Four reasons to stay positive about Seattle's real estate market

• According to Forbes.com (October 2008) reporting on a recent Urban Land Institute survey to 700 real estate professionals, the Seattle real estate market landed the No. 1 spot on the list among cities having the best chances for speedy recoveries. The best cities in which to invest are those that are considered gateways to international investment, have vital downtowns where people can forgo cars and don't have a glut of condos or office space. Seattle is "a diversified market, has a good base of business and is becoming a 24-hour city," says Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow, finance, at the Urban Land Institute. "It's going to be in a good position to come back."
• Also, the Urban Land Institute named Seattle its top U.S. real estate market to watch next year, in its Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2009 report. That report is based on the insights and predictions of real estate experts nationwide. The top five markets named in the 2009 ULI report after Seattle were San Francisco, Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles.
• Washington ranks No. 6 when it comes to attracting and keeping businesses while providing high standards of living for workers, according to a report from Beacon Hill Institute. The Boston-based institute put Massachusetts in first place; last place went to Mississippi. Washington's strongest categories were openness (second), security (seventh), environmental policy (eighth) and tech (eighth). Its worst categories were infrastructure (39th) and business incubation (31st).
• Human Capital Institute, a Washington, D.C. based human resources think tank, asked 2500 employees and entrepreneurs to name the U.S. city where they would be most eager to relocate and where workers would like to avoid. Cities use the information in determining how to market themselves to attract workers. The ten favorite cities to live and work identified include: New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Chicago and Boston. The ten cities workers would like to avoid were identified as: New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Cleveland, Dallas, and Miami.

~ Courtesy of NWREporter January 2009