local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.
Let’s have a little fun on a Friday afternoon. Let’s say you play the big Mega Millions lottery everyone won’t stop talking about, and against all odds, you’re the sole winner tonight. What house (or houses) currently on the market would you buy? It doesn’t have to be in the Seattle area, if you’re only…
It’s been about a quarter of a year since we last checked in on the Seattle-area’s price to rent ratio, so I thought I’d share an update of those charts. As of January (the latest Case-Shiller data available), Seattle’s price to rent ratio is down to just 2.5% above the 1990-2001 average, hitting its lowest…
Let’s check out the three price tiers for the Seattle area, as measured by Case-Shiller. Remember, Case-Shiller’s “Seattle” data is based on single-family home repeat sales in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. Note that the tiers are determined by sale volume. In other words, 1/3 of all sales fall into each tier. For more details…
Let’s have a look at the latest data from the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. According to January data, Seattle-area home prices were: Down 0.7% December to January. Down 4.0% YOY. Down 32.4% from the July 2007 peak Last year prices fell 2.4% from December to January and year-over-year prices were down 6.7%. Continuing toward zero…
In case you missed it Friday, the Smith Tower was sold (back to the bank) at foreclosure auction. Here’s KING 5’s report: Historic Smith Tower sold for $36.9 million That’s what happens when you make a big public announcement about intentions to convert to condos, scaring away all your good tenants, then fail to follow…