Job Growth Continues in Seattle

A high employment rate is good for the housing market, which is one reason Seattle continues to perform well, even though it has slowed. Consider the following:

"From April 2007 to April 2008, the Seattle area ranked second in job growth of all metropolitan areas with population of three million or greater. With a growth rate of 2.1% in the last 12 months, Seattle’s job growth is 2.3 times as much as the average growth for cities of our size."

"When cities have increases in the number of jobs; this means they need more apartments, condominiums and single family houses. Some of these jobs are taken by local residents, including recent college graduates; while some are taken by people moving into the area. The Seattle area has always been a desirable place for people to relocate to. But since the Seattle area economy is outperforming most other metro areas in the United States; more people than typical will move into the Puget Sound area in the next few years. The increased demand for housing will cause rents to increase and prices for condominiums and houses to increase.
Apartment rents have increased significantly in the last few years in the Seattle area. This was due to fewer apartments being built over the last several years (when rent increases were lower) and lots of apartments taken away as they were converted to condominiums. As such, the cost of waiting to buy has increased and will continue to increase."

"All those factors combined lead to a conclusion that demand should continue for condominium properties in our market, despite the gloom and doom national outlook."

By Phil PinkstaffMarket Analyst & Valuation Specialist, MCM Group.
Reprinted from NWReporter