Ahh, Les Christie of CNN Money—the perfect national companion to our local captain of the real estate cheerleading squad, Elizabeth Rhodes. Where would we be without your frequent reports reminding everyone across the country just how special Seattle is? In the middle of a nationwide housing slump, a few markets have held their ground –…
Author: The Tim
Tim Ellis is the founder of Seattle Bubble. His background in engineering and computer / internet technology, a fondness of data-based analysis of problems, and an addiction to spreadsheets all influence his perspective on the Seattle-area real estate market. Tim also hosts the weekly improv comedy sci-fi podcast Dispatches from the Multiverse.
Rent Vs. Purchase Comparisons
I’m working on a post that I’d like to make this week where some real-world examples of renting versus purchasing would be really handy. There’s a thread on the forums on the subject, but I’d like to pose the question here as well. Basically what I’m looking for are some concrete examples (with links and…
Seattle’s “Seller’s Market” Status Rapidly Eroding
Forbes has come out with yet another real estate “Top 10” list, this time gabbing on about the “Top Home Sellers’ Markets.” Interestingly, Seattle is conspicuously absent from the list. They explain: The MethodologyTo measure inventory glut, we used Moody’s Economy.com and National Association of Realtors data that tracked a market’s current sales rate by…
Local Foreclosure Quotes
King 5 News comes at us with some quotes from real people in King County that are part of the ever-increasing group undergoing foreclosure: Sofia DeLeon says she went for an adjustable rate mortgage, but when rates were adjusted, she couldn’t keep up. “It was scary, you know, and I felt really, really ashamed. I…
Seattle Risk Doubles in Improved PMI Model
The latest report from the PMI Group has been released, and the news is increasingly bad for Seattle: Click to enlarge As noted on the graph, PMI did improve their model with this latest report, so while Seattle’s new Risk Index of 343 is not directly comparable to its previous index of 167, the news…