THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Jonathan Karp

“Just as low interest rates and aggressive mortgage financing accelerated expansion of the suburban fringe to the point of oversupply, “the spike in gasoline prices, layered with demographic changes, may accelerate the trend toward closer-in living,” said Arthur C. Nelson, director of Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute in Alexandria, Va. “All these things are piling up, and there are fundamental changes occurring in demand for housing in most parts of the country…”

“Millennials and baby boomers are in perfect sync. They are at a stage where they both want the same thing,” said Mr. Zimmerman, a co-managing director at Zimmerman/Volk Associates Inc. in Clinton, N.J. He said the populations of Americans in their 20s and in their 50s are rising and will add eight million potential housing consumers by the time their numbers peak in 2015. “You’ve got a recipe for reurbanization on a dramatic scale,” he said.

MSNBC.com
Jane Hodges, Contributor

“Peter Oh, a Seattle real estate agent, is planning to open a showroom to market 21 condominium buildings in the Puget Sound region. But he’s not looking for a storefront location in downtown Seattle, nor is he planning to locate among the many new high-rises in nearby Bellevue across the lake.

Instead, he’s creating a marketing office 5,000 miles away — in South Korea…

… Last year one-third of American agents worked with at least one international buyer, according to the National Association of Realtors. The top five countries supplying international customers were Mexico, Britain, Canada, India and China.”

PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL

“The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area recorded 33,800 new jobs in the past year, which was the fourth-highest amount of job growth in the U.S., according to U.S. Department of Labor April statistics released Wednesday.”

THE SEATTLE TIMES
Brier Dudley, Blogger

“The company’s decision to proceed on a huge new Seattle headquarters campus made the list of “Top Deals” in North America in 2007, compiled by Site Selection magazine (“the official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council”).

Amazon’s 11-building project was valued at $1.5 billion and will accommodate 3,000 jobs. Of course it’s not a new company coming to town. It’s moving from scattered buildings on downtown’s south side to a single campus north of downtown at the foot of Allentown.”

KING 5 NEWS VIDEO
Jane McCarthy, Reporter

“Some real estate experts are saying the market for urban condominiums could soon turn back in favor of sellers.”