Guide To Seattle Real Estate

You almost can’t go more than 15 minutes without a break from the Presidential race to hear about the housing melt down.  Business Week just published another article adding to the confusion.  All to often the statistics don’t match the story.  Headlines read “The market could drop another 20%” then Statistics are given about the percentage of homes bought in the last year that owe more than 80% of the homes value.  The article goes on to say that these people would lose their equity if home prices dropped by 20%.  DUH!

Here in Seattle of the homes bought last year 57% owe more than 80% of the value of the home.  But what does that really mean?  Homes bought last year?  They don’t tell us what the rest of the population owes.  They even have pie charts dividing the country up into broad regions like the WEST and the SOUTH and then tout the polls about what home owners think has happened to their equity.  Ok, lets just take a look at the west.  Compare SoCal with up to a 20% drop in value and Seattle with an almost 4% increase, then lump both of them together into the same statistic.  What do you get? Nothing!  Apples and oranges, literally. 

Real Estate is local!  I am not a Realtor that is going to go on about how “Now is the time to buy!”  Now might be the wrong time for you to buy or sell for that matter.  It might be the right time, depending on your specific situation and location.  Frenzy is what the news media sells.  I am also not saying never to listen to the media, but take it all in with a grain of salt.  What sells, Scary Stories!  The News makes their money selling ads, their fee is based on their readership/viewership.  I am an agent, I am paid at the end of a successful transaction.  Listen to your personal needs.  Educate yourself and choose for yourself.