Jump in Seattle’s Median Home Value and Rental Price Among Fastest in The Country, Zillow Reports

GeekWire | Kurt Schlosser | March 23

http://www.geekwire.com/2017/jump-seattles-median-home-value-rental-price-among-fastest-country-zillow-reports/

“Home values and rents are rising in Seattle faster than almost any other place in the United States according to new data released Thursday by Zillow. The Seattle-based real estate media company’s February Market Report put the median home value in the Seattle metro area at $420,200 — up 11.2 percent over last year…Seattle is also leading the way when it comes to the rate at which rents are rising. The median payment is now $2,100 a month, up 7.2 percent over the past year.”

 

Seattle Area Spends Most Per Capita to Build Transit and Here’s Why

Seattle TImes | David Gutman | March 19

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-area-spends-most-per-capita-to-build-transit-heres-why/

“”Before any Sound Transit 3 spending went into effect, the Seattle region was already spending more, per capita, on new buses, trains and other transit projects than any other major city in the country. For each person in the Seattle urban area, local transit agencies spent nearly $400 on capital expenses in 2015, the highest such figure in the country, according to data compiled by the Federal Transit Administration. Capital expenses only include money spent on new projects or equipment — things like new transit tunnels, rail lines, buses and rail cars — and not on operating expenses to run a transit system — things like salaries, gas and repair costs. The Seattle area’s capital spending on transit, a total of about $1.2 billion in 2015, includes revenue from both fares and taxes (it’s overwhelmingly taxes) and comes from 12 separate agencies, although the vast majority comes from just two: King County Metro and Sound Transit.”

 

Silicon Valley Techies are Fleeing to Seattle

CNBC | Josh Lipton and Morgan Brasfield | March 17

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/17/silicon-valley-tech-talent-fleeing-to-seattle.html

“Silicon Valley might be considered the center of the technology universe, but other cities across the country are also attracting some of tech’s best and brightest, including one located 800 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area: Seattle. There are now 250,000 people working in technology-related jobs in the state of Washington, according to the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA), which says the industry is growing at about 10 percent per year. Nearly 90 percent of those jobs are located in King County, which includes Seattle, where Amazon is headquartered, and neighboring cities like Redmond — Microsoft’s home — and Bellevue.”

 

Seattle Construction Projects at All-Time High

King 5 | Jake Whittenberg | March 17

http://www.king5.com/money/markets/real-estate/high-tech-condos-on-sale-this-weekend/423397520

“All of the cranes and construction in downtown Seattle signify a city that’s exploding with growth.

New numbers released by the Downtown Seattle Association back that up, suggesting that record development is sweeping through the city. The association’s new development guide found 68 current construction projects in the greater downtown area at the end of 2016, a new high. DSA also suggests 6,000 new residential units will be built over the next year. Residential development is particularly hot right now.”

 

Seattle to Portland in 15 Minutes? Pacific Hyperloop Begins Campaign to Make It So

GeekWire | Alan Boyle | March 17

http://www.geekwire.com/2017/seattle-portland-pacific-hyperloop/

“A fledgling venture called Pacific Hyperloop is kicking off its effort to win support for a high-speed transit link between Seattle and Portland, using the Hyperloop system envisioned by SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk. The plan calls for creating a network of tubes capable of zipping passengers from the Jet City to the Rose City in 15 minutes, thanks to pods that travel at the near-supersonic speed of 760 mph. Pacific Hyperloop is among 35 semifinalists in the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, a contest set up by California-based Hyperloop One for proposals to set up transit networks in various regions of the world. The semifinalists include 10 other teams from the United States, plus international groups proposing high-speed links in locales ranging from Vancouver, B.C., to China and India.”