Two former Amazon employees, Shariq Siddiqui and Umer Sadiq, recently teamed up with former Google computer vision scientist Faisal Shifayat to introduce Veeve, a new tech-driven grocery cart technology system that could change the face of brick-and-mortar grocery stores. As GeekWire outlines, the entrepreneurs saw the power of the technology Amazon implemented in its “Go” stores and wanted to find a way to implement the technology in larger format stores.
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Over the past few years, Bellevue has emerged in the tech spotlight, with long-time giants such as Microsoft and the recent announcement by Amazon of a relocation to the Eastside. A new effort to build the Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE) could add to the innovation with an immersive, cutting-edge approach to the concept of the performing arts center. The project has been in planning for decades but new CEO Ray Cullom is breathing new life into it - they have now raised $123 million of the estimated $200 million it will take to fund the project.
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Microsoft has undertaken a multi-billion-dollar renovation of their Redmond headquarters, which will add another 2.5 million square feet of office space to the campus and easily accommodate 8,000 more employees. The project broke ground in January 2019 and it’s ambitious. Puget Sound Business Journal says, “the upgraded campus will include a two-acre plaza with room for 8,000 to 12,000 people for meetings and events, soccer and cricket fields, an underground ‘smart’ parking facility and a pedestrian and cyclist bridge over Highway 520 connecting the company’s East and West Redmond campuses.”
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I was recently holding an open house when a curious neighbor came into the home to check out the new improvements and ask about current market conditions. After showing her the home and added value/improvements made by the seller—and asking her to tell everyone she knew—I briefly explained that we are going through a market correction, which began in mid-May (like a light switch on May 10th), and touched on the probable causes. I went on to say that current market conditions seem to have stabilized: generally, sales have increased and inventory began decreasing around mid-October (I saw it October 18th). I summed it up quickly with, “I believe it’s a great time to buy.” She looked at me and said “yeah, but what would you say to your friend or a family member. How would you advise them?” I shrugged and smiled as I replied, “I just did.”
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At the end of March, the four most valuable companies in the world (Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon) were all U.S. technology businesses – half of which are Seattle founded and based. Wherever you look, Seattle is changing, growing and evolving and one of the more obvious places this is reflected is in the housing market. Spring is always the busiest time of year for real estate, and this year’s “busy season” is recording higher-than-ever prices due to reduced inventory. The median price for a single-family home in Seattle is $722,250 according to the NWMLS, and new listings have dropped 16.2 percent since last April.
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