Poly-Purchases for Polygon
A once-stalled development takes off in the Pacific Northwest.
FLASHBACK: Buyers bought homes in Crossings at North Creek like it was 2005.
Credit: Courtesy Polygon Northwest
May of 2009 looked a lot likeMay 2005 at The Crossings at North Creek. Drawn by a single newspaper advertisement, more than 200 people lined up to pass through a Polygon Northwest sales center trailer. In short order all 14 lots for sale at the time were spoken for. The momentum continued. Before Polygon had models open in August, 50 houses had been sold in the 230-lot community just off of I-5 on the north side of Seattle.
“We could have sold faster,” says Eric Manzanares, Polygon’s regional sales manager. “We actually had to take time off from selling” because the company was worried it couldn’t build the houses fast enough to meet the finish dates it had promised buyers.
At the beginning of 2009, the community sat idle and weed-ridden, giving the development that seedy, unkempt look that’s common when sales stop dead. There were only a handful of houses completed in the community before the former builder fell on hard times and stopped selling.
Polygon bought the project and immediately began cleaning and tidying, even moving some lot lines around to include a tot lot and to “soften” the home layout plan, says Manzanares. “We took a community that had that broken feel to it and put our stamp on it.”
That helped make the community look respectable again, but Polygon was tasked with building buyer faith in its future. The company, which sold half its homes in 2008 based on referrals, traded on its strong reputation. Lacking models, early buyers were encouraged to visit other Polygon communities to get an idea of the product and quality.
But it was Crossings’ location, fairly close to Seattle, and its price range, from $220,990 to $291,990 for 1,543 to 2,110 square feet, that cemented its super-seller status.
Recently Polygon was even able to raise prices. “You get a little bit of momentum and a good offering in place,” Manzanares says, “and you start seeing the neighborhood coming together. People start to see that there’s life there, and they want to be part of it.”
Project: The Crossings at North Creek
Location: Seattle
Builder: Polygon Northwest, Bellevue, Wash.
Rate of sales: 20 per month
Price range: $239,000 to $299,000 single- family and $199,990 to $224,990 townhomes
Product type: Single-family detached and paired townhomes