is that they can't sell it out. I would not buy in any new building with more than 150 units. The absorption in Houston just isn't great enough. Spires is a nice building though and has a great localtion if you work in the med center. What are you looking for and what price range - with that info - I can definetly point you to the right buildings.

I believe the price range is a function of construction costs. While townhome developers are constructing homes for 60-80/sf, hi-rise developer are subject to commodity costs of steel concrete and petroleum based products - all of which have gone through the roof - and have costs 2-3x what stick construction costs. The problem is that Houston is so undervalued a real estate market, you can still buy a townhome for $130/sf. As land prices have increased over the past few years and the price of single family homes, especially in the best areas have shot up (river oaks is now around $350/sf) the difference between condos and single family homes is getting smaller. As land continues to increase, I think condos will start to be an option for people who can'r afford a single family home and sales will pick up in this end of the market.

A neighborhood can form an association and then set up deed restrictions. I do not know governing laws in tx for this, but the reason say winlow or mandel place (two montrose subdivisions) do not have the proliferation of townhomes is that they both are heavily deed restricted. Deed restrictions can cover any number of important things, including but not limited to: 1. The type of buildings you can construct (single family, multi-family, town homes commercial) 2. The use for the property i.e. only residential, one family, no duplexes, etc or even if they canhave a single family with a home office and if so do they restrict the type of business or the number of visitors 3. Very importantly - type of construction and materials to be used i.e. 60% brick etc. which is how many neighborhoods maintain architectural cohesiveness 4. In some heavily restricted areas, even the type of landscaping is dictated You have to research the subdivision and then find the retsrictions. A good title agent can usually help a lot with that.

Hey wharton, here's a tissue, bud. I hate to see anyone cry, honestly, but this building is a pipe dream, at least for condos. I can't see anyone spending the kind of money they were talking about charging for the level of finish they were going to provide in a building that has 8' ceilings deck-to-deck. It's a very typical mentality of out-of-state developers - everyone thinks they are going to come to Houston and beat the market.

I wonder how many of their buyers they lost. Public and consumer confidence in the project is so well eroded at this point that it would take a small miracle for them to convince people that they know what they are doing and can make good on their promises. I know quite a few buyers who have taken back their deposits and went elsewhere.

Red Scare...I was wondering if you have ever been into their sales center and seen the design and interior finishes? I don't know that this is a "more money than taste situation." It is, for certain, quite a departure from his previous projects and the materials and design are quite high-end.

It is actually the fastest selling building in Houston to date. There are now around 90% reservations on the building, but how that will translate to actual sales...The building will probably be 70-80% sold in pre-construction. I believe they have already submitted for their foundation permits and construction should start in late march/early april.