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…
Bubble-Screening Real Estate Agents
A comment from reader seattle price drop in yesterday’s post got me thinking. In discussing what kind of research to do for an impending real estate purchase, spd suggested: Step 2) Interview several realtors. Do this with an eye to finding out who will be truthful and represent your interests well when the time comes…
Do Your Market Research
I read the a question and answer in the Everett Herald about researching the market before buying a home, and I couldn’t help but feel that the columnist’s advice was a little lacking. Question: I’m attempting to research the housing market, but I don’t want to even think about buying for at least a year…
Always Better To Own Vs. Rent?
Most readers of this blog know that renting versus owning right now is almost a no-brainer, and buying real estate in order to rent it out right now is just plain foolish. Now, I haven’t been following the commercial real estate market as closely as residential, but I would have a hard time believing that…