Here’s a bit of balance for you after that rental horror story. Astoundingly, today’s “home buying isn’t always a walk in the park” story comes to you courtesy of the Seattle Times (but not E. Rhodes of course). Katherine and Robert McCartney thought they’d found the perfect first home in a 1,400-square-foot 1950s rambler in…
Offbeat Weekend News: Home Rental Scam
Maybe all those reports about the rental market getting tighter and tighter were true. In fact, the market is getting so tight, people are paying thousands to rent places that aren’t even available! Imagine checking on a vacant rental house you own, only to find a family you don’t know living there. It happened this…
Seattle "Losing Some Steam"
Hissssssss… Thanks to the reader / college mate that sent this in. Seattle got a mention in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story: Home Prices Keep Sliding; Buyers Sit Tight. The air continues to seep out of the U.S. housing market, according to the latest data, and some economists are warning that prices will keep declining…
The Supply Side of Real Estate
I’ve been reading a tremendous amount recently on the subject of building and it’s impact on local real estate markets. Over the past several weeks, at every opportunity both privately and out on the town, I have talked with people who are involved in the supply side of housing: builders, contractors, and suppliers (big box…
Bubble-Proof Superstar Seattle
A commenter over at RCG pointed out this Business 2.0 article that labels Seattle as “bubble-proof.” About the last place a prospective homebuyer might want to peruse MLS listings these days is in one of the country’s most expensive markets, like San Francisco, where the median cost of a single-family dwelling has jumped 37 percent…