Looks like I didn’t miss too much Seattle housing news while I was gone. I’m looking forward to seeing the April numbers next week. Here’s a summary of what I noticed while clearing my inbox:
- Seattle, Portland, and Dallas are the only cities of the 20 tracked by the Case-Shiller / S&P Index in which prices are still rising.
- Mr. Cohen discusses the latest Case-Shiller / S&P Index data in an article with more balance than usual. Don’t worry though, it still includes the requisite quotes from realtors about “bidding wars” and “soaring prices.”
- Foreclosures in the first quarter of 2007 in King County were up 37.6% from Q4 2006, and up 0.7% YOY.
- Ms. Rhodes does her part to pump up the local home salesmen’s egos with another installment of add some rah-rah fluff to an AP article.
- Apparently there’s a bit of a kerfuffle going on up in Snohomish County over the creeping spread of something that resembles the resulting offspring of an unholy union between condos and SFHs.
I’m also pleased to report that my nefarious scheme of going on vacation appears to have had the desired effect on the forums. Membership swelled by nearly 30%, and posting activity skyrocketed. Here are a few of the more popular and/or interesting threads:
- Boom on the eastside fueled by recent immigrants?
- What are the indicators signaling the end of the boom?
- To buy or not to buy????
- A Home prices versus inventory comparison
Therefore, I believe it is time to say goodbye to the open threads. For the foreseeable future, all user-driven discussion will take place on the forums. Thanks for your participation. I really enjoy reading what everyone comes up with.