Another sign of the times down in Olympia, where this story posted on October 22nd highlights the difficulties some would-be sellers are having finding interested buyers. The plan was to buy a steal-of-a-deal house on the east side of Olympia, remodel it and resell it quickly for a tidy profit – pretty much like they…
Don’t Bet On Biotech?
Here’s an interesting article that focuses on the influence bio-tech has on Seattle’s economy. It’s tangentially related to real estate, because of the argument we hear so often that oodles of high-tech jobs are just pouring into Seattle. In recent years, economic development boosters both in Seattle and on the Eastside have increasingly focused their…
Retail Spending Spikes In Washington
Seattle Times writer Melissa Allison seems a bit too excited about today’s report that retail spending in Washington State grew by 10.5% from spring ’05 to spring ’06. Those were the days, back in the spring when the flowers bloomed and the housing market sizzled. Washingtonians had such confidence last spring that they spent with…
Time For A Sale
Our local condo enthusiast Matt made a post this morning pointing out an interesting sign of slowing: For a limited-time, Queen Anne High School is offering a $5,000 BUYER BONUS on all homes under $400,000*! With its close-to-downtown location, Seattle’s perma-hot real estate market, and all the free fawning press that this project got when…
Puget Sound Cities Not Very Safe
Research company Morgan Quinto released its latest “safest and most dangerous cities” rankings today, and overall, the Puget Sound did not fare particularly well. The Associated Press story reprinted in the P-I explains a little bit about how the 371 cities were ranked: Cities are ranked based on more than just their crime rate, Morgan…