Big Yellow Cranes

See all those big yellow cranes? We’re sorry to say that they’re probably not building your next home. Our current regulations make building offices and rental units more appealing to developers than condos, townhomes, single-family homes and mixed-use properties that serve the middle class.
Even if they were building homes to put on the market, we’re so far behind demand that it will take much, much more construction to catch us up. But it’s worth making the effort now: a study by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office has shown that building enough supply would result in lower prices. As more proof, Tokyo has not seen rapid home price appreciation because it meets all new demand by building more housing.

If you’re curious about all the construction, you’re not alone. Seattle in Progress is a free map tool that shows what’s being built all around Seattle. Explore the map

Today's blog courtesy of The Housing Translator.

Happy Investing!

Real Estate News

Seattle bumps Boston as the most expensive U.S. housing market outside of California

http://www.geekwire.com/2016/seattle-bumps-boston-expensive-u-s-housing-market-thats-not-california/

The best way to tell if your neighborhood is well designed: Count the Trick-or-Treaters

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/metropolis/2016/10/the_trick_or_treat_test_is_amazing_zillow_ruined_it.html

Many home sellers remain on the fence

https://www.redfin.com/blog/2016/10/redfin-home-seller-survey-q4-2016.html

Happy Investing! 

Home Sales Climbing Nationwide

The National Association of REALTORS® reported that Existing Home Sales were up 4.9 percent from May to April, reaching an annual rate of 4.89 million units. That's the highest monthly rate since the 5.5 percent recorded in August 2011. Existing Home Sales is a measure of the selling rate of pre-owned, single-family homes, which accounts for over 80 percent of all houses sold.  New Home Sales, which tracks never before occupied homes, challenged the analysts by rising to a 6-year high in May. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 504,000 new homes were sold. This was an 18.6 percent increase over April, marking the largest single-month increase in 22 years!  And according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index—which measures changes in values between sales and is compiled into an index for select U.S. cities—all 20 tracked markets climbed nationwide in April.  What's the bottom line? While the supply of homes for sale has dwindled to an 11-month low overall, prices are going up, albeit at a much slower pace than in 2013. It remains to be seen whether the housing market will continue to expand through the remainder of the summer, but it's clear that great deals are here today.