Monday, May 22, 2006

Selling Housings Units @ the Shopping Mall

Over the weekend, I was at the Mall in Columbia which is located in a well off suburban area between Washington, DC and Baltimore.

Townhouses being advertised in mall.


Century 21 real estate kiosk in mall.
Are these getting more common in malls across the USA?



Plaza Residences in Columbia, MD
2br 2ba condo from 600K.
Posted by David at 4:08 PM

13 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 1:22 PM

    600K for a 2bd/2ba condo in COLUMBIA? They're having trouble selling 2bd condos in the hottest parts of DC for that much!

    There are always the dreamers. . . .

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  2. ihateyuppiesMay 22, 2006 1:36 PM

    OMG! I don't think the developer can get many contracts for $600K in Columbia, MD. In the heart of DC or Baltimore, I can understand. But in Columbia, Maryland?

    Ah no.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 1:53 PM

    I suspect they may be going after the older crowd. A possible pitch: Sell your house in columbia (for about that amount), and move to the condo for your retirement. (And stay near family/friends/etc.)

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  4. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 1:58 PM

    "600K for a 2bd/2ba condo in COLUMBIA? They're having trouble selling 2bd condos in the hottest parts of DC for that much!"

    Intresting point and Columbia has no access to metrorail. Also there is nothing special about the place that it is in, except maybe a small pond. There is nothing special about Columbia. I wonder what kind of creative financing there are offfering.

    "Century 21 real estate kiosk in mall.
    Are these getting more common in malls across the USA?"

    Every mall I have been to seems to have these kiosks.

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  5. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 2:20 PM

    "Every mall I have been to seems to have these kiosks."

    I don't go to shopping malls. Do they still pipe Muzak into malls?

    bryce

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  6. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 2:52 PM

    "I don't go to shopping malls. Do they still pipe Muzak into malls?"

    You are not missing out on anything. Some malls have muzak.
    To me the stuff in the malls are overpriced nonsense. If I need to buy stuff I go to Walmart, if I need stuff that looks nice I go to Ikea. I wish there were Walmart and Ikea equivalents when it comes to purchasing townhomes. Let the yuppies buy the glizted up pricey units (and boost up their image) and I will be satisfied with a no frills reasonable priced unit. At least a good pizza is affordable to a majority of Americans.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 3:08 PM

    I buy my clothes at stores like Burlington coat factory. If Nordstroms can't sell Kakhi pants at rip-off prices to the public, they sell them to Burlington at wholesale or below prices. I wish there was an equivanlent for housing. Ryan homes can't sell townhouses to the general public at 500K, so they sell them to BLAH BLAH BLAH at substantialy lower price and let BLAH BLAH BLAH sell the units at a l0-20 percent profit.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Out at the peakMay 22, 2006 3:14 PM

    I have not been to the mall in years, but no RE kiosks were in them back then.
    This is another sign of the post-top.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 3:21 PM

    Columbia might be well off but surprisingly there are quite a few inexpensive older condos there. A 2br/2ba in Columbia can be found for under $200K. Similar condos nearer DC are much more. Perhaps because there are so very many condos there the prices are held low. Baltimore is only 15 miles north of Columbia where entire houses can be had for $150K.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 4:49 PM

    I was in Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg (Montgomery County) Maryland. Ryan Homes (NV Homes) was set up with displays and a salesman to sell their $400+k condo's at Hidden Creek which is located behind the mall. This is in an area near the proposed government run day-labor center (indication of the neighborhood) where many of the units sold are now up for resale by flippers who did not look at the neigborhood before buying. Just 3 years ago other builders were selling in the next subdivision over single family houses with 2 car garages for only $350k and they did not sell fast. The neigborhood is a haven for day-laborers because of an abundance of older apartments, older condos and older townhouses for rent for less than $1000/mo for 3 br, less than $800/mo for rent for 2br and less than $600/mo for 1 br.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousMay 22, 2006 10:49 PM

    I live a few miles south of the Columbia Mall. I admit that I try to avoid the mall as much as possible. The only time I've really stepped inside the place is during the Christmas shopping season. I will buy stuff there for other people, but not for myself. And if I have to go, it's on a weekday, not the weekend. On the weekend the parking lot is almost completely full...bunch of mall-shopping whores we have in Columbia.

    The proposed condo development with the $600K condos has been quite controversial here in Columbia because it will be the tallest building in Columbia by far. Since General Growth Properties bought out the Roust Corporation, the Columbia master plan has been hijacked into including these types of buildings. I love the quote from a guy at General Growth Properties who justified the height of the building by saying that it won't be noticeable because it's "at the bottom of a hill." Yeah right --- the so-called "hill" is a 30-foot decline in the road at best. The buildings at the "top" of this so-called hill are about 12 stories high. 30 feet does not equal a 10-story difference, folks.

    Now that this project is going forward, people expect significant changes coming to the town center. The master plan is drawn so that the road around that side of the mall will eventually be filled with buildings of this size over the next 20-30 years.

    I agree that $600K condos are pretty crazy for Columbia, but the main draw is for a quiet lifestyle while within 30 minutes of both Baltimore and DC. I wouldn't want a view on the west side of that development though. All you will get is a nice aerial view of the mall and its giant parking lot. Yeesh.

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  12. AnonymousMay 24, 2006 12:51 PM

    There are still SFHs to be had in Alexandria for 600K. This must be one of the most overpriced condo developments I've ever seen.

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousFebruary 06, 2008 5:50 PM

    I have lived in columbia for almost40 years you dont know jim rouse i do he would welcome this development have you ever seen the original plan for columbia i have it looks like a highrise jetsons community so if you have not been here prior to1 970 and if you dont know jim rouse shut your mouth

    ReplyDelete

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