Seattle has made seemingly endless headlines in recent months for its impressive housing market, and it seems no end is in sight as Seattle Times reports that the Emerald City has now maintained its position as the hottest market in the nation for 12 consecutive months. On top of boasting the largest home price gains of any other city, the Puget Sound also made headlinesfor 2018, as the annual “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” study ranked the city number one on its list, up from a fourth position in 2017.
Looking at data from August 2017, Mike Rosenberg says Seattle’s 12-month reign is “the fifth-longest streak in the country since 2000, and the longest since Phoenix led the nation in home value increases for 13 months in a row from 2012 to 2013.” In looking to the rest of the nation, “home costs here [in Seattle] are growing at more than double the national rate of 6.1 percent.” What’s more, the second-place market, Las Vegas, saw an 8.6 percent growth, “nearly five percentage points less than Seattle.” In looking to Seattle’s West Coast peer markets such as San Francisco, the growth is almost astronomical, as home values are now growing twice as fast as those in the Bay Area, according to a recent Puget Sound Business Journal article.
Rosenberg attributes the region’s growth to high paying tech jobs, competition amidst anemic inventory, the impact of foreign investment, and soaring rents, sentiments which echo the findings of the recently released “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” report and those previously noted by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty and experts of The FutureCast Forum.
Regarded as “an important measure of economic conditions,” Seattle Times reporter Jon Talton shared key findings from the report, which include a positive housing outlook, strong population growth and a well-diversified economy. He adds that “we benefit from having twice the U.S. average – 12 percent – working on STEM occupations.” Looking to the future, he says “overall costs, housing affordability and availability of construction labor” will be important considerations, in addition to “infrastructure improvements.”
Want to know more about the latest housing market trends in the greater Seattle region? Read Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s latest insights on the S&P Case-Shiller report, dive into the third quarter market reports, or explore The FutureCast Forum, a collaborative of opinion leaders that explores the current and projected market fundamentals and trends influencing the Seattle/Bellevue metro area by 2020 and beyond.
Original source on RSIR