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16% Appreciation so far in 2007

cab 1So far this year I’m seeing 16% appreciation over by Microsoft.  I prefer to wait until we get into October to calculate appreciation, but I figured everyone was wondering.  Six months ago I had predicted appreciation in 2007 to be 15% to 25% over by Microsoft.  With all of the gloom and doom talk that seems to prevail and persist, I thought I’d better do a reality check.

To find true appreciation, I have to look at a microcosm of the marketplace.  One where there are no flippers, no granite countertops, no expensive upgrades.  But even I am surprised to see the investment limited to a few $.50 cabinet knob changeouts.  They didn’t even plug the old fashioned center hole when they painted these cabinets white.  They could have at least moved the knob to an upgraded location on the door.  Just some paint, new hinges and knobs.  New stove and range hood.  A quick and cheap weekend project.

OK…back to appreciation.  Apples to apples.  One bedroom condos on 148th Ave in Bellevue Manor and Bellevue Highlands.  Not that you can buy one if you wanted one.  They rarely come on market anymore.  Last time I needed one for a client, I had to find it off market. 

Let’s look at overall historical appreciation.  I find it quite interesting and a good answer to the question “WHEN did the market go up?”

Original 1978 average sale price $32,000 to $34,000

1980 average sale price up to $38,000 $40,000

1984 to 1988 back down to $32,000 to $34,000

Basically no change for the first ten years with some ups and downs.

By 1994 they were only back up to their 1980 high of $40,000.  No appreciation in 14 years if you bought in 80 and sold in 94.

From 94 through 1997…only modest gains up to $45,000.

Then comes 1998 where they jumped from $45,000 to $55,000

By 1999 they were up to $65,000

By 2001 they were up to $80,000 where they stayed until 2004.

So prices doubled between 1980 and 2001 with some ups and downs, most of that 100% appreciation came between 1998 and 2001, and then stablized from 2001 through 2005.

If you bought in 1997 and sold in 2001, you would have almost 100% appreciation.  If you bought zero down with closing costs included (most of these prices have closing costs included), you would have made $35,000 to $40,000 with no cash invested up front.  What’s the return of $40,000 with zero invested in three years’ time?

Early 05 they are up to $90,000.

 By May of 05 they are up to $100,000.

 By end of 05 they are up to $125,000.

 Early 06 up to $145,000.

 End of 06 up to $152,000.

 Latest three sales in 07 $171,000 - $175,000 and $176,800.

No new kitchen cabinets. Amazes me given there are only a few of them. 100% appreciation from late 04 to end of 06 and still going. Makes me wonder if one would sell for $200,000 today if someone invested in new cabinets and granite counters. It wouldn’t appraise…so maybe not worth the risk of trying to find out. I think someone would buy it, but they might not get the financing. So I guess they’ll just keep on painting the cabinet doors and wood trim.

I track these because I helped a 19 year old U-Dub student/Microsoft intern buy one of these for $104,500 including all closing costs back in June of 2005.  How high can they go?  Hard to tell…no one seems to want to sell them.  There are about 150 of them, but people seem to be holding onto the ones they have.

I predicted appreciation in 2007 would be about the same as it was in 2006. So far compare $130,000 to $152,000 and $152,000 to $176,800…and it’s just about on track…but the year’s not over yet. Not much of a chance we’ll see prices rolling back on these though. They generally sell in 2-5 days once they hit the market.

About the Author: Ardell DellaLoggia

An Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker Bain - Kirkland WA. ARDELL was named one of the 25 most Influential Real Estate Bloggers in the U.S. for 2007 by Inman News, and has over 18 years exeperience in Real Estate up and down both Coasts. She represents buyers and sellers of real estate on both sides of the 520 Bridge from Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond on the Eastside to Green Lake and surrounds on the Seattle side. You can reach her at 206-910-1000 or by hitting the email the author link above.

Comments

1. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Sorry for drawing that out, but every time someone stops by and says the sky is falling in, and prices are going to go back to 1990 pricings, I shake my head. To me that means down from $176,800 to $35,000. I doubt it. Sounds pretty whacky to me. But he’s right that if it did, it would represent $.20 on the dollar. I just had to calculate it in real terms.

