Plaza Lofts: Once You Move In, You Don’t Move Out

Plaza Lofts is something of a mystery. Built in 2002, the 60 unit 14-story condo tower has surprisingly low turnover. This year, only two units have sold. Over the last 6 months, no sales have been recorded in the MLS.

In comparison to other projects, the rate of turnover is very low. So far this year, just 3% of the building’s units have been sold. At Austin City Lofts, a similarly sized downtown condo project, nearly 9% of the units have changed hands. At the Brown Building, 7% have changed hands. 10% of units have changed hands at Avenue Lofts.

So what explains the low rate of turnover? One issue may relate to owner resale pricing. While the building remains desirable, the two units that sold this year were on the market for an average of 319 days, a sign that they may have originally been priced above market. A number of other units have been removed from the MLS after failing to sell.

Plaza Lofts was one of the first downtown condo projects in the new era of development and many of its residents are the downtown pioneers who first jumped at the opportunity to live in a downtown condo. So maybe they are also the last to leave, satisfied with their downtown living and unlikely to move as quickly as newer downtown residents. In truth we don’t know why turnover is so low — and thus the Plaza Lofts mystery remains.