Believe it or not, Matt Woolsey is still writing bullish real estate pieces for Forbes (some of his previous work). His latest gem: Top U.S. Real Estate Markets For Investment
Encouraged by a weak dollar and a belief in the resiliency of the U.S. economy, individuals like [Australian dentist Rahul] Reddy, along with institutional investors such as pension funds and private equity groups, are seeking investment properties and development opportunities in the United States.
Their markets of choice include New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Seattle and San Francisco.
The bullishness of the article was at least somewhat moderated this time around:
“The U.S. is good for speculative higher-risk investments from our perspective because the strong Australian dollar will enable us to gain hold of properties at prices we will probably not see for a long time,” says Reddy. “The U.S. is an economic powerhouse that I think will recover, and if the exchange rate goes back to figures from a few years ago, that will benefit us.”
Key word there: Risk. With every passing month, a few pieces of conventional wisdom fall by the wayside.
Since Forbes is so fond of the top 10 list format, here are their top 10 US markets for real estate “investment.”
- New York, NY
- Washington, DC
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Las Vegas, NV
- Phoenix, AZ
- Orlando, FL
Here’s what he has to say about Seattle on that list:
American investors have been a little ahead of the curve on the opportunities available in Seattle. While the residential real estate market has cooled, Seattle has so far bucked the unemployment trends plaguing much of the national economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, metro area unemployment has remained flat in year-over-year terms at 3.7%, something that bodes well for commercial and retail investment opportunities.
I thought we had heard the last of the “bucking the trend” clichés, but apparently not. It also seems that Mr. Woolsey is using rather dated information, since the latest unemployment statistics for the Seattle area showed a sharp increase, which throws the trend-bucking idea out the window.
But don’t let the facts deter you if you want to throw your money at a real estate “investment” in Seattle. We are the fifth best market according to Forbes, after all.
(Matt Woolsey, Forbes, 07.10.2008)