Eileen Tefft over at Rain City Real Estate Guide pointed out that Bankrate.com has ranked Seattle (together with Portland) as one of the top ten "bubble blowers" — places that they say "appreciation should continue to grow."
The overall news out of the Pacific Northwest isn’t great. The area lost jobs in the tech bust and is still recouping. But in terms of housing price appreciation, the thing these cities have going for them is a restriction in supply. Tight controls on development have prevented the normal progress of builders going farther out from the city core to find cheap land in the suburbs. Hence, demand stays high for available units. (Forbes Magazine lists Seattle as the most overpriced place to live in the country; Portland was third on the list.)
"Portland and Seattle have really benefited from California’s growth," says Richard Gollis, principal of San Francisco-based real estate consultants The Concord Group. "Portland is starting to see the next generation of housing product, which is large-scale, high-density projects in downtown. The same thing is happening in Seattle. People who moved there 20 years ago for the tech market are older now and have a different lifestyle."
Granted that’s only a two-paragraph explanation, but I find myself unconvinced… I see plenty of new construction around here. I’d be surprised if people are moving here faster than new houses/apartments are being built. Furthermore, the claim that Seattle has "really benefited from California’s growth" is certainly true, but what happens when that growth dries up? Even on Bankrate.com’s own list, Los Angeles and Sacramento are in the top ten "bubble busters" where "values [can be] expected to decline" and not a single California city made the "bubble blowers" list.
Of course, since Rain City Real Estate Guide is by realtors, for realtors, Ms. Tefft agrees wholeheartedly with Bankrate.com’s analysis:
Interestingly, sales are down, but so is inventory. In March 2004, there were 7,156 homes for sale countywide. March 2005’s inventory was 5,244 homes. This March recorded a further drop, to 5,100. This is the pinch that causing the rise in prices.
At the same time, the local economy is growing and employers are adding jobs, bringing more potential buyers to the area. So the competition for available homes is strong and prices are reacting accordingly.
We agents have been experiencing this hot market all spring as we did through most of last year, possibly feeling the market fluctuations first. We’re out there in it, pricing homes to reflect the low inventory and coaching buyers for the best positioning in a multiple offer situation. I just watched the price of an Eastside condo jump $20,000 in a two week period!
Rah, rah, rah… gooooo home prices! But seriously, even as the local economy continues to grow, unless wages start to make significant gains, there will come a point where home sales will falter because people just won’t be able to afford them. Personally, I think we are very close to that point. One way or another, 2006 is going to be an interesting year.
(Pat Curry, Bankrate.com, 03.01.2006)
(Eileen Tefft, Rain City Real Estate Guide, 04.07.2006)