Perhaps I’ve somehow overlooked the stories in the news outlets, but February’s numbers are available (pdf file), and from what I can tell, the slowdown in Seattle continues. Combined home sales in King County dropped for the second straight month, and the fourth time in the last six months. Sitting at $344,950, the combined price…
Year: 2006
More Fuzzy "Affordable" Math
Yet another government-subsidized "affordable housing" project is going up downtown, with the Mayor and other high-rollers attending the big kick-off ceremony last week. Built to help address the city’s shortage of affordable homes, most of the building’s 19 new condominiums will be affordable to households earning less than 80 percent of the area median income….
HouseValues’ Value Drops
Despite Seattle’s resilience so far, the deflating bubble elsewhere around the country continues to affect businesses based in the Seattle area. The latest victim—HouseValues—took a hit last week. Last year’s booming housing market helped pump up 2005 profits at Kirkland-based HouseValues, but the company’s forecast for the current year led to a 28 percent stock-market…
Government-Funded "Affordability"
What’s the solution to ridiculously high home prices in Seattle? Why, government programs, of course! Some programs available here max out annually but others remain untapped, leaving thousands of dollars in assistance available to people earning as much as 80 percent of the $72,000 median household income in the Seattle metropolitan area. That currently translates…
Looking Into Downtown’s Future
Is downtown Seattle destined to become populated with nothing but luxury condos and low-income housing? If taxes and fees for building downtown keep going up, some see that as Seattle’s future. As the Seattle City Council prepares to vote on reshaping downtown Seattle with taller buildings, a heated debate remains over how much residential developers…