In theory, there are two factors that affect the price of homes: supply and demand. We’ve looked extensively at the relationship between supply (inventory) and price in the past. Let’s take a look at the relationship between demand and price. For the purpose of this post, we will measure demand by looking at the relationship…
Some Local Home Listing Anecdotes
It’s been a while since I posted any anecdotal observations, so I think it’s time for a few. First up, the 8-unit condo/townhome complex in my neighborhood, which we have visited a few times before. Here’s the summary of the action in this complex of eight essentially identical units since 2005: September 2005: Unit #5…
Rental Market Semi-Scaremongering
Yesterday’s P-I had a big front-page story from Aubrey Cohen that seems to be at least partly designed to frighten renters and encourage landlords: Rent at an all-time high — if you can find a place “There are a lot of apartments available, but the desirable ones seem to rent very quickly,” said Kilbourne, a…
Bad Real Estate Loans Hitting Local Banks
Over the weekend, the Seattle Times published an article titled Bad real-estate loans stack up for smaller local banks, about the exposure local banks have to real estate loans. The gist of the article was that many local banks, squeezed out of the mortgage business by the likes of WaMu and Countrywide, had doubled down…
The most valuable real estate is that of the mind: bloggers are having an impact.
Note: Once again, if you are looking for data and graphs, this post is not for you. So much could be said about this issue. One of the most fascinating developments to see unfold and the one theme I keep coming back to is how powerful blogging has been in shaping the mind-set of the…