Here’s a gem of an article from the Seattle Times, December 2006:
Looking ahead: The sky isn’t falling for the Puget Sound market
What will 2007 bring? Here’s what Seattle real-estate experts are saying.
…
So much for any bubble bursting this year.Gardner doesn’t see that happening next year, either.
“This bubble lunacy is still prevalent, but not in Seattle, and I’ll keep saying that,” said Gardner, of the land-use economics firm Gardner Johnson. “All the fundamentals are in place for good job growth and in-migration. That, and our limited land availability, means we’re protected and will continue to appreciate in value.”
But, but… we were protected! The “experts” assured us! Limited land! Job growth! Fundamentals!
The national news has been full of stories about homebuilders cutting production and prices as the real-estate market cools. In November, for example, building permits nationwide fell to a nine-year low, according to a government report.
“But that’s the national news, not the local news,” said Suzanne Britsch, senior analyst for New Home Trends, a construction-analysis and consulting firm in Mill Creek. “We still have job growth and a shortage of lots here, so we have just not had a problem with standing inventory.”
All those stupid national headlines. If only we had ignored them and just closed our eyes and wished harder, maybe home prices would have kept appreciating.
If you’re interested, here’s the post we wrote about this article at the time, penned by Synthetik: Always Trust The ‘Experts’