Why does Amazon need a HQ2? Simple, tech people are numbers people, they tend to be rational, less emotional and look for the good deal. Is Seattle a good deal? For a majority of Amazon tech workers, it’s becoming less and less so. The cost of living in Seattle is substantially higher than that of Austin, Denver and other lovely tech hubs. On average, tech workers in those cities make 90% of the salary of a similar position in Seattle. Yet, housing and rent in those cities is around 40% less. You put those 2 number together and you get tech workers looking to move to greener pastures. Here’s an interesting article from Redfin on this phenomenon: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2018/01/amazon-heres-where-seattleites-are-already-looking-to-move.html
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Very interesting article in the Seattle Times.
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/enough-is-enough-some-local-homeowners-say-this-years-property-tax-increase-will-force-them-to-move/ More and more baby boomers are going to decide to sell or be forced to sell in the near future. If you are considering selling, I would consider doing it before the wave a boomer sales hits! Where in this graph do you think we are? Enthusiasm? Greed? Delusion? Hard to say, but one thing is for sure, we are way above fair value.
So is now a good time to sell property in Seattle? Yes. It’s very unlikely you will be able to time the top of the cycle. But you can be sure you are selling way above fair price. What is the price to rent ratio? Simply put, it’s a ratio helps us understand how expensive buying property is relative to renting. At the time of writing, San Antonio Texas has a price to rent ratio of 13.68. Seattle Washington has a price to rent ratio of 35.09. What explains the very high ratio in Seattle? Most likely, its yet another sign of Seattle’s property bubble.
With such a high price to rent ratio, Seattle is a difficult place for mom and pop landlords to cash flow on rental properties. The high price to rent ratio is another reason Seattle is prone to high foreclosure rates during downturns. Covering mortgage costs with rentals fees is often not an option for Seattle property owners in financial stress. Here’s a great article on the price to rent ratio of various US cities. https://smartasset.com/mortgage/price-to-rent-ratio-in-us-cities |
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