At least someone in the Seattle media is paying attention to the dangerous situation that a lot of people are getting into so they can afford a home around here: The housing market around here has been so hot for so long that some homeowners assume prices will always go up. But the experts warn:…
"Seattle…likely not facing a housing bubble."
There’s nothing quite like optimism: Despite soaring home prices here, the greater Seattle area is likely not facing a housing bubble, a new study indicates. The study they’re referring to was reported earlier in the week. Though Seattle did not reach the arbitrary “30% overvalued” threshold for being “vulnerable to price correction,” it still ranked…
People do Stupid Things in a Bubble
The headline pretty much says it all. When Moe Batra saw the auction listing for a parcel of land near the Skagit River, he thought it would be the perfect place to build his retirement home. So Batra, 58, joined about 2,000 other people at a land auction in Lynnwood last month put on by…
High Seattle Prices Drive Rural Growth
How are people dealing with skyrocketing home prices in Seattle? Some just stay put, some use dangerous interest-only and adjustable-rate loans to afford a house, while others push further and further to the outskirts of the metro area. That last option is causing stress in some small towns as they experience record growth. A huge…
Local Radio Looks at the Bubble
AM Radio station 710 KIRO is in the middle of a 5-part series titled CloseUp: Housing Bubble. Here are some notable highlights from the first two parts: Brooks: When the bottom fell out in 1990 home prices in Seattle stayed flat, and in some places dropped, but eventually rebounded. He believes Seattle has some things…