This has been on my mind for a while: Two ways to hedge against or reduce the potential for problems in a tough market, today and for the future. #1) Buy something that you can improve. Not a disaster, but a home that is priced right for the condition of the home. If you are…
Category: Opinion
Opinion, commentary, etc.
Are Bubble Bloggers a Stopped Clock?
Now that the real estate market in Seattle is finally showing undeniable signs of reversing direction (read: declining median prices), it’s interesting how the tone of some real estate professionals’ comments regarding this site (and others like it) are changing. Seattle Bubble was started in August 2005, during a time when the “common knowledge” among…
Doom and Gloom, Stereotypes, and Predictions
I’d like to take a little time to address a few things that keep coming up here and elsewhere in online real estate conversations that are starting to bug me. So that’s what I’m going to do. Doom and Gloom Apocalypse Fun Time First up is the incessant refrain that anyone predicting a decline in…
The Quaint Mortgage Standards of Bedford Falls
This isn’t Seattle-specific (although I did read it in the Times), but it’s a great column that actually manages to make an insightful contrast between the movie It’s a Wonderful Life and today’s housing bubble / mortgage mess: Nowadays, it’s impossible to watch the 1946 holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” and not feel a…
Reader Question: Are Seattle home purchasers crazy?
Here’s an email I got from someone named Andy: I am in the process of relocating to the Seattle area from the Midwest and have been monitoring your blog in an attempt to get some insight into the local real estate scene. First, thank you for your highly interesting and informative blog. Knowledge is power…