In the interest of being even-handed, I present to you the case for downtown condo mania, courtesy of the Seattle Times. The more housing we build downtown, the more desirable downtown becomes for all — residents, workers, visitors and tourists. Many people who live downtown invest in downtown. They donate their time and resources to…
Local Real Estate Blog Talks Bubble
Over at the P-I’s Seattle Real Estate Professionals blog, Gregory Wharton (identified as an architect and developer) is in the middle of a very detailed series of posts tackling the subject of—you guessed it—a real estate bubble in Seattle. In the next series of posts on the subject, I’ll investigate Seattle housing prices and associated…
Seattle 2010 = Vancouver, BC 2.0?
Apologies for the lack of posting yesterday. I spent all day at the Art Institute downtown with my wife, at her “portfolio day,” which marks her completion of the “Residential Design” program. If you know someone that needs an interior designer for cheap (since she’s just getting started) shoot me an email. Moving on… If…
Slowing Real Estate Slows State Economy
As predicted, the slowing real estate market is beginning to affect other aspects of the economy in our state. The monthly jobs report from the state Employment Security Department often is full of seemingly contradictory data, but May’s report was even murkier than usual.…Beneath the confusing headline numbers, there’s considerable evidence for a simple conclusion:…
Pierce Property Tax Valuations Up 22%
Proving that it is indeed possible to write a story about home price increases without resorting to overly enthusiastic quotes real estate cheerleaders and/or government beneficiaries, the Tacoma News Tribune reports on the 22% increased property tax valuations being mailed out to Pierce County residents this week: This week, the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer’s Office will…