SEATTLE -- The year 2020 is not that far away. In just four years, Seattle's skyline will look very different, according to a video produced by local realtors.
The video simulates flying over downtown and South Lake Union, and using information on projects currently under construction or on the verge of breaking ground, imagines what the city will look like when it is finished: busy.
"We are going to witness one of the most explosive growth cycles in downtown Seattle history," commented realtor Dean Jones.
Jones's company, Realogics Sotheby's International Realty, produced the video in conjunction with a new South Lake Union condominium project it is behind.
"I think that's the shift we're going to see over the next five years," he suggested. "The difference between renting and buying homes will have a little more balance."
However, with the unprecedented growth Seattle has seen in the last several years comes a host of side effects, mostly involving infrastructure.
Peter Orser, director of the University of Washington's Runstad Center for Real Estate, wonders if the city is falling behind the influx of demand and growth it is experiencing.
"I don't see a let up in sight," said Orser. "We don't have enough supply on the high or low-end of housing.
"(Washington) was a leader in growth management for 20 years," he continued, "I'm fearful the growth curve is going to be greater than what we've been planning for."
