Seattle real estate pegged as a hot market

There have been recent articles anointing Seattle as a hot market for both commercial and residential real estate. The Seattle PI ran a story that sited outside research and named Seattle as the #1 market for commercial real estate in 2009. Another article in Smart Money magazine listed Seattle in the top 25 markets poised for a quick rebound in 2009.

The reasoning behind these reports are things many of us have been saying for a long time now. Seattle's physical boundaries are limited on most sides by water and this has prevented extreme over development seen in other areas like Arizona. Our job picture remains very positive as mega-employers like Microsoft, Boeing and Amazon.com remain relatively strong. Job growth dropped again recently and more people continue to move to the area in greater numbers than they leave. Watch for the massive development in South Lake Union to add to the desire for housing in both downtown as well as the neighborhoods north of the lake: Queen Anne, Wallingford, Ballard, Green Lake and Fremont. 2009 looks great for Seattle, so take advantage of the soft prices while they last!

Here are the articles I mentioned:

Seattle in top 25 for residential real estate! (This is an abbreviated version published by Yahoo!)

Seattle is #1 commercial real estate market for 2009!