Market Highlights for Puget Sound

Puget Sound continues to be a dynamic place for residents and businesses. According to the October edition of the Seattle Market Review, a publication that highlights changes in commerce, jobs, real estate, and lifestyle amenities, Washington is poised to receive a windfall in real estate taxes, has already experienced a bump up in total personal income, and will see more apartment units coming down the pipe.

Amazon is expected to purchase its South Lake Union headquarters before the end of the year for a price of $1.16 billion, generating about $20.6 million in real estate excise taxes, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. The tax windfall would add $5.8 million to the city of Seattle’s coffers and $14.8 million to the state’s, according to city and state officials.

Total personal income in Washington state rose a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.03 percent in the second quarter, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), reports the Seattle Times. Washington ranked 21st in 50 states for second-quarter income growth. BEA’s revised figures indicate that Washington personal income increased by 2.4 percent in 2010 and 5.76 percent in 2011.

On the housing front, renters paid more in September 2012 than they did one year ago. Two research firms’ numbers indicate that rents in King and Snohomish counties are still on the rise. Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors surveyed about 90 percent of complexes with 20 or more units, calculating the average rent at $1,103, up 3.7 percent from March and about 5 percent from last September. Apartment Insights polled 99 percent of buildings with 50 or more units, calculating an average third-quarter rate of $1,142, up 1.5 percent from the second quarter and 6 percent from one year prior.

Apartment inventory will soon increase in 2013. More than 10,000 units are under construction and another 20,000 are in the planning phase for King and Snohomish counties. Will the additional inventory make rental rates more competitive or perhaps cause landlords to offer concessions? The answer is yes, but the tide may not turn until mid-2013, since 73 percent of landlords surveyed plan to increase their rates over the next 6 months. For more highlights, see the Seattle Market Review.