Category: Uncategorized

Slowly but surely the downside of exploding house prices is being highlighted in our local media. Maybe not so much in Seattle proper, but at least down in Tacoma (where houses are quite a bit cheaper than in King County) the issue is being given some attention. The price of a home may be relatively…

I heard an ad for a mortgage company on the radio this morning that had the following line: We can approve you from your car (i.e. – over the phone). Getting a home loan should be as easy as ordering pizza. It’s because of companies with that kind of philosophy that we’ve gotten into this…

In a discussion this weekend over at RCG, contributor Galen Ward commented that “Home prices will probably be flat until inflation prices back to ‘normal’ levels.” To which I replied that currently “in King County a family making the median household income has just 45% of the income necessary to afford the median-priced home,” and…

The Tacoma News-Tribune sheds light on a problem with state law that could become more of an issue as foreclosures become more common in the coming years. "Opportunity knocks!" proclaimed a real estate handbill about a five-bedroom home on two acres selling for $288,750. But here is what you won’t find on the advertisement for…

P-I Columnist Bill Virgin makes light of the housing situation in today’s column, titled How to rein in housing prices? It’s simple. The thrust of the article is a sarcastic proposal to make it illegal to profit from the sale of a home. However, he makes some interesting claims that I can only assume he’s…