Callahan echoes many opinions that the economy will experience some solidity later this year--and, he says, there is already some movement that direction for the local real estate market. Citing a report of Seattle-based Washington Partners on Puget Sounds office market Callahan says, "The good news is that the fourth quarter ended with more activity than the previous three quarters."

"Activity to me," explains Callahan "is the number of showings and transactions. Those are they key indicators, and we're seeing increased levels of both compared to the first quarter of 2001. It's not where it was two years ago, but this suggests that the economic predictions are accurate and that we'll see recovery in the second and third quarters this year."

Defining current activity in downtown Bellevue, Callahan says, "It's not so much outside people or businesses moving in. Some companies are making decisions about their needs that maybe they had postponed after 9-11. A recession really drives needs such as consolidating offices, or perhaps moves, like moving from the I-90 corridor to downtown Bellevue."