Forbes’ "Smartest" Cities—Where’s Seattle?

I’m sure that those of you who have been reading Seattle Bubble since at least April recall the AP study that heralded Seattle as the “most educated” city in the USA (or “smartest,” depending on whether the article author made the false assumption that more education == smarter). According to the April study: Forty-seven percent […]

Seattle Times Pumps Interest Only Loans

From the Seattle Times over the weekend: Almost every dollar Todd Asher earns is spoken for. He has one daughter in college, another in high school and a toddler in diapers. “We made a decision to have my wife stay at home with our 18-month-old son, so we’re living off my income, paying for tuition, […]

Housing Bubble Time Warp

Here are a few quotes from newspaper articles in October, November, and December about the housing market: October [A]: “I fully expect things to pick up the first part of the year.” Although the pace of sales has slowed, there are no clear indications that overall prices are going to decline, real estate analysts say. […]

Pacific NW a "Rare Exception" (for now…)

I’m surprised that neither the Times nor the P-I chose to reprint this Associated Press article from yesterday: With few exceptions, Western real estate expected to stagnate. Why would they print an article with such a sullen headline? Because the Pacific Northwest is heralded as the “rare exception,” of course. Although few experts predict home […]

November Market Predictions Anyone?

As November draws to a close, would anyone care to venture any guesses as to what the King County MLS numbers for the month will show? Here are my guesses, straight outta left field: Median Closed Sales Price (Res): $435,000Median Closed Sales Price (Condo): $260,000Active Listings (Res): 7,250Pending Sales (Res): 2,000 If the numbers come […]