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Seattle Real Estate
The Emerald City of the Pacific Northwest, Seattle,
is home to some of the nation's most luxury and exclusive condo
real estate development projects.
There is a lot of Seatte
real estate and you can find real
estate online with using Yellow
Pages and Phoenix
real estate can can be found on an online phone
book as well. Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest
region of the United States. It is located in the American state
of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, nearly
108 miles (174 km) south of the United States–Canadian border
in King County. Seattle Washington was founded in the 1850s and
named after Chief Seattle, or Sealth. As of 2004, the city population
was estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau as 571,480. As of 2005,
the city had an estimated population of 573,672 and a metropolitan
population of almost 3.8 million covering an area of almost 9,000sqr
mi. Seattle is the hub for the Greater Puget Sound region. Its
official nickname is the "Emerald City" - because of
the lush evergreen trees in the surrounding area. The real estate
Seattle condo presales market has bee booming for almost a decade
now, fueled by a strong economy, business tax incentives, stable
government and an attractive location. The preconstruction Seattle
condominiums on the market in terms of sales have stabilised over
the past year, but in many accounts have kept their values, where
as other major cities across the US especially in California,
have seen up to 20% decreases in their condo prices. Seattle so
far is bucking the trend in pre-construction condo pricing and
values as this city is very attractive for homebuyers and investors
who seek a long term real estate investment portfolio.
Seattle’s Booming Economy
and Its Effect on Real Estate Prices
Seattle was the corporate headquarters of Boeing Aircraft until
2001, when the company announced a desire to separate its headquarters
from its major production facilities. The Seattle area is still
home to Boeing's Renton narrow body plant where the 707, 720,
727, and 757 airplanes were assembled, and the 737 is assembled
today, and Everett wide body plant where the 747, 767, and 777
air planes are, and the upcoming 787 Dreamliner will be assembled.
Even locally headquartered Starbucks held investments in numerous
Internet and software interests. With such a booming economy,
great universities and educational institutions, Seattle has attracted
the best masterminds in various fields of study for decades. Because
of this influx of population and a great economy that is stable,
Seattle property values have increased significantly in the past
few years. With a lower than usual interest rate and borrowing
rate, in addtiion to home owners tapping into their house equity
or interest only line of credits, the pre-sales Seattle condo
apartment market has fuelled a big construction boom in high-rise
luxury condominium towers in the downtown core. Much like in the
sister Northwest city of Vancouver, BC, Seattle preconstruction
condos represent more than fifty per cent of new propety developments
by builders as multi-family housing is seen as the only way to
densify Seattle and to make it more liveable for more people.
The pre-sales Condos in Seattle have been quite pricey, but the
advantage of living in teh city center far outweighs the incresae
in price per square footage. In reality, Seattle's preconstruction
market has slowed down due to decreased demand and the completion
of many new developments within the next two years. In addition,
with supply and demand balancing and tipping towards an increase
in condo inventory, the pre-sales Seattle apartment condo market
should stabilise somewhat through to 2010. Much like other cities,
many amateur investors and homeowners are scared at this possibility
and 'sell low' ... but remember, this does not mean that the value
of real estate in Seattle is decreasing. It only means that people
are getting scared and wanting out with very little to back up
their decisions.
The most recent boom in economy centered around
Microsoft Corporation and other software, Internet, and telecommunications
companies, such as Amazon.com, RealNetworks, McCaw Communications
(later acquired by AT&T and renamed AT&T Wireless), and
VoiceStream (later renamed T-Mobile USA). Right now, a growing
population of professionals continue to stream into Seattle, leading
to a very stable economy and therefore, real estate market as
well
The Climate of Seattle
Seattle's climate is mild, with the temperature moderated by the
sea and protected from winds and storms by the mountains. The
"rainy city" receives 38 inches (970 mm) of precipitation
a year. Seattle is cloudy an average of 226 days per year. Most
of the precipitation falls as drizzle or light rain because Seattle
is in the rain shadow of the Olympic mountains. Average temperatures
range from the mid/upper 30s (just above 0 °C) at night in
winter to the mid/upper 70s (mid 20s °C) for summer highs.
Seattle's hottest temperature ever recorded was 100 °F (37.7
°C) on July 20, 1994 and the coldest temperature ever recorded
was 0 °F (-17.7 °C) on January 31, 1950.
Seattle Real Estate Booming
In the past decade the municipal and state governments of Seattle
and Washington State respectively have planned a large revitalization
urban real estate development of downtown Seattle. With much of
the new luxury pre-sales condos being planned for Seattle's city
core, real estate developers have had a field day planning and
constructing some of the nation's most luxury and exclusive condo
pre-construction towers. From villas to private estates, and from
simple presales lofts to modern condo units, the Seattle market
is hot and growing and there seems to be no end in sight. There
are now over fifty new pre-sales Seattle projects passed and planned
for construction in the next two years. With many luxury condo
presales springing up in Seattle, there is an abundant number
of choices today.
Seattle’s People and Demographics
As of the U.S. Census of 2000, Seattle had a population of 563,374
and in all the Greater Puget Sound metropolitan area is home to
almost 3.8 million people. The population today is approximately
73.40% Caucasian, one of the highest percentages of Caucasians
for a major American city. The city also has one of the nation's
highest percentages of multiracial ancestry: 4.70% claim ancestry
from two or more races According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 13.71%
of Seattleites are Asian Americans, 8.44% are African Americans,
1.10% are Native Americans, 0.50% are Pacific Islanders, and 6.84%
are from other non-Caucasian backgrounds. Seattle's robust economy
and multi-cultural backgrounds has attracted immigrants from all
over the world.
The median income for a household in the city is
$45,736, and the median income for a family is $62,195. Males
have a median income of $40,929 versus $35,134 for females. The
per capita income for the city is $30,306. 11.8% of the population
and 6.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total
people living in poverty, 13.8% are under the age of 18 and 10.2%
are 65 or older.
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