Is the Portland’s South Waterfront competitive with the Pearl District? Let’s look at the two areas of concentrated high rise buildings and see how they compare according to RMLS. Note that the stats here rely on what was entered into RMLS so probably does not include most sold by the sales office directly to buyers. I drew the map based search areas and limited it to buildings built in 2005 or after (100% of the SWF and 59 of 162 current active listings in the Pearl).
Pearl District condos (59 Active):
- High Price: $2,500,000
- Low Price: $215,000
- Average Price $752,900
- Median Price: $599,900
- Average Cost Per SQFT: $548
South Waterfront condos (35 Active)
- High Price: $2,499,000
- Low Price: $189,950
- Average Price $570,879
- Median Price: $424,000
- Average Cost Per SQFT: $361
The Pearl’s current asking price per square foot is $187 higher than the South Waterfront.
Flash back to 2006. Both areas had 12 sales recorded in RMLS of 2005 or newer construction. The average sold $/SQFT in the Pearl was $470. In the South Waterfront it was $451. Nineteen dollars per square foot separated the areas. The asking price in the Pearl District is now 116% higher than the cost per square foot in 2006. In the South Waterfront, it is 80% of the 2006 sold price!
We can’t tell what is for sale through other sources. The Awater Place auction has a low bid price of $169,000. There is a reserve-not-met auction at Realtybid.com that closes today priced at $232,000 for a loft in the Elizabeth in the Pearl District.
Disclaimer: I lived in the Pearl District, in an apartment built as condos, for five months at the beginning of this year. We have never sold to the buyer in the South Waterfront but have in the Pearl District. I have shown property in most but not all of the buildings that fit into this search criteria. I took the photograph in 2005 as part of a post on new construction condos, The cranes are working on the Meriwether Towers, the first condos completed in the South Waterfront. The second photo is the Pinnacle in the Pearl shortly before move-in.
There are some differences in the prices but they are pretty much on the same line, $361 SQFT is not bad at all
Personally, I prefer the South Waterfront for real estate. I just think the location is a little bit nicer as are the buildings. But, you are right, that even though they aren’t a direct comparison, they are comparable.