This might be just a coincidence with the article posted on the Seattle PI Blog yesterday. But today (Tuesday) is traditionally the day that Real Estate Brokers have “Broker Open Houses” in the Downtown, Belltown, and Pioneer Square areas. Except today when I checked at 8AM there is only one planned. There are currently over 140 active listings in this area. Just 3-5 years ago there would have been a couple of dozen open. Why the dramatic shift when the real estate market is clearly better? Could it be that Brokers have just started to give up on parking to see these homes? Busing it around downtown just isn't practical when you are trying to see a half a dozen properties in less than a couple of hours. Some Brokers carpool for efficiency, but parking is still needed.
Perhaps the “overwhelming dissatisfaction” people are feeling about Seattle Parking is starting to spill over to decreased commerce and general economic activity in the very affected areas. I'm just beginning to wonder.