The Benson Towers, Condos in Portland Oregon

The Benson Condominiums are in SW Portland at 11th Ave and Clay.

One Portland Condominium  that should not be overlooked is the Benson Tower.   It is on the streetcar line, 2 blocks from Safeway, 2 blocks from the Park Blocks and close to the cultural district and PSU. The units are somewhat small, but the use of space is impressive. I recently view a 603sf one bedroom, and it seemed more livable than most 800 sf studios that I have seen. They 910 sf units are actually 2 bedrooms, so this is one of the few buildings downtown that offer 2 Bedroom units for less than 400K. The prices have come down quite a bit of the past two years, and an example of the pricing of the building is unit 2002 at $438/sf x 910SF = $399,000. I was told that this unit was formerly over $500,000.

The condos at the Benson have walls of windows and fantastic views, terraces, gas appliances, teak floors, quartz countertops and other high end finishes. The building has an outdoor garden, fountains, secure parking, a library, and a fitness center with a Jacuzzi. This is a very nice building that was finished just as the market started to take a turn for the worse. However, it is over 90% sold out, and the most of the remaining units have never been lived in.

I revisted the Benson on January 15th, and they have a 2BR plus a den condo for about $375,000. It is a corner unit and it has a view of PSU and a park. It is a bank owned property, and I think it is a great deal.

Pearl Lofts Condominiums, Portland Condos

The Pearl Lofts Condominiums are located at 1009 NW Hoyt at the corner of NW 10th and Hoyt. Rumor has it that this was the first "new" condo building in the Pearl when it was built in 1994. These condos were built as entry level housing at the time, but over the years, the Pearl District has become more and more expensive, and the prices at the Pearl Lofts Condos has gone up quite a bit as well. There is a very interesting condo for sale at the Pearl Lofts right now. It is a two story loft with 17' ceilings in most of the condo. It has 2 bedrooms and 1 and a half baths and about 1400sf. It has windows facing every direction and incredible light. It needs some updating, and can be purchased for about $399,900. But on a price per square foot basis, this place is a good value.