What’s the solution to Seattle’s traffic problems? Well, apparently if you ask the Mayor, the solution is a tax hike… on homeowners. Since 1998, voters have passed five levies: $117 million for education, $86 million for low-income housing, $72 million for the Seattle Center and community centers, $198 million for parks and $167 million for…
Category: News
News, current events, etc.
Affordability Continues Downward Slide
Apparently over at WSU there’s a group called the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. Last week they released a report on home sales in the first quarter of 2006 in the state of Washington. Surprise surprise, the report shows that home sales are slowing down in Washington! But as the Associated Press is all…
Seattle: Froth Or No Froth?
As amazing as it may seem to readers here, there are in fact many people that are completely convinced that Seattle is not in a housing / real estate bubble of any kind. Not that our bubble is less extreme than Florida or California, but that all of Seattle’s home price gains have been 100%…
Emotional Bubble
When discussing a real estate bubble with “non-believers,” one subject that often comes up is emotions. Some real estate enthusiasts go so far as to claim that everyone who believes in a bubble is a bitter, scared, renter. On the other end of the spectrum, Marlow Harris of the P-I’s Seattle Real Estate Professionals blog…
Real Estate Party In Washington!
A number of readers pointed out the latest series of rah, rah, real estate stories from Money Magazine that sing the praises of real estate in Washington State. The gist of the articles is that while the slowdown in real estate is undeniable in most of the country, the crystal ball predicts that a number…