01.19.2007 - Friday Open Thread
This is your open thread for Friday, January 19, 2007. Please post random links and off-topic discussions here.
Off-topic comment? Interesting link?
Head over to the forums, or click here for open threads.
Head over to the forums, or click here for open threads.
10 comments:
With a quick look at the headlines across the world, it looks like Seattle and New Zealand are the only two safe places in the world. A few little blurbs from papers around the world....
Australia.."a real reckoning may finally have arrived for the Australian housing market, just as it appears to have arrived in America." ...
Britian.."UK mortgage lending data this week suggest the housing market may be starting to cool "......
Korea. "The property market showed signs of cooling this week as realtors said that prices of apartments in Seoul and Gyeonggi have dropped by 10 to 50 million won. ...
NZ City, New Zealand - 13 hours ago
The Real Estate Institute's figures show the national median sales price in the year to last December was up 11.86% to $330000. ...
I wonder what Seattle and New Zealand have that no one else does?
Mountains, water, clouds and rain. I've heard NZ's climate and geography are virtually identical to ours, except for the hemisphere issues.
I friend felt she'd vacationed in her back yard.
I friend felt she'd vacationed in her back yard.
A lot of money and time to vacation in a Bellingham where they drive on the wrong side of the road ;-)
No shiznet. Needless to say she was somewhat disappointed.
I guess if you like Seattle summers enough, you can have an endless one by going back and forth.
Has anyone who visits this blog seen those TV ads where some realtor's group is urging politicians(?) to do something about the housing affordability problem in Seattle? I have only seen the ad a couple of times when the TV was on and I wasn't really paying attention, so I really don't know what the overal message is supposed to be.
Terry, you're probably referring to the "It's a Priority" campaign, which I posted about last month.
You can also find further discussion about the campaign over at the Rain City Guide. Be sure to read the exchange in the comments between me and local Realtor Marlow Harris.
Tim,
Thanx for the clarification and links. Comments about the "It's a Priority" campaign were worth reading and you covered the topic very well i.m.o.
I will admit that I am not the brightest bulb in the knife drawer, but the overall impression I got from the ads was that the message is ....
Hey, we realtors aren't the bad guys. It's not our fault that real estate is expensive. It's the politicians fault for not doing something about it ...
That message seems to be a bit defensive.
San Diego was doing the same thing and blaming government for it, land use laws etc....I think it is just a campaign thing to make you think that the RE industry is your friend, and promote the panic of high cost of housing so you will go to your friend for guidance and buy now before it gets even more expensive.
What I got out of the commerical was the WAR trying to keep the real estate train going by feigning empathy for those they helped price out of the market. It sounds about a geniune to me as a car salesman complaining that the cars are too expensive for his customers. It's not caring about those priced out, it's a device for about generating more commissions and trying to clean up their image.
Definitely the government needs to step in and help the builder/Realtor industries.
http://seattlealleywatch.blogspot.com/index.html
Is gentrification happening fast enough for our area yuppies? If this sort of thing is going on, how are people supposed to gain Instant Equity by flipping ramblers in marginal neighborhoods?
It's A Priority!
Post a Comment