Ad in today's Bee says 75 units left in phase 4.

just got an email that says 72... they probably submitted the ad to the bee last week, and updated the email this week.

I can't believe people are still shelling out with this sudden, down housing market.

why not? it's a great time to buy. I just don't think it's the best time to buy an investment house in Elk Grove or Natomas - but if you're looking to buy a highrise condo in DT Sacramento, now is better than later.

Do you think the condo projects are becoming "negotiable" on their pricing? Or are you just thinking that the list prices will go up once these remaining 72 preconstruction units are sold?

Damn, I wish I could do this.

At this point I would just hope prices will hold. People aren't tripping over each other to buy condos anymore. Also, the equity in those houses in Elk Grove, Folsom, Natomas, and Citrus Heights are what people plan on purchasing these condos with 1-2years down the road. I'm sure a lot of the deposits that are already down are from home equity extraction.
That said:
Saca only needs 72 more deposits and I have little doubt he will get them and get his funding.

From what I understand, from someone I think is pretty realiable, there was actually room for the brokers to negotiate in the 1st phase, but when CalPERS came aboard they put tough guildlines on how the units could be sold, thus killing any wiggle room.

I imagine with the huge demand in the early phases, there was really no need to negotiate down. I'm sure the 6K penthouse had some negotiations going on though.

here's a sample of what's for sale

i don't know if those are a portion of the latest releases or what. but it gives an idea about the big price range available

And the Bee delivers.....

http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/42599.html

Huge condo project sees sales slow down
Preselling of units in the Towers turns sluggish, along with housing market.
By Jon Ortiz - Bee Staff Writer

Pile driving at the 53-story Towers project downtown is nearing completion. The developer hopes a housing upturn will reignite sales.
Sacramento Bee/Michael A. Jones

California's slowing housing market has dampened sales at Sacramento's largest high-rise condominium and hotel project, although its developer expects sales will improve next year.

John Saca's 53-story project at Capitol Mall and Third Street, the Towers, has presold a little less than 50 percent of the 799 units to date, and sales in August and September have been particularly slow.

"Our sales are slower than I'd like," Saca said, "but I think that things will get better when the housing market improves."

Meanwhile, Craig Nassi, the Denver-based developer building competing condominiums nearby, has presold 73 percent of his 268 units.

Sherryl Fleeman, the sales representative for Nassi's Aura project at Capitol Mall and Sixth Street, said that "sales have been consistent with no noticeable slowing" since the project's splashy April kickoff.

Pile driving started at the Towers site over the summer and is nearing completion. Nassi said via e-mail that Aura construction will start before the new year.

Both Aura and the Towers have become bellwethers for Sacramento's downtown revitalization efforts. If built as envisioned, Towers would be the biggest residential high-rise on the West Coast. Aura boasts a design by Daniel Libeskind, one of the most famous architects in the world.

Both projects, city leaders say, would provide a much needed jolt for Sacramento's central business district.

The Sacramento City Council underscored that belief Tuesday when it approved an $11 million subsidy to offset construction costs on the Intercontinental Hotel that is part of the Towers.

Saca, whose father, Tony Saca, started the well-known Filco home appliance and electronics chain in Sacramento, needs to presell half of the units -- priced from about $368,000 to $852,000 -- to unlock $375 million that German-based Deutsche Bank is lending to the project.

Saca is tantalizingly close. Since May, buyers have put down 10 percent nonrefundable deposits on 364 condos, or about 45 percent of the units, according to Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, a Costa Mesa firm that tracks residential construction trends with figures gathered from developers and their sales representatives.

Saca's sales staff sold 279 units from May through July. August and September net sales slowed to 71 and 14 units respectively, Hanley Wood's figures show.

Higher interest rates and a softening home market may be holding back some buyers, Saca said.

"Some people may have planned to use home equity to pay the deposit," Saca said. "A lot of people don't have that kind of cash laying around. But we expect the market to turn back in our favor soon."

The sales slowdown may also reflect a change in buyer psychology stoked by negative news about the weakening housing market, said Bob Bronswick, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Mortgage's Sacramento-Tahoe region.

