Please consider the following excerpt from a post I wrote that was originally published on the personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly (and later here): …if home buying is like a savings plan, it’s probably the worst savings plan on Earth. Would you voluntarily sign up for a savings plan where well over half of…
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Comment of the Week: Impulsive Behavior Disorder
This comment of the week is brought to you by Jonness: All’s I know is my household income is 6 figures, I have no kids, I have 20% down, and I still don’t feel like I can afford a house priced $400K. How people are pulling the FHA trigger with 3.5% down and $70K in…
What the Heck is the Affordability Index, Anyway?
Seattle Times business reporter Eric Pryne quoted me yesterday in his article about the affordability index, and as I was reading through the comments posted at the Seattle Times website, I noticed an awful lot of misconceptions about what the affordability index is, and what it tells us. So, I thought maybe it would be…
Case-Shiller Tiers: High Tier Flat, Low & Mid Tiers Inch Upward
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…