‘amazon pause’ is lifting in downtown seattle
On December 17th, KING 5 News reported on a consumer rebound in the local housing market that appeared to have stalled during much of the Fall sales season, according to contributions by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. Closings in downtown Seattle condominiums so far in December are up 45% compared to the same period in November a month earlier as pending sales actually increased immediately following the official announcements by Amazon on November 13, 2018.
By KING 5 TV News Reporter Jake Whittenberg: “Amazon is building its second headquarters and real estate experts are saying they are seeing a pause lifted on the downtown market. The lead up to the big announcement had the real estate community on the edge of its seat but buyers and sellers now appear to be breathing a collective sigh of relief with the HQ2 decision – Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty reports sales volumes picking back up and presale orders for new downtown condos are skyrocketing with Amazon being the largest contributor to job growth and to development the so-called pause on the market sent ripple effects throughout the market. Now this animation from Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty shows the explosive growth over time from Amazon – it’s all tech in downtown now. There’s an additional 4 million square feet for Amazon on the way. Some firms like Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty is offering services (www.MyHQHome.com) to actually help Amazon employees who may be transferring over the East Coast.”
“Ultimately what’s good for Amazon nationally and internationally is going to have benefits for us here in Seattle – Amazon isn’t going anywhere,” said Dean Jones, President and CEO of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “There’s just as much new growth happening here in HQ1 as there will be in each of the two HQ2 markets.”
Jones says in addition to the increased sales activity with resale properties, he notes more than 200 presales of new condominium high-rise communities have been accepted since the HQ2 announcements. Most of these units are not listed on the NWMLS and therefore do not post data for media consumption.
