local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.
Let’s take a look at how affordability is doing in the Seattle area after the last few months of changes in home prices and interest rates. So how does affordability look as of October? With home prices stagnating this fall and interest rates inching back down close to 4 percent, the affordability index moved back…
Continuing our “Another Bubble?” series, it’s time to take a look at the affordability index. As King County’s median home price has surged from $405,400 in February to $468,000 in July, the affordability index has dropped from slightly above the long-term average to just below 100. An index level above 100 indicates that the monthly…
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 May? Thanks to the spring surge in home prices, we’ve dropped back below the “affordable” level of 100. The index sits at…
For years, the gold standard in online buy vs. rent calculators has been the one created and hosted by the New York Times. This week, they released a brand new, updated and enhanced version: Is It Better to Rent or Buy? The new version lays out all of the variables in a clean and simple…
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 March? Basically on par with the long-term pre-bubble average. The index sits at 103.5, basically the same as January. An index level…