April 24, 2008

Instant Luxury Condo Market, Just Add Water

Glendale is all abuzz these days with the Americana at Brand and its imminent May 2 debut. Now that the beans have been spilled on Americana’s pricing– from the $700’s to $2 Million+ for one of the 100 Excelsior condominiums, the city has an entirely new top market condo category entirely stemming from the Caruso development. To better put things in perspective, Americana’s bottom offerings in the range of $700,000’s used to be the absolute top end of the market. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t thinks this all sounds a little crazy. But it’s crazy that’s marketable. I think that’s part of Caruso’s genius. One can only imagine how traffic will permanently be affected in the city as Brand and surrounds were already certified nightmares on the last few of my visits, before Americana and its projected 20 million annual influx have descended upon (the project is expected to be even more popular than The Grove, so they say) the streets. Back to the condos, here’s Rick Caruso’s take on living at the Americana in this News-Press article, “Americana condos aiming high”:

It’s a different world now out there because there is nothing like the Americana or the Excelsior to compare it against, not only the quality of the units and the way they’re fitted out, but also to be in the environment where you’ve got the restaurants, you’ve got a park to be at, and it’s all in this beautifully landscaped, safe environment

The piece briefly mentions the fact that the same $2-million investment for one of the top end properties “could fetch some of the most luxurious single-family residences, equipped with pools, private yards and up to five bedrooms in the Glendale hills“, which is both completely true (some of them are listed below for your comparison) and perhaps irrelevant all at once.

Chances are, serious applicants for residency have long since come to terms with the fact that they find appeal in life above a shopping mall; a fabricated main street; a place that the New York Times (describing The Grove) describes as “everything that is horrible and spectacular about our brand-saturated American lives.”

By the Numbers

Americana at Brand “Excelsior Home” largest floorplans
Beds: 2 - 3 / Baths: 2.5 (dependent on floorplan)
Year Built: 2008
SQ.FT.: 2,500 - 2,600+ (dependent on floorplan)

$2-million range residences in Glendale currently on market:
1562 Arundle PL
$1,945,000
Beds: 4 / Baths: 3.5
Year Built: 2005
SQ.FT.: 3,779
$/SQ.FT.: $515

1255 Swarthmore DR
$1,999,000
Beds: 5 / Baths: 5.5
Year Built: 2008
SQ.FT.: 4,705
$/SQ.FT.: $425

1330 Balmoral DR
$2,049,000
Beds: 5 / Baths: 5.5
Year Built: 2000
SQ.FT.: 4,679
$/SQ.FT.: $438

photo credit: ryan cole