local real estate news, statistics, and commentary without the sales spin.
Now that September is in the books, let’s have a look at our monthly stats preview.
Sales were basically flat month-over-month, but still up double-digits from a year ago, while inventory in both counties saw the biggest year-over-year decline in more than two years. Foreclosure notices in both counties bumped up a little month-over-month and year-over-year…
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.
All three tiers were up month-over-month yet again in July. However, the gains in all three tiers were much smaller than they have been for the previous few months…
Let’s have a look at the latest data from the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. According to July data, Seattle-area home prices were:
Up 0.5% June to July
Up 7.3% YOY.
Down 4.7% from the July 2007 peak
…
Here’s a fun Friday Flashback. How many of my readers remember this classic 2006 Century 21 TV commercial?
“Suzanne Researched This” became a big inside joke among those who didn’t buy the hype at the peak of the bubble. This commercial was so egregious that even Slate wrote an article headlined “The Nastiest Wife on Television.”
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 mortgage rates if they put 20% down and spent 30% of their monthly income.
The “affordable” home price hit $496,051 back in April, but has since dropped off…