As predicted, Monarch has officially announced that they are switching their project from all-rental to all-condo. This is big news, It’s indicative of both the hot condo market and the weakness of the high-end downtown rental market. The 29-story building at 805 West fifth street, is located just a block from Whole Foods. The buidling, which is less than a year away from completion, will feature 305 units from 681 square feet to 3,530 square feet and priced from the low $200,000s to $1.65 million.
Here is the summary from the Statesman:
Developers of the Monarch, a 305 unit residential tower under construction on West Fifth Street, have decided to switch the project from apartments to condominiums . . . Officials with ZOM Texas Inc. said their investors this week approved the decision to sell rather than rent the units in the 29-story building, based on what they say is continued strong demand for downtown condominium living. . .Some observers said the change renews questions about whether Austin’s downtown residential market might be at risk of being overbuilt. But Charles Heimsath, whose consulting firm does research for many developers about demand for their proposed projects, says healthy sales and reservations at various projects are prompting him to raise his estimates on how many units the market can absorb annually, and he said he expects demand to remain strong for the next two to five years.
The Monarch has a great advantage which is that they will beat many of the other planned projects to the market. With dozens of projects in the early phases of construction or still in the pre-construction planning phases, Monarch will have the advantage of marketing units that are very close to completion, and to target the pent-up demand for new projects.
