More evidence that King County is nearing the top of its market comes this weekend from a report that places King County’s appreciation in the bottom third of 15 counties across Western Washington. Fueled by bidding wars and a shortage of houses for sale, King County’s single-family home prices shot up 15.43 percent last year,…
Month: January 2006
Bainbridge Realtor Predicts "Even Sharper Rise"
As if to offset the words of a local economist in a separate story by the same reporter, here come the predictions of a realtor on what 2006 holds for Bainbridge Island real estate: While the national housing market is showing signs of slowing down after a fast-paced year, the Bainbridge market is still picking…
Excess Climbs High In Bellevue
Forget $200k for 500ft². Coming in 2008 to downtown Bellevue: $400k for 700ft² (that’s $571/ft² for you math whizzes out there). A longtime cornerstone of downtown Bellevue, the old Puget Sound Energy headquarters, is coming down this week to make way for twin condominium towers the developer anticipates will be one of the region’s most…
Northwest Economist: "Slow Deflation" Coming
Tom Cox, a “prominent Northwest economist” and host of the PBS program “Serious Money,” gives the Northwest a “mostly sunny” economic forecast, but with a notable exception regarding housing: The Northwest will continue to see an influx of people, particularly from California, seeking the region’s relatively well-paid jobs. But don’t expect a steady flow of…
State RE Spending Proposed
An answer is shaping up to the question of what is going to happen to all the extra revenue that the state has been raking in thanks to the real estate boom/bubble. If Representative Larry Springer has his way, a big chunk of the (presumably) continuing flow of cash from real estate taxes will be…