Increasing Traffic = Increasing Condo Prices

This January we attended Mathew Gardner’s presentation on Seattle’s real estate market.  Mathew, of Gardner Johnson, did an excellent job evaluating all market conditions.  He performed and explained an in-depth analysis including variables like job growth, population increase, mortgage rates, cost of living and traffic. 

At a time when some markets (e.g. California’s) were trending downward and depreciating, the Seattle market seemed like it was also starting to slow.  In November and December of 06′, it appeared as though buyers and sellers were wary of what would happen to the Seattle market. 

Garner forcasted that the slow would be brief.  In fact, he went on to explain how and why the Seattle real estate market would be the best market in the country with the highest appreciation over the next 10 years.  He predicted, as other analysts have, that the Seattle market would see an average of 60% appreciation in a 10-year span.  He proceeded to explain that urban condos and close-to-job-center homes would see the highest appreciation rates, mainly due to increasing traffic problems.

Seattle is now considered one of the wealthiest cities in the country.  Companies like Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Google and T-Mobile keep expanding and bringing more employees to the area.  With the drastic job growth in the area, Seattle transportation is finding it difficult to keep up with the population.  Thus, the demand for more urban housing with less time spent commuting.

The gist of the presentation, in terms of condos, is this… The condo boom is here to stay.  Seattle’s economy is sufficiently diverse that it should be able to sustain its growth for years to come.  

    

Best & Worst US Housing Markets - Forbes Magazine

Forbes recently released an article discussing the Best & Worst US Housing Markets.  Informative article, interesting to see nationwide views on real estate. Forbes cites Seattle as the best market in the country, confirming what many analysts had been forecasting…

Condo Expo - 2007

This weekend, “The Seattle Condo Expo” will be held at the Westin Hotel in Downtown Seattle.  The event will take place both Saturday the 19th from 12 - 5 and Sunday the 20th from 10 - 5.  Anyone attending the event will need to  buy tickets for $10.  It will be well worth the money.  Attendees will be exposed to 80 exhibitors and just about every project in Seattle.  Mathew Gardner, one of the best analysts in the business, will be speaking at the event.