Comments on: Ivy Quad’s 2009 Sales Prices

By: Blake Taelman

Blake Taelman — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:40:57 +0000

Nick,
Always enjoy the blog! We have built all the homes in Pendle. There are currently three homes for sale, and all are new construction. One of the three is currently under construction. There are 9 lots left. No resales to my knowledge.
Three units left at Stadium Village.

By: Irish Eyes

Irish Eyes — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:14:54 +0000

Here is another interesting observation about ND related housing. The Cottages of Pendle Woods started to sell homes in second half of 2004 (correct?). Fast forward 5.5 years and out of the 50 lots, 12 are vacant and 5 have new homes for sale (stats from their website). That’s 34% of the development that remains unsold. That is only 6 homes sold per year. Ouch. Not the sales velocity that they were shooting for I’m sure. Plus, there may be some resales in the development too that I haven’t looked up.

Looks like there are now 18 Oak Hill condos for sale on realtor.com, not including the for sale by owner units. Ouch too. The precious potential Oak Hill buyers are being pulled to either not buying anything or to other developments. Either way, Nick’s old posts on Oak Hill were correct.

The market for ND related housing is apparently not as large or as deep as previously thought. Is it too late to ask Lou to come back? LOL

By: Irish Eyes

Irish Eyes — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:23:31 +0000

One question, does the Clare have an optional 3rd bedroom or not? I was under the impression that all “legal” bedrooms needed to have a secondary means of egress, usually through a window of a certain size and height off the floor as specified in the building code. I know that was an issue at Oak Hill, but that is in the city while Ivy Quad is in the county.

By: Irish Eyes

Irish Eyes — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:22:40 +0000

According to the Ivy Quad website, as of today, there are 3 Clares, 5 Ardeens, and 3 Laraghs available. Caveat, “available” in developer speak can mean a lot of different things. But assuming that the rest of the units that are not available in phase one are under contract or sold, that would mean to date, 1 Ardeen and 9 Clares are not available (with 1 Ardeen and 1 Clare as models).

So, it is pretty clear the Clares are selling, but not the larger more expensive units. It will be very interesting to see if a Laragh sells and at what price…will it be twice the price of an Ardeen, or more or less? Will anyone really want to spend $700K+ on a condo in this development or for any condo in Michiana??? I wonder what the most expensive condo in Michiana actually is?

An interesting development to watch and serves as an indicator for the market. Stay tuned.

By: Matt Sheldon

Matt Sheldon — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:20:17 +0000

“Since commuting is pretty much a non-issue in the South Bend/Mishawaka area” ?

A fifteen minute commute each way is half an hour. When i was in school, there were three and four hour breaks between some class times, so let’s call it an hour a day for two commutes. What about evening classes, lectures, films or weekend events (add another 1/2 hour round trip and hike from the public parking areas at night)? Looks like more than eight hours a week in the car moving through the snow – that’s an eight hour work day a week commuting!

From Ivy Quad or ESC she can ride a bike around campus so let’s add walking time from outlying parking lots to the car commute time.

Looks like at least a 20% efficiency enhancement for her to live very close to campus vs. a work day a week in the car.

By: Irish Eyes

Irish Eyes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:24:16 +0000

Tom – Interesting comment. As anticipated, the Clares would sell, but what about the Ardeens? If they don’t sell, do you really think the project can go forward? I don’t. Most projects need to be 70% (or more) sold before any profit can be realized. If just the Clares sell, then the numbers would be the reverse of 70% left to sell. I would be much more enthusiastic about this project if they only built Clares. An additional concern is the low sales prices of the first four units sold, clearly the developer is trying to build sales momentum up front but jeopardizing being able to go the distance. Time will tell. By the way, ND has bet the farm on dorm living….granted, they were “the only game in town” but they could always require students to live on campus for the first two years instead of just the first year. I know there had been talk of that possibility…or even longer. The Clare is a good purchase, don’t get me wrong, but I have concerns about the project being completed when I put pencil to paper. Time will tell. If I were buying in Ivy Quad, I’d pick one in a building on Twyckenham, just my preference.

K – The developments you mentioned just aren’t appealing to ND students, especially undergrads. A better bet would have been Stadium Club which was within walking/biking distance, but that was a total sales flop despite the low prices. I know it may sound shallow, but ND undergrads who are gonna have the ‘rents buy a place want a place to brag about.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:45:28 +0000

I purchased a Clare that is being built. My daughter is a freshman and I am an alum. I don’t think you can beat the location, price and quality. It’s like beach front property. You can walk accross the street to campus. I don’t think there are many properties like this at most major universities. There will always be a demand to lease these. The res life at Notre Dame is very strict and the students can’t wait to move off campus. Room and board is close to $11,000 and will go up every year. I believe all the Clares are under agreement on the Quad part and there are only three Ardeens left on the Quad. College kids today do not want to share a small dorm room with a bathroom down the hall. I thinkESC and Ivy Quad will be successful.

By: K

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:18:26 +0000

Since commuting is pretty much a non-issue in the South Bend/Mishawaka area, you may also want to look at Topsfield (on the south side, about 15 minutes from ND), Somers Square (same) or Berkley Square in Mishawaka. These are all lower priced ($57-150K) condos in safe areas. All are only about 15 minutes from campus. This area may be more conducive to study, as they are in primarily middle class residential areas. Still quite a convenient commute to classes and activities. The bus line also runs through these areas should your daughter’s friends want to visit. While older (1970′s-1990′s), most are pretty well maintained. Good square footage for the money.

By: npmolnar

npmolnar — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:14:36 +0000

That does seem good price for a townhouse-style unit at New London Lake. Though I haven’t yet been in that unit.

One word of warning though, if you are buying as an investment at New London Lake, pay sepcial attention to the covenants:

1. They require owners to gain board approval to rent a unit, I don’t believe they often allow it.
2. They also prohibit residents between the ages of 18 and 25 unless they reside with at least one legal parent on a full time basis.

Those restrictions, which I believe to be the most strictly enforced in any of the Notre Dame condos, maintain a quiet atmosphere at New London Lake. But they also cut down on the number of interested buyers – the complex won’t work for most undergraduate students and investors.

You should try the Realst8.com property search

By: Outside the Box

Outside the Box — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:23:47 +0000

Here is a good value in New London Lake that you could renovate and make money when you go to sell it.

http://www.cressyeverett.com/lid=52211916&temp=