KIRO radio ran a mildly interesting piece about a spec builder in my neighborhood with especially poor timing: Local spec homes sit empty, cheap. What started as a fun project turned into a nightmare for a builder in Kenmore. Ken Youch, with Kenmar Construction, is happy to give tours of any one of the million…
Boo-Hoo: Tighter Standards Help Kill Chances of Bubble Returning
I’m starting to sense something of a theme in some recent news pieces about the housing market. Consider the following quotes from two recent articles (emphasis mine). Reuters, June 22: Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums, saying they could threaten the…
Tacoma Luxury Condo Project Headed for Foreclosure
Regular readers may recall this post from last October: Construction Defaults Over 10%, Tacoma Condos Empty. Tacoma News Tribune: Downtown condo sales at a crawl How’s the market for condominiums in downtown Tacoma? “What market?” says Judy Mayfield, head of sales for The Esplanade, the 162-unit project on the Foss Waterway, now nearing completion. After…
Puget Sound Counties Interactive May Update
It’s time for our regularly-scheduled check on NWMLS statistics from around the sound. Once again, courtesy Tableau Software, the Around the Sound update is rocking exclusive interactive data visualizations. After about 5:00 today, data will be updated in the old charts in Excel 2007 and Excel 2003 format. To get specific info about a certain…
Mapping Stalled / Slow Construction Around Seattle
With the housing downturn in full swing, it’s interesting how many housing developments have slowed to a near stop or stalled completely. I’ve begun mapping out some of these fallow construction sites in the areas that I frequent (north King / south Snohomish), and I thought it would be interesting to open the process up…