We spend most of our time on here focused on home buying—prices, economics, neighborhoods, etc.—but I thought it might be nice to have a brief reminder that buying a home isn’t for everyone. For many people, renting is simply the better choice, even if home prices are at a reasonable level supported by the local…
Category: Features
Cheapest Homes: April 2012 Edition
Let’s check in again on the cheapest homes around Seattle proper. Here’s our methodology: I search the listings for the cheapest homes currently on the market, excluding short sales, in the city of Seattle proper. Any properties that are in obvious states of extreme disrepair based on listing photos and descriptions will be excluded. This…
Least Appropriate Listing Photo Ever?
Two different readers emailed me this morning to point out the new listing at 2007 NW 61st St. Specifically, photo #9… click for uncensored version Wow. Just wow. [Update: The photo has (thankfully) already been removed. Of course, the Internet never forgets…]
You win the Mega Millions. What house do you buy?
Let’s have a little fun on a Friday afternoon. Let’s say you play the big Mega Millions lottery everyone won’t stop talking about, and against all odds, you’re the sole winner tonight. What house (or houses) currently on the market would you buy? It doesn’t have to be in the Seattle area, if you’re only…
Price to Rent Ratio at Early 1998 Levels
It’s been about a quarter of a year since we last checked in on the Seattle-area’s price to rent ratio, so I thought I’d share an update of those charts. As of January (the latest Case-Shiller data available), Seattle’s price to rent ratio is down to just 2.5% above the 1990-2001 average, hitting its lowest…