Vashon Homes & Events from Go! Real Estate

Vashon Island Real Estate: Urban Land Institute Rates Seattle #1

December 25, 2008 at 6:57 am Leave a comment

On the same day that the National Association of Realtors announced that November house sales had fallen over 8%, the trade group also released a report that supports the theory that Seattle’s housing market is a strong “microclimate” in the overall housing scene.

A survey by the Urban Land Institute of 700 private developers, REALTORS® and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) executives concluded that  Seattle scored highest when asked to name the best place to invest in commercial real estate in 2009.  As readers of this column know, commercial real estate is an indicator for the rest of a regional real estate market.  San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles followed in the survey. 

“Seattle is going to be in a good position to come back,” says Stephen Black, senior resident fellow, finance, of the Urban Land Institute. The city’s diversified market, good base of business and move toward becoming a 24-hour city helped it attain the favorable ranking. The best cities in which to invest are those that are considered gateways to international investment, have vital downtowns where people can forgo cars, and don’t have a glut of condos or office space.

 Survey answers “also apply to the residential market,” researchers believe, “since the single-family-home sector typically follows the economy. As wages go up and there are more jobs, more people can buy homes, pushing prices up.” 

Entry filed under: • Real Estate, Housing Market News. Tags: Seattle economic recovery, Seattle housing market news, Seattle real estate, Vashon economic recovery, Vashon housing market news, vashon island real estate.