The problem I have is that your marketing is like spam on this blog. Your post describing the purchases you made in Tacoma is great – this useful stuff. You actually added to the discussion.

Don’t make the mistake of seeing some conspiracy where everybody who hates your marketing is a shill for some competitor of yours. Your potential clients are telling you that your marketing is annoying. Listen to them and you might actually turn them into clients.

Tacoma!!! Wouldn’t want to live there. Double Wides in Nevada, and not a slum lord.

What in particular leads you to this conclusion? WC doesn’t look too bad to me…

-Rick

I have already called Ira. I wanted to hire him. I have already contacted Tim but we are locked in with Comcast for advertising. Someday you will use us. Do you know why? Because I’m here. If you do NOT then I assume you will use Red Fin, Iggy’s, or MLS 4 Owners. There is plenty of room for us all.

You guys sound like my 3 kids. Just yesterday my daughter called my son a clown. Tim I’m sorry for making your site “lesser:”

Ray Pepper
http://www.500Realty.net

Tim…I sure hope this Ray Pepper clown is paying you well.

He makes your site……..

lesser.

And I am not ‘pumping’ Redfin. You make it sound like the bloke that runs it sends me 15 peanuts every time I mention them. It happens to be the only MLS database web site with listing history that I know of.

You need to call up Ira and get lessons on how to use blogging to get customers. Sometimes pushing your marketing too hard is counterproductive.

I never bought in Hill Top but that area has had the most major renovation I have ever seen. Condos, New Houses, commercial bldgs and hopefully less crack heads. I just never liked that area and still don’t. But, there are so many other parts of Tacoma that are GEMS.

Seattle prices have no comparison to Tacoma prices. I’m not sure what you have been looking at but commercially speaking I find tremendous value in Tacoma. North Tacoma is where I reside and I will never live again in Seattle. I strongly urge you to look at Fircrest, University Place, Titlow, and North Tacoma. You will find what I already know.

You can find one of my purchases on the MLS. Thats the espresso shop I bought at 64k. I put about 30k in it. Its now a cash cow as a rental and when it sells in the 280k ranges its a virtual tripler. Show me an espresso shop, in a trendy commercial district, in Seattle for 280k . Not White Center, or Burien. BTW I really like what they have done to Burien. I’m a BIG FAN of Seahurst and Normandy Park.

Always do your DD. Find that GEM! They are popping up every week.

Ray Pepper
http://www.500Realty.net

You wrote, “Bio tech and e-commerce jobs are a wave of the future, as I understand it.”

Having worked in Biotech for approximately 15 years in Boston, Philly and Seattle. Seattle will have to play catch-up with other Biotech hubs. The areas that generate that most Biotech jobs, and have the venture capital to support future growth are Boston, The Bay area and San Diego. Notice all three are bubble areas. Any Biotech start-up in Seattle (SLU) would have to be able to finance 800 million to 1 billion dollars to bring a drug to the market. That process takes at least 10 years and there is no guarantee that drugs under development will make it to the approval stage. These start-up biotechs generally generate very few jobs in first few years of existence (10 – 20), with further job growth dependent on the drug candidate success at the research, preclinical and clinical stages.

An investor I know sold his properties here in Seattle to buy commercial store fronts on Hill Top. He almost had me convinced to buy there. One night it was like a horror film where the walking dead enter the streets from all directions. Crack addicts were everywhere that night. The police sweep, then in a few weeks it’s the same.

We also like Everett, my wife and I. There are some beautiful homes there. The prices seem reasonable for the views, but even with the new convention center, Aqua Sox and redevelopment of the city core, it’s still Everett.

The point is that Seattle pricing should have been a focal point in the region. In fact surrounding areas and cities saw huge, and dramatic price increase, that in my opinion were never warranted. Bremerton for example and the passenger ferry disaster.

By comparison down town Seattle is a bargain to Everett, Tacoma, Bremerton, and even Bellevue. Look at what’s coming on line in Bellevue’s down town core. Prices in Seattle may be high because we here in Seattle, by comparison, have only built out mid density in high density areas.

Ray Pepper
Broker
http://www.500Realty.net

NB: look at the source of data

One theory I have is that this is done so that they can advertise price drops constantly without actually dropping the price over time. But this only works for people who don’t use Redfin.

And I have no problem with your business model or any of that crap. I recall that once you thought that you were fighting against the man or something whenever you commented. You can do whatever you want with your business, and I might be able to bare you having a way bigger sig than everybody else, but please actually make a meaningful comment.

Tim – apologies for making it sound like I own the place, but Ray really is ruining the feel of the blog IMO.

The thing about Seattle’s economy is that it is stagnent and has been for many years. The article about the Clise Family is a good example. It’s a thirty person corporation controlling 13 acres of prime Real Estate in down town. Did you know they exsisted?

The empty commercial places are in my opinion a part of Seattle’s charm. We gauge Seattle’s vitality by small town values; Jobs. We look at Safco, Boeing, now Microsoft, or Starbucks as local boy makes good.

The money here is Seattle Washington goes back to the timber industry. Big builders didn’t come to our town they were already here. We keep a pretty tight reign on anything that goes on in or around our town.

