Seattle Job Growth Drives Multifamily Demand, Developers Deliver
Seattle remains one of the nation’s hottest economies, as tech firms continue to compete for talent in the area, a new report by Marcus & Millichap has found.
The Seattle metro area added 65,000 jobs last year, the strongest annual increase in more than two decades. To keep up with demand, developers continue to add apartments. At the end of 2019, more than 18,000 units were in the pipeline.
Marcus & Millichap predicts that employment will grow another 2.3% in 2020, with an additional 50,000 jobs added, and that 10,300 more apartment units will be built this year. It also anticipates a 3.4% rent increase.
Many of the soon-to-deliver units target higher-income renters, driving those with middle incomes to the secondary markets. Investors will be focusing on Everett, the Eastside and Kent, where the middle-income population continues to grow.
Concord Pacific, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of many firms capitalizing on this boom. It is currently developing the 44-floor, 465-foot Seattle House next to Amazon’s spheres. It also developed Concord Pacific Place in Vancouver on 200 acres left over after Expo 86.
