The bustling technology sector in the Seattle area is likely to continue fueling Seattle’s housing market, though there will be some changes. When looking back on December’s market in Bellevue, Eric Shull, office leader of John L. Scott’s Bellevue main office, said they definitely saw the seasonality that is typical in December, though for sale, sold and pending numbers were quite similar to last year’s levels.
“If anyone is trying to make a move in the next year, it’s best to get started sooner rather than later to get ahead of the curve,” Shull said. “For homes that didn’t sell this winter, we’ll likely see a high number of cancellations. Most of these homes will stay off the market for 90 days, then get re-listed for a fresh start in the spring.”
Recently, J. Lennox Scott, John L. Scott’s chairman and CEO, released his forecast for the 2019 housing market in Puget Sound. Scott noted that despite some headwinds in the residential housing market, there are many positive signs, including job growth, millennials entering the market and interest rates that are still historically low.
“Heading into 2019, we anticipate the more affordable and mid-price ranges in all markets will go up one level of hotness after Jan. 1 to a surge level of sales activity intensity, then transition back down to strong for the remainder of the year,” Scott said. “From January to April, we will see a mild increase in the median home price appreciation, which shows up in closings into June. Then, price appreciation tends to flatten out the remainder of the year due to the large number of new listings that come on the market over the summer, creating dispersed buyer energy.”
Shull agrees with Scott’s predictions for the next year, noting the economy is doing well, despite the fall on the stock market, and adding that Seattle’s consistent growth in the technology sector bodes well. When looking toward the spring, Shull said he thinks it’ll be a different market from last year, but is still poised to have strong growth.
“As we saw with the early Amazon boom in Seattle, a strong job market directly correlates to a strong housing market,” Shull said. “We’ve benefited in the area from a high concentration of technology companies, and these companies can feed off of the high concentration of talent in Puget Sound.”
The continued expansion and investment in the area’s technology sector from companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia, T-Mobile, Facebook, Google, Apple and Indeed sets a strong base for the local economy. Many tech employees in the Seattle area are millennials, and Shull said he expects many of these millennials to enter the home market this year.
“Rents are still high, and you’re paying a mortgage no matter what – you just have to decide whether you’d like to pay someone else’s or build equity of your own,” Shull said. “Many millennials are beginning to think more seriously about owning in the future. For anyone, it’s key to think about your future goals and plans and how a long-term investment of homeownership could fit in.”
