ATLANTA-In an ailing condo market, Cousins Properties is showing strong momentum with the sale of 110 units at 10 Terminus Place from September 2009 to September 2010. That leaves eight units in the 32-story luxury condo in Buckhead.
SmartNumbers ranks 10 Terminus Place first among new condo sales by volume. In 2010, sales volume at the condo totals more than $16.9 million, an average of $414,029 per unit. Closed contracts in 2010 have ranged from $180,000 to $1.26 million. Cousins Properties believes the mix of unit types and prices has been a key factor in its ability to capture buyers in a challenging market.
Jason Frost, vice president of development at Cousins Properties, tells GlobeSt.com that there were three keys to the success of 10 Terminus Place: a debt-free building that allowed the company to make quick decisions, a stable HOA, and the overall quality of the project. 10 Terminus Place offers high-quality finishes and large floor plans.
“While our competitors were dealing with lenders trying to figure out what they could or couldn’t do, we made our decisions,” Frost says. ““We’ve taken an impairment. We’ve priced to where the market is and we’ve found market acceptance. We are still getting a decent premium even though we’ve reduced our pricing.”
Frost declined to reveal the “premium,” but John Akin, senior vice president of Atlanta-based commercial real estate investment firm Carter, tells GlobeSt.com that condo towers there are typically selling at a 40% discount off original prices.
“The success of 10 Terminus Place is a combination of location and pricing,” Akin says. “This project is actually doing better than you would expect for a luxury product in this market, but it’s the new norm in terms of finding the right value proposition. The consumer demand is out there and people will buy. You just have to find the right price points.”
While an excess amount of inventory continues to weigh on the Atlanta housing market, Cousins President and CEO Larry Gellerstedt says the good news is very few investors are buying condos. With eight units left, he says, Cousins has “proven that we can work with buyers to close sales and that 10 Terminus Place provides the quality intown home at a price point that can motivate buyers.”
10 Terminus Place is one of three buildings at Terminus, a 9.9-acre, mixed-use development at the intersection of Piedmont Road and Peachtree Street in Atlanta that features high-rise homes, office towers and more than 70,000 square feet of retail. Terminus came to market in 2006. 10 Terminus Place opened in fall of 2008.
The development also includes Terminus 100, a 27-story building that offers Class A office space. In September 2009, Terminus 200 opened with 564,000 square feet of office, retail, and restaurant space.
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