Seattle growing fast? (Bellevue: transplants, for sale, real estate)

[JamesGTAIV]

I was going to post this in the other thread I had but I feel it belongs on it's own.

Do you natives/transplants feel Seattle is making a comeback?

I notice Seattle and Charlotte are the two cities that seem to be dominating the CD forums lately. It looks like Seattle is finally being noticed by people in the East while Charlotte is finally being recognized as a major American city. Being from Charlotte myself, I can tell you that it's growing very, very fast and at a noticeable rate; traffic, sidewalks becoming more crowded by the day, etc. Do you get the same vibe coming from Seattle? That it's not a dead horse like most well known American cities (Chicago, New York, Philly, etc.), but is instead finally starting to experience 21st century growth like Dallas, Austin, Charlotte, Portland, and Denver?

Thanks

[tobester]

Making a comeback from what?

[Hemlock140]

Despite the bad economy there has continued to be growth in Seattle, with Amazon buildings, the Gates Foundation, and Viaduct Replacement tunnel project all in the last 2-3 years, even a new cruise terminal in 2009. The large number of big construction cranes went to a handful in 2009-2011 but now they are back, with several more big apartment/condo and commercial projects going on, and in some areas like Ballard, several huge complexes under construction. I have been here 20 years and seen a lot of growth in Seattle and the eastern suburbs, and while it's not like it was in the late 1990s it's definitely showing a surge right now.

[angelenogirl]

I was just looking at home listings and inventory is crazy low (with houses not staying on the market long, either). It felt a bit like looking at houses in California ten years ago.

Personally, I've always thought of Seattle as in the group of second-tier cities you mentioned, so even if it goes from steady growth to explosive growth, I wouldn't consider that a "comeback."

[Ira500]

One thing about experts is that they're mostly wrong. Things look very rosy right now in Seattle and they're building apartment buildings like crazy, like nothing could ever go wrong. Boeing had a huge crash 40 years ago that nobody expected, and it's possible that the tide of good fortune could turn for Microsoft or Amazon.
As far as house listings, 6-7 years ago inventory was high, but everybody and their uncle were buying houses, told by real estate agents that prices would never drop. There were crazy bidding wars, and people were getting loans because they had a pulse. Now, there are less buyers, but because so many people bought houses at the top of the market, they can't afford to sell their houses now, so inventory is tiny. And in the right neighborhoods, crazy bidding wars are back. I'm really bad at predicting the future. But the way things are now are unlikely to stay the same.

[Inkpoe]

Do people actually acknowledge Charlotte as a "major" city?

Seattle started to boom in reputation and people's radar back in the 90s. Now, Seattle seems to be settled in its identity as it continues to grow, but it's also losing something because of the bland vanilla gentrification (which is also a problem elsewhere). I'm starting to think maybe Portland had it right, restricting growth the way they have set up.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Do people actually acknowledge Charlotte as a "major" city?

Seattle started to boom in reputation and people's radar back in the 90s. Now, Seattle seems to be settled in its identity as it continues to grow, but it's also losing something because of the bland vanilla gentrification (which is also a problem elsewhere). I'm starting to think maybe Portland had it right, restricting growth the way they have set up.

Portland is growing too but is not, nor will it probably ever be, as dynamic or happening as Seattle. Two very different places run by people with very different ideals

[observer]

I don't live in Seattle but visit quite often. I noticed an increase in traffic and congestion between 2004, and the next time I visited in 2010. Most of the increase in growth, traffic, and congestion that I noticed was in the east side, specifically Bellevue. However, I did notice an overall increase in traffic in the whole Seattle area in general.

[Flightoficarus87]

Originally Posted by tobester

Making a comeback from what?

I second this!

The last thing Seattle really had to make a comeback from was the "Boeing Bust" during the 1970's. After this, Seattle's economy diversified quite a bit, thanks to mostly tech jobs. Seattle is really more of a city I associate with steady, healthy economic growth, than some kind of former boom-town making a comeback (Even if Boeing was pretty much the main economic driving force of the city for years).

Seattle is a growing city though, as evidenced by the rising population, and "condo craze" it's been experiencing over the last decade. But Ira makes a good point - that anything can happen.

[mkarch]

I don't see the current pace of condo construction as any indication of growth. Most of the 'new' condos for sale now were built 4-5 years ago and sat either empty or unfinished during that time.