Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Nov 02 2009 | the, business, economy, banks, lending, mortgage
CIT did a lot of lending during the heydey of the market, but their presence up here in the PNW was limited.
Tough news to swallow for a company that is over 100 years old.
Quoted: The bankruptcy of CIT is likely to hand the Treasury Department its biggest loss to date under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It invested $2.3 billion in CIT last December.
- Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 11 days ago | the, news, business, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate, housing
But sales were up...a lot.
Mixed string of news about the market over the past year, which is why I'm so hesitant to say we have recovered. The economic and housing situation is not simple; many factors still at play that are influencing pricing, demand from buyers, and supply of housing being released.
Quoted: According to data collected by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), the average sale price of a home in King County last month was $415,581, down from $421,521 in October and well off the average sale price of November 2008 of $440,062. The median (half sold for more, half for less) sale price in King County last month was $337,000, down from $349,950 in October and down from $365,000 in November 2008.
ShareViewed: 2 Times - Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 22 days ago | the, business, real estate, housing
The worry is that, just like the cash for clunkers program, we're attracting all first-time buyers to buy now to buoy the health of the market, but that will reduce the amount of first-time buyers down the road, which could again hurt the market.
Quoted: Thanks in part to an $8,000 tax credit, first-time buyers accounted for a record 47 percent of all home purchases this year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 22 days ago | the, mortgage, business, real estate, housing
Quoted: The problems started after mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae decided to take steps earlier this year to limit exposure in what it viewed as a risky lending segment that’s been loaded with foreclosures, Sachenbacher says.
As a result, the two biggest insurers of mortgage loans now require 70% of a condo property’s units to be sold, up from 51% less than a year ago, before it will insure or buy the loan, thereby allowing it to be sold on the secondary market. - Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 24 days ago | the, business, wine, awards
Quoted: For the first time in history, a Washington state wine — Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon — has been named the “No. 1 Wine in the World” by a prestigious wine publication.
- Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 30 days ago | the, housing, business, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate, distressed properties
Quoted: According to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure database, 6,495 properties entered some stage of foreclosure in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue region in the third quarter of this year. That translates into a 38 percent increase from a year ago, putting the region 95th out of 203 metro areas that RealtyTrac gauges.
ShareViewed: 2 Times - Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Nov 14 2009 | the, housing, business, real estate, economy
Quoted: Aided by the home buyer tax credit, the outlook for housing and the economy appears headed for a sustainable recovery, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
- Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Nov 13 2009 | the, business, news
Quoted: If it's really your 'dream job,' don't say so
- Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Nov 06 2009 | the, business, housing, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate
Quoted: Pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums in King County jumped more than 70 percent in October compared with last year as buyers raced to purchase homes before losing a federal tax credit.
ShareViewed: 2 Times - Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Nov 01 2009 | the, seattle, business, housing
Woohoo, 4th safest!
Quoted: The city ranked third among 40 U.S. cities in the category of violent crime, second best in workplace deaths, eighth best in traffic deaths and No. 31 in natural disaster risk.
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