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Seattle condos are becoming more and more prevalent within recent times, and the people residing downtown are changing significantly. The people that are opting for these Seattle condos are challenging developers to overcome rapidly rising construction expenses that are making units increasingly unaffordable. Half of downtown Seattle condo buyers are couples, a third are single men and the remaining 17% are single women, condo marketer Leslie Williams told a forum on downtown living presented this morning by the Downtown Seattle Association.

Williams, president of Williams Marketing said that just about 10 years ago, single men and single women each were about 25% of the market. "Females just can't afford the prices downtown," she said. "The biggest issue is affordability." Condominium ads tell the tale. The remaining units in a new building at Ninth and Virginia were priced between $970,000 and $1.9 million in March. In April, a high-rise at Fourth and Virginia advertised prices from under $500,000 to over $4 million, adding "penthouses also available." The median King County income is $65,940, according to state statistics. That supports a home purchase of about $270,000.

Williams said that one solution could be more Seattle condos in reasonably priced areas close to the downtown area: Pioneer Square, Georgetown and Sodo, the industrial area between them.

Seattle's downtown population has grown 61% since 1990, and currently some 55,000 people live in the city center. Just about 80%are renters of theses Seattle condos. People in their 30s comprise the largest group of Seattle condo buyers, however baby boomers are gaining. Buyers of Seattle condos in their 50s were 13%of the market in the 1990s. Now, they account for almost a quarter. Some are buying Seattle condos as second homes. What downtown is not attracting are families. Williams said that in the last 15 years she has sold approximately 20 downtown units to buyers with children.

However as a trend, downtown living "isn't slowing down any time soon," said Kate Joncas, president of the Downtown Seattle Association. She counts 34 apartment and Seattle condos projects currently under development. Projects in the near future will be larger, taller and more densely populated, she predicted. The new Seattle condos can be expected to accommodate more than 300 living units in a single tower. Nevertheless, demand is outstripping supply, Joncas said, with downtown projects due for completion next year already 50 percent presold. "Portland is half our size and has developed more condos in the last three years, so we're playing catch-up, she said.