Seattle Bubble

Looks like that slowdown in state government revenues that Washington State’s chief economist ChangMook Sohn has been consistently warning us about really has come to pass.
Sharp declines in predicted revenue from the real estate excise tax and a mild national recession have led the state’s top economist to downgrade his revenue forecast by $423 million.
But [...]

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Everybody’s pal Christine Gregoire gave a pep talk to the Washington Realtors last week in which she made some interesting comments.
Gov. Chris Gregoire told about 400 Washington Realtors on Thursday that she has been working to meet goals the group has for transportation, affordable housing, education and quality of life.
Gregoire, who spoke a day after [...]

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Here’s a few quickies to start off your Monday morning.
First up, Seattle’s market got a mention in the LA Times on New Year’s Eve while I was cavorting about the country. Note that this was a week or two before the NWMLS statistics for December came out, showing a year-on-year price decline.
It’s the kind [...]

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As 2008 gets rolling, your lawmakers are getting back to the business of budgets and lawmaking in Olympia. Of course, with this being an election year you can expect to hear a lot of talk about “doing something” to address the latest hot issues that are on everyone’s mind.
So what is one of the [...]

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Remember that slowdown in state revenues that we were warned about by our state’s chief economist ChangMook Sohn last year? Well guess what? It’s here!
Washington’s construction industry continues to expand, but real estate tax collections are $18 million below expected levels.
The state Revenue Forecast Council says taxable real estate activity in the past [...]

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I don’t have a very high opinion of The Evergreen State College, but a forum on the Olympia area’s “housing crisis” that was organized for a class and held last week actually sounds like it would have been an amusing spectacle.
Seven panelists at a forum Thursday night agreed that there isn’t enough affordable housing but [...]

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