A Downtown In Demand

This article first appeared in Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s 2023 Forecast Report. To get your digital or print copy of this comprehensive look at the Pacific Northwest’s ever-changing residential real estate landscape click here.

In downtown Seattle, the new year brings momentum, exciting openings, and reminders of why people choose to live in vibrant urban areas. At the Downtown Seattle Association, we’re focused on renewal and reimagining this collection of 12 neighborhoods as we continue to recover. While we still face some significant challenges, progress made in 2022 (and the many transformative initiatives underway) leaves me feeling incredibly optimistic.

From new business openings, an unprecedented 106,000 people now living downtown and the capping off of major projects, downtown’s resiliency was on full display in 2022. A record cruise season brought 1.2 million passengers through the Port of Seattle, while the waterfront redevelopment took another step forward with the reopening of Colman Dock following a five-year rebuild. DSA has noted on its Recovery Dashboard that millions of people visited attractions and booked hotel rooms downtown.

Our revered arts and cultural community welcomed thousands of guests back to theaters, performance halls and museums, and our professional sports teams filled arenas and stadiums across downtown. Fueled by a Mariners team that brought playoff baseball to Seattle for the first time in decades, LINK Light Rail recorded 2,323,000 boardings in September—the busiest month ever. Plus, the recent opening of the Convention Center Summit building demonstrates our commitment to growth and will bring hundreds of thousands of additional people to the city each year.