Wow…so BMWs sedans, which they’ve been making just short of forever are more reliable than their SUVs?

Since when did a car have to have been made forever to be reliable? Not that the BMW sedans had good ratings.

I’m not the one who makes the reports of certain employers being unhappy, I just read them.

Just out of curiousity, what is it about SC that makes it less likely to have high quality workers? You aren’t one of those PNWers who thinks everybody in the South is a redneck are you?

BTW, Mercedes reliability has apparently improved since I looked at CR last. It’s still not good, but it’s no longer Land Rover bad. But they also seem to be reporting less data–most the Land Rover report is blank now. VW is still horrible, much worse than Mercedes now. I don’t even need to look up what they build in SC, because it’s bad no matter where it’s made. Maybe it is the German engineering.

In the open thread I indicated this is more likely an indication that Voight plant will move up here. S.C. is not really the place you go for high end workers, and Boeing will now discover that when they have to deal with the employees and potential workforce directly.

Tell that to BMW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Manufacturing_Co._Spartanburg

Also, it is sort of a ridiculous argument that the talent must be locally grown. If there is actually a chance of Boeing moving anything there, I am sure the Real Estate agents there are talking up the potential for high paying positions that will be moving in from Wa…

This was not directed at you Jonness, I was just too lazy to scroll up.

OTOH, it doesn’t require a degree in rocket science to do assembly line work. S.C. might be the perfect place to find people willing to handle a screwdriver for less than 6 figures/yr.

I too am looking to buy in Bellingham. There does appear to be a lot of ambiguity in this area, it’s very difficult to find good market analytics up here. I am especially interested in how the Vancouver Olympics might affect the market here, I wonder if we are close enough to the action to enjoy any of the post Olympics surge that most cities have seen.

Average household income of only 40k really makes me wonder how anyone affords a house up here.

I did a one mile radius from an address very close to the star in that map, and the six month period prior to today is actually slightly higher than the six month period a year ago. And the number is almost $500,000.

There were 7 that went under $300,000 this year, and only one last year. The minimum price both years was $240,000.

City: Seattle
Neighborhood: Central Business District
Median Price: $285,000
Decline (year-over-year): -51%

src : http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/06/neighborhoods-home-prices-lifestyle-real-estate-neighborhood-home-prices_slide_16.html

Date Event Price Appreciation Source
Jul 07, 2009 Price Changed $1,010,000 — NWMLS #29045521
Apr 01, 2009 Listed $999,000 — NWMLS #29045521

RE: george @ 11 –

Sorry George, but over a million is a cash market. If you’re not paying cash you can’t afford it

I partially agree with this. As I’ve repeatedly pointed out with examples, people who buy higher priced homes put down well over 20%, and a lot pay cash. Most common is just getting the maximum conventional loan.

No one wants a $5,000 a month mortgage payment.

With the Boeing 767 soon to move out with Vought, I have to wonder how long these Spring bubble prices will appear to be bargains?That strike right in the heart of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression has turned out to be a real stroke of genius. Buy now or be priced out forever!

In the open thread I indicated this is more likely an indication that Voight plant will move up here. S.C. is not really the place you go for high end workers, and Boeing will now discover that when they have to deal with the employees and potential workforce directly.

With the Boeing 767 soon to move out with Vought, I have to wonder how long these Spring bubble prices will appear to be bargains?That strike right in the heart of the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression has turned out to be a real stroke of genius. Buy now or be priced out forever!

The Seattle Time articles is amusing.

Gregoire says “The idea of labor giving up the right to strike is a huge issue for them. There has to be something on the other side equally compelling.”

It’s called a job. The union is asking for guarantees? Bye, Boeing.

Sorry George, but over a million is a cash market. If you’re not paying cash you can’t afford it. Real Estate has always been something you pay off. That’s how it works.

When you leverage you do it to pay off behind you. If I buy ten houses and build equity the goal is to sell off five to own five free and clear. That’s the game in a nut shell. A million is a move up, or inheritance.

RIGHT ON GEORGE

With stable bank money markets under 1% and even their 12 mo CDs around 1.5% [notice I said "stable bank"; I consider, IMO, higher CD rates a good indication of an unstable bank]; where’s the “tax advantage” of borrowing with net pay at 5% mortgage interest, or even 3% for that matter?

Paying off even a make-believe 3% home mortgage loan makes you like the equivalent of 4-5% interest on gross pay….after-all you pay the make-believe reduced 3% house payments out of your net pay bloggers.

Now, tell me how this makes sense, even saving 6 months gross pay extra cash, while you make house payments; to protect you from a lay off?

Especially if renting is 1/2 the monthly cost.

What about Moody’s putting Bremerton/Silverdale in the top five places for appreciation? Was that a link I saw here?

That’s one I really do not understand.

To be fair comment 1 is on topic for a news round up.

Ya don’t have to be a teenager to respond to peer pressure groupthink. All those links to Tim’s charts, facts and trends sort of worked for awhile… but could I have done more?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/PMI-Second-Quarter-2009-Risk-prnews-3858533375.html?x=0&.v=1

Good Lord Buyers!

Make your offer AND DONT BUDGE!
Let the prices come down to you!
Avoid all multiple offer scenarios!

Take your time and find that GEM!…………There will be more then you can imagine.

YES PATIENT

The seasonal spurt of wanna-be home owners shuffing pending sales documentation [mostly worthless?] at banks and other mortgage agencies, takes like 5 months to digest I hear….plenty of time for the following:

More home price collapses, causing pending sales to default.

Potential sky-rocketing mortgage rates making them “unqualified”, because of the depression we’re in IMO.

Or God forbid, the pending sales [closed too, leading to an imminent foreclosure?] household incomes suffer a lay off….

“Portland’s still going down,” says Dave McCarthy, president and chief executive of Integrated Asset Services, a real estate valuation and asset disposition and management company that collects data on the housing market.

The city “has remained pretty strong but they’re starting to feel some of the effects,” he adds.

The local labor market may be playing a role, Moody says. Portland’s unemployment rate was 11.6% in April, according to the Department of Labor. That’s well above the national average for the month (8.9%).

The Pacific Northwest bubble was among the last to burst, which could mean the market will be among the last to recover.
******
Note the last sentence…..it seems some real estate folks are starting to change their tune (?)