Seattle Bubble

Seattle is a good place to put your money if you want to invest in apartments, or at least so says the Center for Real Estate Studies:

The Seattle area has been ranked No. 10 on a list of the nation’s top markets for apartment investing.

The Center for Real Estate Studies bases its ranking on forecasts for growth in rental rates and median sales prices.

In Seattle, rents are expected to increase 2.1 percent over the two-year period ending Sept. 30, 2007, according to the study. The median sales price per unit in the Seattle area during that period will be $88,500, the center said in a news release.

Increasing rents would mean lower supply and/or more demand. More demand seems plausible, if recent local population growth trends continue, but supply seems to be skyrocketing just as fast. Of course, 2.1 percent over a two-year time span is actually less than the average rate of inflation. Perhaps that was factored into the study, but it doesn’t indicate it this article.

(Puget Sound Business Journal, 11.28.2005)