Expedia Employees will Descend Upon Seattle this Fall

Years after the official relocation announcement, Expedia’s move to Seattle is drawing ever closer, with some employees expected to start work in Interbay this fall. That figure will balloon to 4,500 employees by February 2020, when all Expedia workers are fully relocated. A large concern for Seattleites and commuters is the traffic impact, but as Seattle Times reports, the new office “will be an oasis for employees who want to avoid driving to work, offering private shuttles, plentiful bike amenities and cash for every day they don’t drive.” There is a parking structure for those that are committed to automobile use, which will accommodate 2,300 vehicles with room for expansion.

Many King County Cities See Smaller Property Tax Bills

Tax season is here and homeowners in the region are receiving their property tax bills in their mailboxes. Following years of double-digit increases for homeowners, many are feeling a welcome relief this year, as Seattle Times reports that approximately half of the cities in King County are seeing a slight decrease compared to last year’s rates.

The Seattle Construction Boom

The Emerald City has seen a record number of construction projects in recent years and activity does not seem to be slowing down, as Seattle Times reports that there are currently 66 major projects underway in the city — that’s up by 1 compared to six months ago.

Your Alaskan Way Viaduct and Highway 99 Tunnel Questions Answered

The nearly two-decade-long effort to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct will soon hit a major milestone, as the viaduct is set to close on January 11th, 2019 as it is replaced by the Highway 99 tunnel spanning Sodo to South Lake Union. The closure has undoubtedly caused concern and confusion for commuters and Seattleites alike, especially given that there will be an approximate three-week gap between the closure of the viaduct and the tunnel’s opening. Using research obtained by Seattle Times, let’s take a look at answers to some of the biggest questions surrounding the project.

Slower (Not Lower) Home Price Growth

S&P Dow Jones recently released the Case-Shiller Home Price Index for August 2018, revealing that Seattle home price growth continues to slow. Up until just two months before that, Seattle led the nation in single-family home price gains for 21 consecutive months, but that run was ended as Las Vegas took over the lead.

Amazon’s Impact on its New HQ2 Cities & the Impact on Seattle

A flurry of news articles have come in the wake of the news that Amazon has officially selected two new HQ cities: one in Long Island City, New York, the other in Crystal City, Virginia. The question on many minds, is how the move will impact the new chosen cities and the company’s relationship to Seattle.

TechnologyAaron FreemanNovember 15, 2018Wall Street Journal, WSJ, Crystal City, Long Island City, Virginia, New York, Amazon, Seattle Times, Mike Rosenberg, SeattleComment

Rent Prices Stagnate but Seattle Still Remains Among the Priciest Rental Markets in the Nation

Seattle Times recently told its readers that if they’re hoping Seattle-area rents will get cheap, they better not hold their breath. While the rental market has cooled in recent months, as vacancies and new projects have brought landlords to offer big incentives for tenants, “that doesn’t mean Seattle is suddenly a utopia for apartment hunters. In fact, it is among the priciest cities in the U.S. for renters—having grown 155 percent in twenty years—and steadying prices have come “only after seven straight years of large rent hikes that have made Seattle unaffordable to anyone not making decent money.”

Real Estate TrendsAaron FreemanOctober 15, 2018Seattle Times, Rental Market, Rent, Seattle, Metro Region, United States, CaliforniaComment

Mortgage Rates Ascend to their Highest Level Since Spring 2011

As was expected, mortgage rates have increased again, putting them at the highest level seen since April 2011. Seattle Times reports on the change, which pushed the 30-year-fixed-rate up to 4.90 percent in a 19-basis-point jump (1 basis point = 0.01 percentage point), the “largest one-week spike in the 30-year rate since November 2016, when it increased 37 points.” Alternatively, fifteen-year rates reached 4.29 percent, up from 4.15 percent last week and 3.21 percent last year.

What to Make of Seattle’s Market Cooldown

It’s been a time of some uncertainty in the Seattle real estate market, as buyers and sellers have felt wary of falling home prices, longer market times, and growing inventory. As a Seattle Times article from early September noted, “home prices are continuing to fall across an unseasonably cool Seattle real estate market, with homes that would have been snapped up in an instant just several months ago now sitting unsold.” August represented the third straight month of median home price declines in King County, with the countywide cost of a single-family home, at $669,000, down nearly $60,000 compared to May 2018.

Market UpdateAaron FreemanSeptember 17, 2018Seattle, Seattle Times, King County, Ballard, Sunset Hill, Head Tax, Population Growth, Interest RatesComment

Do You Know the Fastest Growing Neighborhoods in Our Region?

Home to Amazon’s Seattle campus and explosive growth over the past few years, many will be unsurprised to hear that the fastest-growing neighborhood in the region is South Lake Union. The second neighborhood, however, may come as a surprise. To get there, you have to travel to the Eastside…

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Aaron Freeman