Signs of housing slowdown Seattle’s median home price in September was up just 4.4 percent from a year ago and down from both July and August, according to new statistics. It’s the lowest year-to-year increase and the first time prices have dipped two months in a row since January 2004. The median home sold for…
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News, current events, etc.
WAMU to cut 140 at Lynnwood Loan Centers
The Everett Herald reports that Washington Mutual is cutting 140 processing jobs in Lynnwood (Home Loan Center I presume). Evidently the majority are in processing and the company expects to move some of the operation overseas. “More reductions are possible,” said Tim McGarry, vice president of corporate public relations. “It is true that there may…
Olympia Experiences "Necessary Cooling Effect"
Here’s the latest report out of Olympia, where business reporter Rolf Boone doesn’t bother to wait for the NWMLS talking points press release before publishing his monthly real estate stories. While South Sound home sales year to date are running 6 percent ahead of sales through all of 2005, higher inventories continue to slow the…
Realtors Getting Testy, Anti-Competitive
In yesterday’s open thread, Plymster pointed out an interesting bit of drama that is being played out in the Seattle real estate blogging scene. I’m not really interested in fanning internet flame wars, but the comments of a local Realtor™ really sheds some light on one of the problems the real estate industry as a…
"Prices plateau as incomes catch back up"
Here’s some real hard-hitting reporting from the P-I. It turns out that mortgages are rising a lot faster than paychecks. Who knew? The percentage of Seattle residents who … own their homes increased over the past five years — even though home values and mortgage payments rose much faster than incomes, data the U.S. Census…