On the one hand, I do tire sometimes of Elizabeth Rhodes’ constant real estate cheerleading. On the other hand, at least it gives us something new to talk about every Saturday, right? Without Ms. Rhodes, all we get are bland neighborhood profiles like this one about the "legacy of Mountlake Terrace." The legacy of Mountlake…
Dead Tree Press For Seattle Bubble
I know you all totally keep on top of all the popular Canadian magazines, so this is probably totally old news to you,* but Seattle Bubble got its first mention in a mainstream dead-tree publication last week, in an article in Maclean’s titled Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. As with politics, the real-estate blogosphere is…
Ask The So-Called Expert
Spotted this one over at Ben Jones’ wonderful Housing Bubble Blog: Question: I’m remodeling a rental home that I plan to sell, but I’m worried that the housing market might go bust before I finish the renovations. Someone suggested I put it on the market before it’s finished, but I’m not sure this is a…
Spokane Increases Line County Pockets
Proud homeowners over in Spokane have been gleefully enjoying price increases similar to those in Seattle the last few years, and now the local government is gleefully cashing in. The Spokane County assessor’s office mailed notices this week to the owners of 176,000 parcels that the worth of their property has changed, mostly upward. Values…
Government Hinders Affordable Housing
For all the grandstanding that Seattle’s city government loves to do about "affordable housing," you would think that they would want to make it as easy as possible for builders to actually build housing. Of course, if you think that, you’re quite wrong. "We must dramatically increase access to decent, affordable housing," said Mayor Greg…