Year: 2005

CNN/Money provides a short interview with a professor who claims that his study shows that home prices in many of America’s cities, including Seattle, are perfectly in line with history. Are home values in America’s biggest cities out of whack with the rest of the country? Chris Mayer, a finance and economics professor who heads…

The Times today features a special report on housing, with a graphic that I found particularly pertinent. In the past five years, real hourly wages have grown by only 2 percent while the median home price has increased by 52 percent. Though homeownership levels are currently high, a good portion is due to the use…

While King County’s 17 percent year-on-year price increase is impressive and baffling, even more so is Kitsap County’s 23 percent year-on-year increase. What could possibly be driving prices in the rural east Puget Sound county? Definitely not wage increases. August home prices were 23 percent higher than those in August 2004, topping three years’ worth…

Yet another story about some of the downsides of the extreme seller’s market we’ve had here lately: Achieving the dream of home ownership has become hard-earned for some buyers in South Sound and in some of the nation’s hotter real estate markets. That’s because builders are struggling to keep up with demand for new homes….

According to a report by an organization called the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Seattle’s housing is among the more affordable of the eight “technology regions” they surveyed. For those in Seattle who complain about housing costs, traffic delays, taxes or other issues, the report provides a little bit of comfort. At least you don’t live…