A recent Wall Street Journal article proclaims that The Housing Crisis Is Over. Of course, Cyril Moulle-Berteaux’s assertion is one that applies to the national housing market. How does the greater Seattle area compare?
Housing is a local issue. And the country’s woes are not entirely in line with has been directly impacting our housing market.
The Puget Sound region, and specifically King County (where Lakeville does much of their business), we are seeing big corporations such as Google and Neiman Marcus make their way into the area. Along with the growth of local companies Costco, Microsoft (Microsoft is soon to be Bellevue’s biggest employer), Boeing and the various biotech companies, the Seattle area has job growth. Not only quantity, but high-paying jobs, are being created. This makes affordability locally less of an issue. We have an abundance of able home buyers. That’s not our problem. What we are dealing with is in large part a confidence issue, which is a reflection of the national trends.
Because our area has needy and able buyers in “wait and see” mode, once confidence is restored, we think our market will pick up even faster than the national trend is predicted to. Supply is tight in our area with construction starts at their lowest point since the 1980’s and a consistent influx of new residents to our area. Because of this, once recovered, our homes will also appreciate at a faster rate and return than the national average.
The Seattle area has been fortunate (relatively) in the downturn, and we will be very well situated for the market turn.
