By Jack Stubbs
An apartment property in Ballard yesterday changed hands.
On Thursday, May 17th, the Stanton Apartments in Ballard sold for $10.1 million, or approximately $388,416 per unit, according to public records filed with King County. The buyer of the asset was Stanton Condominiums LLC, an entity affiliated with Eric Midby and Libby Taff of Las Vegas-based developer The Midby Companies. The seller was Bridgeview TPG LLC, an entity affiliated with Dave Enslow of Seattle-based Timberlane Partners, a developer of multifamily properties in Washington State.
The Stanton Apartments, located at 1515 NW 52nd St., was built in 1990 and contains 26 units, according to the property listing on rent.com. The recently-renovated asset includes covered parking and on-site property management services. The units also feature a patio/balcony, hardwood floors and fireplace. The one-bedroom units start at $1,700 and the two-bedroom units start at $2,100.
The property is approximately 1.5 miles south of Ballard and two miles north of Fremont. Additionally, the property is roughly five miles north of downtown Seattle and about three miles from Washington State Route 99.
According to a 2018 Knowledge Report written by Colliers International’s Seattle Apartment Market Team, Seattle’s apartment market is set for activity in the year ahead as Seattle in-migration, job growth and median income growth contribute to the expanding market. According to the report, vacancy rates increased in buildings built between 2010 and 2017 by 1 percent year-over-year, ending 2017 at 5.2 percent (the vacancy rate in 2017 for units built before 2009 was 3.7 percent). Throughout Seattle, 18,146 new units were delivered between 2015 and 2017, while 8,182 units are scheduled to deliver in 2018 and 9,197 units are expected to deliver in 2019.
At year-end 2017, the overall vacancy rate in Ballard was 3.2 percent and the average rent was $1,651. The sales price for the Stanton Apartments—$10.1 million, or approximately $388,416 per unit—dwarfs the average sales price posted in 2017. According to the report, last year there were seven apartment sales in Ballard, with an average sales price per unit of $314,897.