"A lot of people are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what will happen next," he said.

And home buying almost always edges downward in late summer and fall, said Michael Lyon, head of Sacramento-based Lyon Real Estate.

"People have forgotten that fact because of how hot the market was last few years -- we really didn't have any down time," Lyon said. "So I'm not concerned about John. He's got a quality product. He'll be just fine."

At Aura, buyers since April have put deposits on 196 of the 268 units planned for the condo tower, selling for $456,000 to $794,000 each. Of those, 164 units sold in April and May, according to Hanley Wood figures, and then eight units per month month from June through September.

Officials with Nassi's company, BCN Development, would not confirm the monthly sales trend numbers. But Aura buyers don't seem to be concerned with interest rates, Fleeman said.

"Some people bring it up in passing," Fleeman said, "but our customers understand that these things are cyclical. It's not holding them back at all."

Saca said this week he may soon announce that a new general contractor will take over for New York City-based Turner Construction Co., which has overseen the Towers' pile driving work. He characterized the possible change as a mutual decision.

I'm confused....

I thought Saca sold more than 50%. Hmmm.

By the way, you guys should read the comments on this article. You'll love 'em.

Yeah, I read a couple of those comments. Not surprisingly, they're the same group of dolts who post equally asinine comments about the arena. BTW, the article mentions 799 as the total number of units at the Towers, with 364 units being sold, leaving only 36 units left to be sold until Saca gets his $375 million from DB. It's in the bag.

Me too...odd. Either way, it sounds like he only need 36 more. This project should be a lock by now.

EDIT: What joninsac said. He beat me to the post button

-1 buyer for Saca

we're out... the wife had too many reservations and fell prey to the whole suburban housing downturn. Since we would have to sell our place to finance the downpayment, and our equity has vanished, she's a little more interested in our financial situation than our living situation.

can't blame her though - she was very excited about the towers, in the end it just didn't work for our specific situation.

a note about Saca getting his funding... the contract reads that Saca has to have his full funding in place by 12/31/06 or buyers may request a refund of their deposit. His ability to secure funding was one of about 4 or so reason these non-refundables could be taken back.

so if he has to push 36 (+1 ours) more out the door by the end of the year... then it may not be as much of a "lock" as you'd think... if they sold 71 units in August and only 14 units in September (an 80% decrease)... that means that going into winter (which is slow for everyone) he needs to average 12/month.

I hope that this project happens - worst case right now is that he doesn't meet the financing goal and folks start pulling out.

Great...more good news. That 12/31 deadline is kinda, no really scary. That still gives him 2 and 1/2 months though.

Sorry to hear about you not buying a unit, but you have to do what is best for you and your family.

If that is true, then anyone even slightly considering buying should rush on down right now and make a deal. Saca should be wheeling and dealing to sell the next 36 (er 37?) condos to reach the milestone to obtain his financing. Once he gets his financing it should be full steam ahead. If people start pulling out early next year, ...........................

the thing is that their sales staff (who are very nice and professional, and who read this board daily) are giving off the impression that it's in the bag (which is to be expected)... so the thought of being able to go down there and make a deal on a place for less than their asking for is probably not going to fly... now maybe if you wait until early december and go in with 20 other friends you could make some sort of bulk-deal... hmm...

I thought Saca already had the money from DB; i.e., he sold more than 50% of the condos some time ago. Maybe I am mistaken; maybe it was that he sold more than 50% of one tower. I do not know what to think anymore. I am hoping the Bee just got the numbers wrong.

Yeah, those comments in the Bee are moronic. I am against just about every form of government support you can think of, so I am not happy with the $11M subsidy (although if we are going to spend the money, I would rather it go to development – public schools and bums already get more than enough). However, I have to separate myself from those people on the comment page, because it seems they are invested in Sacramento's defeat and I am not.

The Deutshe Bank is not going to allow Saca to cut his prices.
If the 12/31 deadline is true and Saca doesn't meet it I think that will be it.
There are people who bought these condos as investments that are nervous right now. There are those like dcox20,but did buy, that are watching their equity (that they took out lines of credit against for the deposit) disappear.

That deadline changes everything.