Seattle Unemployment well below national Average

Seattle Unemployment well below national Average

6th February

2009

written by robgraham

I attended a meeting on Wednesday morning where the keynote speaker is a local Seattle economist. He shared with the group a great deal of information about the local and national economy and how it relates to real estate overall. There was a lot of information but I thought I would pull out the information that would be of most interest to you and share it over the next few days. Hopefully sharing the info in this way won’t be overwhelming. I am as confused as you with the label of this graph. It clearly shows Seattle Unemployment at 6.2% as of December and the national unemployment at 7.2. I think he intended to say that the Seattle number was better, and just got his words mixed up. So, unemployment in Seattle is below the national average. There are several reasons for this. We have a highly educated work force, and have a higher white collar employment base then much of the country. Construction and manufacturing have been hit hardest by the recent up tick in unemployment. With fewer jobs in those key areas, Seattle has been more insulated. By the same token you can start to see why government is so concerned about housing. If the rate at which homes are being purchased improves the following ripple effect is inevitable.

Value of homes stabilize and individuals wealth is strengthened.
Bank portfolio of securities that rely on home values is bolstered and they are more willing to lend money.
Jobs are created in construction, manufacturing, banking, title, escrow, real estate, furniture sales, moving companies, etc.

With so much money involved in real estate again it makes sense that the stimulus package has so much emphasis on housing and tax breaks. Side note: The Senate, may announce the passing of a stimulus package as early as today. It wouldn’t become law yet without house and presidential approval, but things are moving quickly. Once the numbers from the stimulus package are out. I’ll let you know how it effects you. Stay tuned. If you would like to know what specific things you can be doing right now to put yourself in a better position to purchase your home in the future. Drop me a line, or leave a comment here. Let me know what your situation is and I’ll do my best to give you my opinion as to what you can be doing right now to put yourself in the best position.

Give me a call if you need help.