Greg Laycock, senior director of C&W's multifamily investment division, says while acquisitions dropped dramatically last year in the Seattle metro area to $538 million from $900 million for 1999, owners simply wanted to hang on to their properties and enjoy the cash flow and value gains brought by the past five years.

According to the report, sellers continued to benefit from the lowest cap rate in 20 years. The average cap rate for 2000 was 7.53%, a drop of 27 basis points since 1999. Sales on a per-sf basis have increased from $82.83 in 1999 to $84.88 at the end of 2000. Sales for the King-Snohomish-Pierce county region averaged $68,072 per unit in 2000 and expenses averaged $2,933.

For the sixth consecutive quarter, multifamily investment maintained its share of the market at 14%. Pension funds and REITS were definitely active on the purchase scene and included Equity Residential, Avalon Bay, CALPERS and Lend Lease.