It seems that local governments have set themselves up for failure when the housing madness finally cools off, even if it’s just a slow cool down rather than a bursting bubble. New development in Tumwater is filling the city’s coffers with the revenue from building permits and one-time taxes on construction. But city officials fear…
Month: August 2005
Artificially Inflated Prices Add To Woes
Ben Jones of “The Housing Bubble 2” beat me to the punch on this story (how does he make so many posts each day?), but since it was reported by a local outlet (KING 5), I thought it would be good to post here. It really isn’t a particularly local story (except for one local…
Follow-Up: Local Radio On the Bubble
Well, 710 KIRO has completed their 5-day series of reports on the “housing bubble.” I put housing bubble in quotes because they slyly changed the name of their report from CloseUp: Housing Bubble to CloseUp: Betting Against The House. All in all, I’m a bit disappointed in this “close-up” report. The first two parts were…
Seen on Craigslist
My wife spotted this Craigslist posting, which I found to be quite interesting. Check it out while it lasts: * * * MUST SELL ASAP Diamonds Please Help* * *PLEASE HELP! I have to part with my diamonds for the closing cost on our 1st new home. … I have a 3 items… Princess cut…
Confusing Conflicting "Experts"
The Seattle Times last month followed up on the Forbes report ranking Seattle as the most overpriced city with a report on the many conflicting opinions about the Seattle real estate market. Veteran Seattle real-estate agent Don Henry is certain the rapid run-up in home prices has put Seattle into bubble territory. “There are just…