Here are a few interesting quotes from the Seattle Times’ pre-article blurb about the August NWMLS figures:
The Puget Sound housing market is still stronger than most of the rest of the country, but signs of slowing are clear.
Last month, the third month in a row, median home prices were nearly flat — up just 0.5 percent compared with July in King County, 1.5 percent in Snohomish County and 0.2 percent in Pierce County. Prices in Kitsap County slipped 0.2 percent.
…
The decelerating pace locally mirrors the trend nationally.
You can probably already tell that this piece wasn’t written by Elizabeth Rhodes. No, it was penned by business reporter Drew DeSilver. Stay tuned tomorrow for the inevitable “Everything is fine. Nothing is ruined.” report from Ms. Rhodes.
I realized why the papers have waited this long to report on the August numbers. It’s not that they are waiting for the recap sheet, so much as it is they are waiting on the NWMLS press release. I guess they just can’t bring themselves to tackle the raw data on their own. They need the guiding hand of the press release to show them the way… or something.
(Drew DeSilver, Seattle Times, 09.12.2006)