Maybe I’m just in a “mood” this morning, but this story in today’s Tacoma News Tribune really cracked me up.
A morning of housing pep talks greeted builders, real estate agents and government folks Thursday: Build green. Be brave. If Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, can go urban, so can you.Economist Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, kicked things off at the 2007 Housing Forum at the Rhodes Center in Tacoma with a slew of statistics to illustrate a healthy Puget Sound-area market, especially compared with some states.
“My bottom line is we don’t want to panic. We need to be brave. Real estate markets will see some softness, but they’re not going to disintegrate,” he said.
If we just close our eyes and wish hard enough, we can keep our housing market strong! Be strong, everybody! Wish hard!
Crellin, who last year bought a second home in North Carolina, did acknowledge the shrinking number of South Sound residents who can afford to buy. Crellin’s Charlotte town home cost less than $210,000, with upgrades.” It would be nice if we could import that kind of market” here, he said.
Funny you should say that, Mr. Crellin… I wonder how we could possibly end up with cheaper houses in the Puget Sound… Hmm… That’s a tough one.
(Devona Wells, Tacoma News Tribune, 05.25.2007)