I grew up here in Seattle and 25 years ago, no one would have believed Ballard would become a trendy place to live! It’s not where I’d choose to buy anything!

With all the condos comming online at South Lake Union (aka Allentown), it would be a buyers market if it was still 2005-2007.

Plus, who would choose 15th and Market over say the Veer?

So she’s seriously considering selling the house and moving out of state (the RE business is dead and the first half of $xxK she makes goes directly to the office anyways from what she told me) and trying to change to another career. The reality of today’s market has affected her in a significant manner. And she seems very level-headed and didn’t drink the cool-aid like many did from what I can tell.

It’s tough for everybody out there right now. And my offer of contract employment as M$ seems to be dead as well (that sucks — I was really looking forward to working there and it was 1.7 miles away from my house), was supposed to start next Monday, and I got a call today to say they now don’t have the funding. God provides, so I’ll keep looking!

“Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 6:57 PM

…If you were indeed educated like your ‘bros here you all would be sitting on a s***load of equity like me. But your not.

How are you enjoying your cockroach infested rat trap with an ever increasing rental rate?”

Dated July 7, 2008— Man, that’s goooood.

It took a long time after the fact for the MSM to start admitting that we we were in a “Recession”. I wonder how long after the fact before the MSM stops being afraid to use the word “Depression”.

So far the closest MSM sound byte that I have heard is “worst downturn since the Great Depression”.

I predict that it will take about 1 year before we hear the “D Word” from MSM sources….well after we all know it…..and are living it.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ZIPR

But I don’t think we will be seeing this. First, the dollars needed to fix the problem will be huge. Second, you saw what happened when they wanted to spend $700B on the banks. There was a tremendous outcry, even though it eventually passed. But at least people understood that the banks needed to be fixed. Not so the underwater homeowners. And third, although it will prevent those foreclosures, it will not prevent prices from falling. Ultimately, prices will be determined by incomes, and all the money spent on principal reduction will not benefit the future homeowner who still will not be able to afford a house.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/2009-01-29-where-we-live_N.htm

Its a horrifying number if you consider how many people are on entitlements, unemployed/underemployed in 2008, and the underground economy [RE contact workers, illegals, etc]…..these get plucked/omitted from the 3% figure.

My guess is the real monetary downturn for Seattle is at least 10-20% if you get real. Of course mainstream media and their number crunchers never will get real when it comes to the economy.

Look at the unemployment and COLA % calculations today and the clear jokes they are to reality…..then you clearly see why we need to get real on any numbers MSM/government feeds us.

Mainstream media, government and RE statiticians can likely be liars, but “let’s get real” “We the People” statistics never lie.

Seattle deserves a round of applause for holding up as well as we have for the past couple years. If I were a home owner who needed to sell I’d seriously consider pricing my house competitively so it would sell in this market!

I feel sorry for anyone who bought in the past couple years. They would have been better off financially if they rented since they could have saved more money and borrowed less money.

Now, if home prices decline solely BECAUSE of job lossess, will that improve AFFORDABILITY in any way?

What about the snow in December? The flooding that followed? The lahar on Mt. Rainier? The earthquakes?

Every region has it’s own set of calamities and poor weather.

Seattle is no different.

As someone mentioned, most people will choose the Bay Area weather over Seattle’s.

But then there are those pesky earthquakes and income taxes in California.

There are positives and negatives to ANY location regarding climate and natural disasters.

I watched that clip tonight on the NBC news on Channel 5 and thought the exact same thing — what in the heck are two 20-somethings who MAY make in the low-six-figures between them doing tearing their house down to the bones — and (heh heh) they said something about having to do more of it themself now, good luck with that!

I still have bad feelings about this coming year. I think the job losses will get much worse, as the whole economy deleverages itself, ratcheting itself down like an old defective bumper jack (anybody here old enough to remember one of those?). Just heard on the radio that consumer spending is responsible for 70% of our GDP.

Now, replay that exact exchange of words countless times over the six months since. One of these days, maybe someone besides me will catch on to the repetitive nature of this conversation and get a clue.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28920812#28920720

And no, you can’t even say that. My site, my rulez.

Of course people will female-dog (cmon Tim you cant even say that? ) about overcrowding, pollution and what-not. The grass is always greener.

Don’t get me wrong, Seattle weather is a little *special*, I have to admit. But that doesn’t make the city or its real estate market *special*.

I think that this mantra chanted by realtors has sunk in so deep into most homeowners around here that everyone’s blind to what is going on. The economic problems that are yet to come will blindside Seattle because we’re not even aware of all the warning signs. We had many years of watching the tide creeping in and drowning other places in the country and didn’t do jack to move to higher ground.

It’s funny to me that it takes a national news story to point out our own problems to us.

All I have to say is: if you still don’t think Seattle is special, have a look at the weather reports for the eastern half of the continent for the past few days.

Just wait until plane order cancellations start cascading.

Bang your head
Wake the dead
We’re all metal mad
It’s all you have
So bang your head
And raise the dead
Oh yeah!
Metal Health
It’s not too bad