According to a trusted plugged-in tipster, The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery) has switched sales teams (out with Pacific Marketing Associates, in with The Mark Company) two months after their grand opening and first release of condos. If so, it’s likely some insight into the pace of sales (and perhaps the market). If not, well…we’ll just cross that bridge should we come to it.
∙ The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery): Almost Selling (For Real) [SocketSite]
∙ The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery): Pricing And Reservations [SocketSite]
I stopped by the Montgomery this weekend and was able to view the studio (475 sqft) & 2 bedroom (1000 sqft) model units. Because they have a new sales team they didn’t have much information.
The sales person was not able to tell me prices (range was $400k – $1M+), parking situations (she mentioned it was limited), HOA’s, etc. They expect the sales team to be fully ramped up by the 1st week in Sept. with more information at that time.
[Editor’s Note: Where they were priced two months ago: The Montgomery (74 New Montgomery): Pricing And Reservations. And yes, only 15 parking spots in the building.]
When I was touring with my client at The Montgomery, I strickly wanted to make an appointment with them. They told me to just come in and we would be taken care of. The only 2 agents in that tiny “Sales Office” seemed to be so unorganized and unprofessional. (Not rude, just had no sales etiquette) My client and I were turned off by the entire pitch.
“two months after their grand opening and first release of conodos.”
Are conodos different from condos and is that why they’re so expensive? 😉
[Editor’s Note: Well, somebody has to pay for that extra “o” (and apparently it’s us).]
This looks like a classic case of the market speaking and a developer not listening. I doubt the Mark Company will have any greater success than PMA without either reducing prices or rolling out incentives. Replacing the sales team isn’t going to change the fact that the market is headed south.
I am not surprised to read this information. We were looking at the Montgomery and visited the sales office several times. Although [Removed by Editor] was nice, she did not return phone calls, could not get the developer to release any pricing on a 2/2 unit despite our pleas, and treated us like we could barely afford the building at 1.1 million. And no parking except for the top few units. So we put our money down at the Infinity. Hope they learned a lession about sales. These projects have had it far too good for too long. They didn’t have to do much to move their units, so they got lax on customer service.
Does anybody else work downtown near this place and have a secret nickname for the building of “The Starbucks?” Maybe it’s just me.
The Mark Company seems to specialize in hiring a large number of well meaning but when it comes down to it pretty uninformed “sales” personnel for their sales centers. It is puzzling. Don’t get me wrong, they all seem like a nice, harmless, giggly type of [Removed by Editor] but not exactly real estate powerhouses.
unprofessional, unrespponsive, inrresponsible, disorganized, unreliable… I can think of many others…. but I went to the place and [Removed by Editor] showed me around. I had to ask to see the place.. she never offered any information… I was getting quick responses to my questions… when I asked her if she would respond to my e-mail, she said “yes”. That was a lie. I sent several e-mails to her and never responded. I also sent an e-mail to her company and never received an e-mail as well… Now I am buying a place for a little over $900,000. They just lost a sale… good for me.. bad for them..
Stopped in at The Montgomery on Sunday to see what we could see. The sales folks were showing units on the third floor. They made a claim that they were 20% sold. I asked specifically about the parking….
1) Initial 9-year leased parking at a near-by garage. I don’t know if spots were reserved or not.
2) The Montgomery will pay for the first three years of parking and the owner will have to pay each of the next 6 years at a rate of $450 per month.
3) After the initial 9 year term, owners will have to negotiate their own individual terms with the garage.
4) There are a limited number of parking spaces in The Montgomery reserved for the penthouses and “some” of the 2-bedrooms.
This is only my memory and it would be nice to have some confirmation.
who in their right mind would buy a place in the city without parking?
People buy places without parking in San Francisco all the time. In this case, you’re right on top of local and regional transit, and walking distance from everything…so perhaps you can forego a car and just rent (or car share) when you need one. Not in this are, but in other SF neighborhoods, there is oftenenough street parking to allow you to have a car quite easily without having a garage space.
I’m continually astounded by how people on this list can’t comprehend life without a)a car or b) a parking space. I’ve managed for 20 years without one or the other quite easily folks, and plenty others have as well. Yes, of course some people need cars and secure parking. But everyone certainly doesn’t…open your mind, James.
ok curmudgeon, i can imagine life without one, and i would love to be one of those folks that didn’t need one, trust me. it’s way more trouble than it’s worth. how do i get to this nirvana? move my company and my wife’s company to walking distance in the city? stop going out of the city to visit family or to tahoe in the winter? stop going on sales calls/or to meetings with anyone that isn’t based in the city? or only work a territory that is in the city? you get my point.
incidentally, why anyone is on the road 9-5 that isn’t in a sales or services role is the real shame. blame them.
😉
The 2nd floor units have the huge floor to ceiling windows that are very nice but you are staring either into Palace Hotel on the North side or a brick wall 15 feet across the alley on the dark south side. Ceilings can be 12-14 feet tall and some are exposed in lower priced units. Concrete shear walls are also exposed in some units. HOA is very high at $585 and up with no amenities to speak of. Part of the problem is the 24/7 door attendant which adds $150-$200 per month to the HOA ( shared by only 107 units ).
Price of units at close to $1000 per sq foot is high considering absense of parking. Studio would be a buy at $400,000, not starting at close to $500,000. Jr. 1 br starts at $570,000 and quickly goes into $600,000. Almost Infinity price range.
I am interested in the building but concern with what happens if a year from now, the building is only 50% sold. Who’s paying for the door attendant ? If the developer decides to rent out the unsold units, god help the resale since bank won’t finance condo developement with large percentage of rental units…Wells Fargo must be a bit concerned.
The Mark Company used to be so much better. Over the last few months, I’ve really noticed a shift toward the unimpressed. What happened to them? I heard some key people left the company to join the competition. They used to be run so much better. Can they do it better than Pacific Marketing? Not without some strong people steering the ship.