- Seattle, Portland, and Dallas are the only cities of the 20 tracked by the Case-Shiller / S&P Index in which prices are still rising.
- Mr. Cohen discusses the latest Case-Shiller / S&P Index data in an article with more balance than usual. Don't worry though, it still includes the requisite quotes from realtors about "bidding wars" and "soaring prices."
- Foreclosures in the first quarter of 2007 in King County were up 37.6% from Q4 2006, and up 0.7% YOY.
- Ms. Rhodes does her part to pump up the local home salesmen's egos with another installment of add some rah-rah fluff to an AP article.
- Apparently there's a bit of a kerfuffle going on up in Snohomish County over the creeping spread of something that resembles the resulting offspring of an unholy union between condos and SFHs.
News and discussion about real estate & the housing bubble, specifically as it pertains to the Seattle area.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Vacation Link Roundup
Looks like I didn't miss too much Seattle housing news while I was gone. I'm looking forward to seeing the April numbers next week. Here's a summary of what I noticed while clearing my inbox:
I love that MSNBC Article: Amid housing bust, some markets still boom
ReplyDelete“There’s certainly pitfalls to high appreciation, and the pitfalls are for folks who aren’t in a home,” Leventis said.
The entire article is about a guy who has a house in Chicago (not nearly the world-class city that Seattle is), who can't sell it even at reduced prices, and so can't afford to stay on the appreciation escalator in Seattle.
In other words, those who bought are screwed, too, not just those who didn't.
I came across this.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2nu3uk
There are 12 townhouse/duplexs. 2 have sold and 10 are left. But only 2 of the 10 are up on the MLS. Talk about fudging the numbers. This whole bubble is worse than it appears.
Ah poop, "Smartfilter" is blocking the forums again for Pornography. No I'm not kidding.
ReplyDelete"The site you requested is blocked under the following categories: Pornography"
Also it looks like they rotate through the houses to decrease the listing times and try to get new mls numbers. What a scam.
ReplyDeleteDeeplennon,
ReplyDeleteI checked the forums url here and it shows as "not categorized." Is that the right filter? If not, do you know of the website for the filter that's blocking it?
You can email me with more info, so we don't clutter the on-topic discussion. Thanks.
There are 12 townhouse/duplexs. 2 have sold and 10 are left. But only 2 of the 10 are up on the MLS. Talk about fudging the numbers. This whole bubble is worse than it appears.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I had to look at the site.
These townhomes are going to go fast so call and reserve yours today!!
Looks like 2 of them were already sold last JUNE - so exactly ZERO have sold in the last oh, say - 10 months?
Well, just check out the headshots of the Crack-crew selling these babies and maybe you'll see why.
Oh, and the site has this gem of a quote...
The cover entry ways make a nice addition to the exterior of the home and accentuates the quality of construction that is Haack Brothers Homes
In think they mean
The covered entry ways make a nice addition to the exterior of the home and accentuates the quality of construction that is Hack Brothers Homes
thx for the monday morning humor, and welcome back Tim!
"Amid housing bust, some markets still boom"
ReplyDeleteThese sorts of headlines really irk me. Last year, the media was touting areas in NV, AZ, and CA which were still "booming", and look at them now; busted. What a bunch of hype.
So, from this article I gather that Seattle, Portland, etc. will continue double digit price appreciation until the end of time, or maybe just plateau at a level only affordable for the wealthy. And, of course, the average citizen will just continue to do their menial job, despite knowing they will never be able to buy a house. NOT. They'd leave before they would accept that.
As has been talked about before, once you lose the entry level buyer, the market is locked up for the move up buyer, and those forced to sell for illness, relocation, divorce, etc. That wouldn't be a healthy or sustainable market. A market needs a willing and able first time buyer. Those are in short supply, and rapidly decreasing. With inventories continuing to build with fewer and fewer buyers, I smell price cuts on the horizon.
LOL
ReplyDeleteThose Barnett tools can't even figure out the name of their new development.
Half of the references are 'Silver Fir' while the other are 'Silver Fur'. Which is it? I hope it is 'Silver Fir', as 'Silver Fur Manor' sounds like a retirement community for the overly hairy.
Regardign the forums, though I like them, it will mean that I will have to reduce my gazing and contributing by a great deal. I am sure to Shrugs delight. I simply don't have the time to go through them all and the open threads allowed me to gaze upon the topic of the day quickly, post and scram and actually try and make a living. Oh well,
ReplyDeleteI will lok when I can. It's been great chatting with y'all.
I have to agree with T,V & Mr.B. While I admit I have only made a couple posts, I visit regularly and check out the discussions. I tried to continue reading discussions in the forums, but it is a real pain in the ass. I feel if you drop the open thread days you will lose many casual visitors, and maybe a few regulars.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well, it's much harder for me to keep up with the forums than the open posts.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I like the open threads too.
ReplyDeleteditto.
ReplyDeleteI just don't have time to read and post to that many threads.
Hmm...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I hear what you all are saying, but here's my conundrum. When open threads exist, the forum usage seems to suffer. Does anyone have a suggestion of a way we can have open threads without detracting from the forums?
Count me in for the open threads. I have an attention span of a flashbulb, so I have a difficult time following a coherant conversation.
ReplyDeleteSeattle, Portland, and Dallas are the only cities of the 20 tracked by the Case-Shiller / S&P Index in which prices are still rising.
ReplyDeleteSeattle and Dallas are in the same catagory?
Hmmm...I wonder if it is the fact that Dallas is constrained by water, mountains, and open space preserves?
I wonder if it is because of all the high-tech jobs that are relocating there?
I wonder if it is the hip-n-trendy, uber Blue-State zeitgeist that prevails in the Big D?
Perhaps Dallas is a highly sought after place to live - you know, the place where the "creative class" congregates and congratulates themselves on how smart they are...
What we need is the Dallas version of Meshugy to tell us just how owning a house in Irving is going to guarantee riches beyond comprehension, and how all the other areas in the Metroplex will crater in value, while Irving stays afloat.
I could sure go for a long, outdated, pointless list of some Dallas County sales information right about now.
We have the Hebrew Hammer. Where is the Baptist Bazooka?