Commercial Real Estate
Real Estate: The Central Question
Will redevelopment enhance or erase the cultural underpinnings of Seattles once predominantly black neighborhood?
It took a mixture of luck and dogged persistence for hairstylist De Charlene Williams to secure a small-business loan. It was 1968 and Boeing was about to begin the infamous round of layoffs that would slash its workforce from 142,000 to 56,000. Local banks were therefore willing to give loans to almost anybody who could…
The Vanishing Dream of Home Ownership
Looking for a newly built, traditional single-family home in the Seattle market? Good luck with that!
With land to build new housing becoming scarcer in the Puget Sound region, competition among builders is getting tougher. Its like a knife fight in a phone booth, says Ken Krivanec, president of Bellevue-based Quadrant Homes. Ultimately, the victim may be the American dream of owning a single-family home. For many in the Northwest, the…
Northwest Housing Prices Continue Sharp Rise
The Northwest Multiple Listing Service says the lack of homes on the market has depressed sales while increasing the number of multiple offers.
This interesting news is from the Northwest Multiple LIsting Service:KIRKLAND, Washington (May 4, 2017) Frustrating is how brokers are summarizing the mood of buyers, brokers and industry professionals during the current housing market frenzy. New statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show declines in inventory and sales, while prices continue their upward trajectory, but those…
Asian Investment in U.S. Trophy Assets Quadrupled in 2016
Office and hospitality properties especially prized.
Theres been much talk lately of record Asian capital being pumped into the U.S. commercial real estate market, especially in the past year. Foreign investors stole the spotlight in 2016, injecting billions in commercial assets, with a clear preference for the office and hospitality sectors. Anbang Insurance Groups $5.5 billion buyout of Strategic Hotels &…
Reinventing and Preserving Old Buildings
This interactive photo gallery highlights the value of adaptive reuse.
Over the years, the concept of adaptive reuse has gained more and more traction across major U.S. cities. The process allows for significant historic buildings to be preserved or brought back to life, even if converted to a different use than their original purpose. By repositioning obsolete buildings, their unique features can be preserved, all…
Spotlight: The Space Age
The Seattle/Bellevue office market is enjoying a historic boom.
Youd have to go all the way back to the heady days of the dot-com boom in 2000 to match the amount of new office space coming on to the Seattle/Bellevue market this year. Its been 17 years since this much office space has been set to be delivered, according to a Q4 2016 report…
Seattle-Bellevue office space market remains red hot
Despite 17-year high in new space coming on the market, more than half has already been leased.
Youd have to go all the way back to the heady days of the dot-com boom in 2000 to match the amount of new office space coming on to the Seattle-Bellevue market this year. Its been 17 years since this much office space 4.6 million square feet total has been set to be delivered, according…
Building the Future at SolTerra
Brian Heather believes sustainability in commercial and residential development should be within the economic reach of everyone.
In Seattle and Portland, theres a new kind of apartment building taking shape. With green roofs, living walls, solar panels and energy efficiency built into every corner, the projects from Portland-based SolTerra represent what company founder and President Brian Heather sees as the future of design and construction. SolTerra is founded on the idea that…
Rental Market May Finally Be Cooling Down in Greater Seattle. Still Hot in Tacoma.
With new units on the market and occupancy down, rents are growing more slowly.
In a sign of what could be the beginning of the end for the hot rental market, average rents are no longer growing at a torrid pace. While average monthly rents increased by 5.6 percent to $1,777 in the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area in September from the year before, average rents actually declined slightly from the previous…
Two-thirds of renters in Seattle-Tacoma plan to buy a home within 5 years.
According to new survey.
At a time when developers are putting up new apartment buildings at a record pace, a new survey finds 66 percent of renters in the Seattle-Tacoma area intend to own their own place withing five years. The survey, conducted in August 2015 by Kingsley Associates together with the National Multifamily Housing Council, found that only…
On Reflection: A Conundrum on Affordable Housing
Few would argue there isnt a need for more affordable housing in Seattle, where costs are soaring, but theres considerable debate over how best to make that happen. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has set a goal for the city to add 50,000 new residential units during the next 10 years, with 20,000 units set aside…