"Are we going to get rid of the mortgage interest deduction?" I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath. http://is.gd/cdzKq # Another great failed banks visualization over at Mish's – http://is.gd/ceTuk # via @CalculatedRisk – Record 14.69% of Mortgage Loans Delinquent or in Foreclosure http://is.gd/cgeCX # Seattle P-I RE blog headline: "What else is…
Charting How Much Home the Median Income can Afford
A few days ago on my sarcastic interest rates post, Dave0 asked: I wonder what the chart would look like if you graphed out, from 2000 to present, the price someone could afford to buy with the given interest rate at the time (from the graph above), with payments equal to 28% of the median…
Treading Water Between Fear and Desperation
It’s been quite a while since we had a look at the “Cycle of Market Emotions.” The Cycle of Market Emotions Last time, in late 2007 as prices just began to decline here in the Seattle area, I pegged our location on the curve at somewhere between anxiety and denial. Today I’d guess that we’re…
Still a “Buyer’s Market” in Many Neighborhoods
Time for another update on the various neighborhoods around King County. First up is a map of SAAS across King County: SAAS Dash Powered by Tableau Only three areas were strongly in “seller’s market” territory in April (SAAS <1.75), while twelve were still relatively strong “buyer’s markets” (SAAS >2.25). The remaining fifteen markets were more…
Checking in on SKYROCKETING Interest Rates
Good thing we panicked last month about the mind-blowing 0.3-point jump in interest rates. The era of record-low mortgage rates is over. The average rate on a 30-year loan has jumped from about 5 percent to more than 5.3 percent in just the past week. As mortgages get more expensive, more would-be homeowners are priced…