To get right to the point, Seattle currently has one of the strongest economies in the nation. Companies are moving and expanding in the city resulting in high growth in the commercial real estate market; however, a low unemployment rate may mean slower overall growth in the Greater Seattle Area.
If you’re from Seattle or know people in Seattle, you may already know that Seattle has been growing dramatically over the last ten years. According to the 2015 Washington Technology Industry Association report, companies were attracted to the Seattle area because of the large concentration of software engineers in the area. Companies began flocking to the area resulting in major growth in employment and commercial real estate, ultimately turning Washington’s economy into the best economy in the nation.
After establishing tech outposts here, large companies began capitalizing on the large availability of commercial office space to expand further beyond the tech aspects of business. This has resulted in huge commercial real estate growth. To put that into perspective, at the moment, it is estimated that nearly 2 million square feet of office space is currently under construction in downtown Seattle with the expectation of being completed by 2020. Companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Apple have recently expanded or are still in the process of expanding in Seattle which ensures that growth in commercial real estate will continue in the coming years.
With companies moving to and expanding within the Seattle area comes employment growth. Looking forward, Seattle’s employment growth rate this year is expected to be around 2.6%. To indicate just how strong the Seattle economy is, that rate is about 0.6% higher than the expected employment growth rate of Washington State for 2019. Employment growth in Seattle is still predicted to continue with expansions in commercial office space, though it is expected to slow slightly in the coming years. This is due to the low unemployment rate over the past few years which sits around 3.6%. With a smaller number of unemployed workers looking for jobs means a smaller number of people available to be hired.
Overall, the low unemployment rate combined with the high volume of businesses expanding or moving into the city means that the economy in Seattle is still strong and in growth; however, in the coming years, it may slow due to low unemployment.
Owen Rice is Executive Vice President at Hughes Marino, an award-winning commercial real estate company with offices across the nation. Contact Owen at 1-844-662-6635 or [email protected] to learn more.
