Some parts of the market in the greater Seattle area may be slowing down, but nobody told the condo developers in Puyallup:
After several years of public investment in downtown Puyallup, private money is now pouring into multilevel condominiums around Pioneer Park.It appears to be money well spent. Some units are expected to sell for around $500,000.
"When we started, we were not predicting prices that high," condo developer Bill Schuur said. "It’s clear that there’s a strong housing market in downtown Puyallup."
In recent years, Puyallup has brought pedestrians and shoppers back downtown with its new library, farmers market and businesses that have replaced empty storefronts. But some say a sure sign of downtown revitalization is when people choose to live there.
"Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma – everybody is moving downtown," said Tony Benson, 52, who was having early dinner with his wife, Julie, at a picnic table at Pioneer Park on a recent afternoon. "That’s the way to the future."
…
Developers say the demand shows no sign of abating."Our experience in marketing Pioneer Park Condominiums tells us, anecdotally, that demand will continue to increase, and prices will rise steadily," Cochrane said.
Demand never decreases, and prices never decline. Nope. Not ever.
(Eijiro Kawada, Tacoma News Tribune, 03.23.2006)
Why anyone would live in a condo in Puyallup, which everyone knows is just a bedroom community for Seattle (and more rarely Tacoma) for $500,000 is beyond me.
Perhaps the intended buyers aren’t necessarily local residents. Perhaps they are intended for speculator/investor buyers that rent them out.
On the other hand, I could see where a Professional person that is living in Puyallup for work reasons, but doesn’t intend to settle there wouldn’t want a house with a yard.
Seems like a person couldn’t choose a worse to speculate on RE in WA State, let alone a condo in Puyallup.
The term “anecdotally” is qualifier enough for the purposes of the article cited. Demand fluctuates, prices rise and fall, but our experience with Pioneer Park Condominiums indicates demand will increase for a while to come, even if the Seattle and Tacoma markets slow down. Your attempted economics lesson is appreciated but your tongue-in-cheek comment is gratuitous and worthless to the analysis. Thanks for your blog, though — I love it. Ric Cochrane
Neighborhoods in the seattle area go from nice neighborhoods to slums in a heart beat. Perhaps Condos are a better option than buying a house in a neighborhood that looked promising initially, however through time, things just GOT WORSE, Take a look at some neighborhoods in FEDERAL WAY: SCARRY!!! REAL SCARRY!!
I’m just speculating, but how can people make condescending comments about an area they’ve never seen or visited? For those of you who have not seen the renovated downtown corridor of Puyallup, there is “major” money going into that area. Now I would not pay $500,000 for a condo in downtown Puyallup, but that is just me. It would be a great investment or even great place to retire. My guess is those are the people spending that type of money down there.