Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 5 days ago | the, it, real estate, housing, seattle, seattle real estate
Quoted: Sold on its square footage -- Quadrant advertisements run during the housing boom presented a family lost in its living room -- the house lacked a heater powerful enough to warm all that space, Sigafoos said. Sections of the home had been left without insulation by crews working for the Weyerhaeuser Co.-owned developer, he claimed, and wet materials used during the house's rushed construction provided a foothold for mold.
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 9 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.
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 13 days ago | the, mortgage, seattle, real estate, housing, seattle real estateLending professionals are continuously trying to predict trends. This past summer, the belief was that rates were definitely headed to 6%+ territory. Now, we've actually reversed the trend and gone lower.
Word is that the Fed will keep rates low until the end of spring 10, which should, theoretically, bolster monetary supply and allow banks to continuet to transact in commercial and residential lending. Since there's an extension of the home buyer credits, rates probably won't stray too far from the 5-6% range for the near-term.
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 13 days ago | the, housing, seattle, mortgage, seattle real estate, real estate
The FHA helps homebuyers who often cannot qualify for a loan otherwise. The problem is that there is usually a very good reason for why a potential buyer doesn't qualify for a conventional loan - poor/limited credit history is one, lack of funds is another. The result is that the FHA lends money to a pool of higher-risk borrowers (that is, a higher chance of default). It's no surprise, then, that as of this past summer, about 17% of FHA borrowers were behind on at least 1 payment.
I don't see anyway around a bailout of the FHA by taxpayers within the next few years.
Quoted: The Federal Housing Administration says its financial cushion has dipped to a dangerously low level but should remain above zero under "most economic scenarios." The agency, a major source of funds for first-time homebuyers, faces mounting concerns that it will eventually need a taxpayer bailout as losses grow from homeowners who lose their jobs and can't pay their mortgages.
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 19 days ago | business, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate, housing, tax credit
Quoted: The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, which helped home sales rebound this year, was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. The legislation extends it to homes that are under contract by April 30, 2010, and creates a new $6,500 tax credit for owners of existing homes who buy a new principal residence. To take advantage of this credit, buyers must have lived in their old house for at least five of the past eight years.
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 19 days ago | the, business, housing, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 26 days ago | the, housing, real estate, seattle real estate
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 28 days ago | the, seattle, business, seattle real estate, real estate, housing
The drop in prices in the area has definitely slowed. In some areas, we're even seeing prices increase a bit (even among new construction). We hope these are signs that the market is trying to get itself back on solid ground.
Quoted: However, Seattle home prices were relatively unchanged month-to-month between June and August of this year. The Seattle index dipped 0.1 percent between June and July, only to increase 0.1 percent between July and August, S&P data show. “Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - 29 days ago | the, news, housing, real estate, seattle, seattle real estate
Of the many housing price indices used, the S&P/Case-Shiller is probably the most popular. Let's hope the improved housing numbers last through the winter.
Quoted: WWhile down from last year’s level, August marks the seventh month of year-over-year improvements for the indices, which track the price path of typical single-family homes located in major metropolitan areas. In 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas, Cleveland being the only exception, price decline improved in August from July. “Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline in home price values continues to improve,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee. “We see this general trend whether you look at the as-reported data or the seasonally adjusted figures.”
Rich | Shared With: Everyone - Oct 24 2009 | real estate, seattle, seattle real estate, housing, Housing and Real Estate
Question is if sales will continue once the credit goes away.
Quoted: Sales of existing homes rose to the highest levels in more than two years last month as buyers raced to take advantage of the soon-to-expire first-time home buyer's credit. The National Association of Reatlors says existing home sales, including single-family, townhomes, condos and coops, rose 9.4 percent to 5.57 million, the highest since July of 2007. Compared to a year ago, existing home sales are up 9.2 percent
Related Content from Around Faves
seattle real estate
-
Eco friendly homes that have been on the market for years. Very nice looking, close to Green Lake, but pricey at the original price of $725K to $825K.
The bank has foreclosed on the remaining, unsold units and they are now for sale again, for $399K to $649K. Their cost was high because of their high-level of built-green certification.
1 FaverViewed: 4 TimesQuoted: Almost all the construction waste was recycled. Some materials from the warehouse that previously occupied the site were reused. Many other construction materials came from local sources. The homes feature formaldehyde-free doors and millwork and on-demand hot water systems. Rain, captured in a 23,000-gallon underground cistern, provides all the water for irrigation. Fixtures and appliances use relatively little energy and water — Pryde Johnson actually prepared an owners' manual telling buyers how to use and maintain them.
- Rich - Jul 14 20091 FaverViewed: 6 Times
- Rich - Jun 05 20091 FaverViewed: 2 Times
housing
-
The ice house project is interesting. The pictures and info about Detroit housing really good, especially the ones that compare circa 1950 to now.
1 FaverViewed: 6 TimesQuoted: Detroit is a depopulated city with many areas returning to open space prairie land
- tfwright - Aug 16 20091 FaverViewed: 4 Times
