According to Vought, Spieker is basing its keen interest in this market on "very good employment growth, a diversifying economy, an educated work force, the quality of life and the limited availability of land" for development. Overall, the Menlo Park CA-based REIT remains bullish on the market and expects only a "slight pause."

Vought expects Seattle to experience a healthy economy in 2001 but adds, "We won't continue to see the 6% pace we've seen. We're in for a couple quarters of slow economic growth in the next year." He predicts more "business churn" (right sizing, downsizing, and some companies going out of business) in the Puget Sound market, even in non-dot-com industries.

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