So yea people don’t go out to eat, they stay in, stay close to family, and go to church in bad times.

We all wish we’d pick nursing careers [or biotech jobs...lol] or teaching jobs, then the growth causes hyper-inflation and general wage deterioration, but by gosh, I’m immune from the recession, my job depends on numbers of population in Seattle.

I don’t want to pop your bubble, but 50% of our medical cost reimbursements is totally dependent on Medicaid and other government support that the other 90-95% of us working that aren’t teachers or nurses pay taxes to support. Defense props up 50% of Seattle’s aerospace income and if that gravy train is butcher axed soon….

No, none of us are immune from the “Seattle Stagflation”, even if you’re lucky enough to have a job. Been to an empty restaurant land movie theater lately on a prime weekend night? Its grim out there right now, very grim.

Theres always a bright side. Crank up those Prices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ray Pepper
http://www.500Realty.net

I agree that there is room for improvement on the civic side of things, but I have a more favorable view on how things currently are. Downtown Seattle, and Bellevue too, have made major improvements in recent years. In my opinion, they compare well with many cities. Even Renton is becoming a real city (albeit on a smaller scale).

Two places that appear to be laggards are Everett and Tacoma. I qualify my statement by saying that they “appear to be laggards” because both have made improvements in recent years, reversing their long-term declines.

One major tool that local cities seem to be overlooking is schools. Having strong schools in cities attracts families and keeps them close to the jobs and out of the dying suburbs. Each downtown area should include elementary schools in walking distance to their towers of condos.

On the subject of affordability, I see the problem as a historic legacy. If we had been building condo towers rather than suburbs between the 1950s and 1990, then there would be well-designed but older buildings on the market today. These would offer the location amenities of newer buildings but at a lower price. Some of today’s aspirational condos will be affordable to people with normal jobs in 20-30 years.

I’d guess this tactis is more about retaining existing deposits than finding new buyers. they can hope credit gets looser again and pray for a better conditions in a few months.

Now all the people that bought presale…(perhaps in order to flip?)…can look on the MLS at the new Escala listings and brag to all their friends how much more their unit is “worth” than they paid for it and dream of the toys that they will buy with all of the sweet sweet profit from their flips.

They’ll feel soooo smart that they would never never ever consider not closing on their contract and walking away from their deposit.

I think you may be on to something there EconE. This may be more about keeping the sales they have than it is about making any new sales. Well, actually – they probably have to find at least one new sucker.

Like that Jack-in-the-Box ad from a long time ago – the one with the “food taster, $25k” kid at the trade show. Jack asks him: “Any sales?” Kid replies: “only need one”

Well, good luck with that.

I wish we could post the comment above at that company’s office.

Btw: have you all done your part in bringing affordable housing about by discouraging a tempted friend from buying??

The development of South Lake Union is bringing jobs. Bio tech and e-commerce jobs are a wave of the future, as I understand it. In my tirade against our city government my opinion is that the supply of housing units and commercial space in Seattle is artificially low. Demand is what has pushed up our pricing more than anything else.

Town houses have been selling for way over inflated prices for years now. Ballard and Fremont should have been developed into mid rise condo and commercial. We still have a lot of catching up to do for in city living.

I agree. Close in communities with good mass transit are worth keeping an eye on. Beacon Hill and the Central District will have their days in the sun, eventually. If I’m still here in 2-3 years, that is where I’ll be looking to buy.

Extinct or waiting. There will be a good time to buy again, but maybe not for another 2-3 years.

Good distinction. Waiting is probably more appropriate.

In my opinion, some locations offer a lot of long-term upside potential. These would be within walking distance of the light rail stations or in areas with excellent bus service. Gas will continue to get more expensive and the suburbs may die, but people will still need a way to get around.

They’ll feel soooo smart that they would never never ever consider not closing on their contract and walking away from their deposit.

And then they’ll end up losing a bunch of money like many of the other downtown condo flippers.

http://housingfear.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-condo-development-has-been.html

As a life long renter (well, for the 30 years I’ve an “adult”). I look forward to the next year, 18 months when all these condos and townhouses end up as rentals! Whee!

Plus, as everyone knows, buying a house is not a straight up ‘calculation’… and the logic that is applied is balanced somewhere between fear and greed, not to mention a wife who wants to make babies or yet another annoying rent increase or whatever… lots of factors that are weighted according to the buyers preferences.

It thinks its just a cheap tactic to give a nudge to a few who were in wait and see mode. In the big picture, they will also be in a position to offer ‘deeper discounts’ after the price increase (so that buyers feel that they got a good deal behind the scenes even while the sticker prices have been going up). A call to action if you will… not the worst strategy.

Not sure its all that effective if there are equivalent alternatives available (who are not going to be raising prices)… this would be only for the Penthouses or equally rare properties.

Also, why no mention the two tower project at 5th and battery that should be breaking ground by the end of this year?

it’s sort of like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

http://www.startupnation.com/forums/5765/14/1

Remember the rule – lots of condo projects being built reflects builders’ confidence in strong condo price appreciation, proving that It’s A Great Time To Buy. No condo projects being built means that there will be a future shortage of condos, also proving that It’s A Great Time To Buy. No matter what the market condition is, It’s Always A Great Time To Buy!