Even Inman News is having a hard time denying the Nortwest’s housing slowdown (link becomes subscription-only after today): Home sales in western Washington declined for the sixth straight month in August amid surging inventory, while home prices maintained double-digit annual growth, according to the latest report from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.…In Pierce County, the…
August Report Roundup
As expected, all the local dead-tree press are reporting today on August’s NWMLS numbers. There’s a lot to check out, and nothing really new, so I’m just going to give a quick overview of each report, Ben Jones style. (And this post is still going to be ridiculously long.) First up, King5 News: There’s been…
Times’ August Blurb Gets It Right
Here are a few interesting quotes from the Seattle Times’ pre-article blurb about the August NWMLS figures: The Puget Sound housing market is still stronger than most of the rest of the country, but signs of slowing are clear. Last month, the third month in a row, median home prices were nearly flat — up…
P-I August Numbers Pre-Report Report
It looks like the local rags are finally going to get around to reporting on the August NWMLS figures. In preparation, the P-I is already practicing their anti-bubble spin with the pre-report report. Real estate experts expect to see slowing sales and price gains and increased inventory, but nothing resembling a bursting bubble, when the…
Mapping Housing Market Health
A pair of maps containing interesting statistics surfaced in the past few weeks that are worth sharing here. First is the “Map of Misery” from BusinessWeek, showing “the percentage of new and refinanced mortgages into loans with payment options.” This is important to note, because as BusinessWeek explains: The option adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) might…