When it comes to the technology arena, real estate investors are holding their breath and waiting to see what other hub might start to slow next.
“Seattle is holding up fine now,” said Andy McCulloch, managing director of real estate analytics at Green Street Advisors LLC, a real estate research firm in Newport Beach, Calif.
But noting more buildings are expected to come on the market, he asked: “Is Seattle where the next slowdown will be?”
Gardner Ellner, an acquisitions director in the Los Angeles office at CBRE Global Investors, who recently bought a television station and office complex in Seattle as an investment for insurer Allstate Corp., said he “likes the value proposition of Seattle.”
Seattle is more affordable when it comes to the cost of living than San Francisco, Mr. Ellner said.
“I think it has a lot of room to grow from a tenant standpoint and so there is a lot of upside in the market,” he said.
There are natural barriers that limit the overbuilding that could push prices down, he added.
Not only that, but technology is not the only industry in town.
Airplane manufacturer The Boeing Co. is still one of the largest companies in Seattle, along with Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., Mr. Ellner said.
“This is relatively diverse with software, technology and aircraft and they will continue to have a presence there and people will continue to be in ecosystem,” he said.
