Seattle Times PI, Saturday October 18, 2008. Housing Gets Hammered.
Building comes in cycles. It's all about supply and demand. One challenge with building is there is always a long lag time from when demand picks up and supply can actually be on the market. This leads to the market usually being behind the 8-ball when the demand rises. Currently there is too much product on the market and builders are giving discounts to get this product purchased. It's happening in Seattle as well, just not as much as in other areas.
Nationally housing starts are down to the lowest level since 1945. Applications for new homes has dropped 8.2%, the weakest level in more than 25 years.
Locally a housing consultant, Todd Britsch, predicts that there will be a housing shortage in Seattle in 2011-2012. The request for new building permits in King, Pierce and Snohomish county is down 35 percent year-to-date. He believes that an over-supply of new lots over the last few years is causing developers to stop requesting permits. Once the current inventory comes off the market (purchased) it will take a while for builders to ramp up and get new product built.
That's when the housing shortage hits and appreciation starts to kick in. Go to RECENT MEDIA for the entire article.
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