Seattle Times on the Sky Not Falling
This Sunday the Seattle Times had a lengthy article on Looking ahead: The sky isn’t falling for the Puget Sound market.
For a critical look at this article I refer you to the Seattle Bubble Blog, Always Trust The ‘Experts’.
I’d also like to point out that the Sunday Seattle Times Real Estate section was almost completely devoid of advertising. Guess everyone is too busy celebrating the new year to be shopping for condos.
But here are some condo quotes from the article:
Meanwhile, area-wide condo construction has been booming. In all of 2005, some 8,400 units were built. Through September of this year, 9,583 new units had been built.
“Most of those are in King County, and the majority are presold,” Britsch said. “The jump is in high-rises in Seattle and Bellevue. It’s a status thing now: Which building do you live in?”
As well as…
New condominiums in King County, which is seeing the majority of new condo construction, will be priced at $350,000 or more regardless of their size, she said. Conversions often will be priced lower.
My prediction for 2007 is that many of the existing projects are going to see sales stall and demand fall. The biggest surprise will be the slow sales at South Lake Union.