It’s back! Time for another reporting roundup, where you can read my wry commentary about the news instead of subjecting yourself to boring rehashes of the NWMLS press release (or in addition to, if that’s what floats your boat). To kick things off, here’s an excerpt from the NWMLS press release: Housing inventory improves, but…
Tag: homebuilders
False Advertising: Home Builder Renderings vs. Reality
“Lo Ball Jones” dropped a link in the Saturday Link Roundup to a local homebuilder website that caught my attention for just how ridiculous the rendered images of their homes are. With a little help from the magic of Google Maps’ 45° view, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a…
Terrible at Math, You Poor, Filthy Renter? YOU CAN OWN!
I spotted the ad at right on the Seattle Times homepage yesterday. It’s not as patronizing as Quadrant Homes’ old “down payment latte” ad was, but the claim of buying for just $800 a month immediately jumped out at me as unlikely. Running some quick numbers through my Simple Affordability Calculator indicates that to have…
Small House, Big House
I thought this was amusing… From D.R. Horton: Smaller is better in some markets, May 5th: D.R. Horton’s chief executive says smaller, more affordable homes are selling well in some areas and will bring higher profits to the nation’s largest home builder. CEO Donald Tomnitz said the smaller homes were particularly popular in Seattle and…
Quadrant Homes Cuts 20% of Workforce
From the P-I: Quadrant Homes lays off 45 workers Quadrant Homes, the Puget Sound area’s largest home builder, announced Thursday that it is cutting its work force by 20 percent in response to the slowdown of new home sales in the area. The company will lay off 45 associates from its Bellevue headquarters and field…