Among the many “joys” of home ownership is the never-ending cycle of home maintenance. Since fall is the time when many homeowners find their lawns and driveways buried under a thick layer of brown, red, and gold, I thought it would be worthwhile to post a brief review of the Toro Ultra Blower Vac that…
Poll: For trick-or-treaters, my home is…
This poll was active 10.27.2013 through 11.02.2013
Friday Flashback: “We’re going fight the media”
Here’s a gem in a KOMO article from July 2008: "Open House" — sign of the times in Snohomish County Real estate agents in Snohomish County are now resorting to a “shock treatment” for slouching home sales in their area. Realtors advertised more than 400 open houses over the weekend. Agents say they hope playing…
“Affordable” & Median Price Line Up in September
As promised in last night’s affordability post, here’s an updated look at the “affordable home” price chart. In this graph I flip the variables in the affordability index calculation around to other sides of the equation to calculate what price home the a family earning the median household income could afford to buy at today’s…
Affordability Rose Slightly in September
Let’s take a look at how affordability is doing in the Seattle area after the last couple months of changes in home prices and interest rates. So how does affordability look as of September? Slightly better. The index inched back above 100 (i.e. the median-priced home is affordable to a median-income household) thanks to the…



