Let’s check in on the local papers (or digital former papers, as the case may be) to see how this month’s NWMLS stats are being spun to the populace. First up, here’s the source material: the NWMLS press release that accompanied yesterday’s numbers: Brokers report signs of improvement in “real-time” housing market NWMLS director Dick…
Category: News
News, current events, etc.
HUD pushes for principal reduction up to 30%
(I didn’t want this story to get lost in the midst of all the headlines the past few days.) From the National Mortgage News headlines: “The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking expanded loss mitigation authority allowing the principal amount of an FHA-insured mortgage to be reduced by up to 30% to help…
News Roundup: Local Banks on the Brink
The last few days have seen a handful of articles in the local press on the subject of the strength (or lack thereof, as it turns out) of local banks. Here’s a brief summary. First-up is a relatively in-depth look at the status of dozens of banks based in Washington State: Washington’s banks under stress…
Some Brief Thoughts on the New Car Tax Break
Just a quick comment on one aspect of Obama’s just-announced plan to “see the auto industry through these difficult times.” I’ll keep this brief since it has little to do with either real estate or the Seattle area. Here’s a portion of the president’s speech: …the IRS is today launching a campaign to alert consumers…
Seattle Metropolitan Magazine on the State of the Market
The cover story in month’s issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine is an in-depth look at current state of the local real estate market, and it’s definitely worth checking out. Much of the data from the piece can be found online: Buy? Sell? Or Hold on for Dear Life? You can tell that Matthew Halverson put…