2. Comment from Alan
Time August 13, 2007 at 1:35 pm

Were there any indicators in 1994 to 1998 that told you prices were going to double over the next few years? After 14 years of no appreciation why would someone think prices would suddenly rise like that? Can it be predicted or does one just have to get lucky?

3. Comment from Don Greenup
Time August 13, 2007 at 2:08 pm

Sounds like the greater fool theory….

4. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 2:36 pm

Alan,

I wasn’t here from 94 to 98 and much of the rest of the Country was just coming out of their 90-95 correction phase from the big gains they took from 83 to 89 or so.

Everyone seemed to go up in 98, but for the rest of the Country it was their second big gain period, unlike Seattle that didn’t seem to have the push in the 80s that many others did.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing a difference now as well.

As far as predicting, I’ve never trusted anyone who predicted beyond the coming season. As far as I’m concerned, no one has a clue in November and each January holds it’s own forecasting signals.

This year has been like a never ending January, compared to the last two years. Continuous “cherry picking”. What sells, sells for more, so prices aren’t down. But the kind of reluctance you see in January when some buy, and some wait for something better to come along. Waiting for better properties or better interest rates or both.

Higher prices for those that do sell, but sluggish. Not a good time for sellers to be unrealistic or overly greedy.

5. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 2:42 pm

Don,

I don’t think anyone who bought over there is feeling foolish right now. What amazes me is that no one is “cashing in”.

6. Comment from Carole Cohen
Time August 13, 2007 at 2:45 pm

Very interesting Ardell. Definitely mimics the Maryland condo I owned and lived in during the nineties; I think I sold it it 98 for barely what I paid for it in 93 and then of course once I wasn’t in the market anymore they took off lol. I really appreciated seeing the breakdown. So 40k in the 70’s to 170k or so now. And not a major ‘upgrade’ complex. Definitely a supply and demand thing too. Thanks I liked reading this.

7. Comment from Deborah Burns
Time August 13, 2007 at 4:08 pm

Data is sooo fascinating! It is interesting the perspective that time shows on the here and now vs then. Thanks for digging up the info and putting a “property face” on the raw data.

8. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 4:23 pm

It amazes me that there isn’t more of a price differential between The Highlands and The Manor. I prefer The Manor, even though the dues are higher. I think the Highlands is in for a big special assessment some day. The manor has repainted, put in new sliders and windows. Has onsite and offsite managers. But the values seem to transfer between the two without much distinction.

9. Comment from Debra
Time August 13, 2007 at 5:51 pm

Hi Ardell,

I like your analysis of the two Bellevue condos. I do remember showing them when they were priced in the 80k range!

When I started here in real estate in 1987, condos were the kiss of death. They sold poorly and, you are right, realized little appreciation. At that time, we would advise buyers to stay away from condos. With Microsoft going public in 1986 and moving over to the Redmond campus, the market started to change a bit. More people moved into the area and needed housing. In 1990 everything went crazy here. The locals blamed Californians for moving up here and causing prices to go up. However, it seemed to be people coming here from all over. This was the first big run up in prices, although the price increases still did not affect condos as much as single family homes. We saw the market freeze in mid 1990 and you could not give a property away, house or condo. By 1994 the market became a little more balanced between buyers and sellers. It has steadily increased all these years.

I think the real price increases have come from the high cost of housing. With prices so high for single family homes, the increases spilled over to the condos. With less land available for single family homes and land becoming more expensive, developers started building nice, new condo comnplexes. These have appreciated really well and have become great investments.

Homes in a neighborhood called The Meadows, which is a planned unit development near Microsoft, were going for high 70k and low 80k in 1987. Homes in the neighborhood today are going for around $450,000 for a similar duplex unit. Who would have thought!

However, if the owners of the condo had updated it, I am sure it would sell faster and for more money. The condos that have been tricked out are usually selling pretty fast, while the others stay on the market.

10. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 6:35 pm

I just saw a place in Rivertrail in Redmond come on at $525,000. Attached housing is really pushing up in price. I love that location and they are very nice. But one does have to wonder when everyday attached housing is over a half a million dollars.

11. Comment from Brian Brady
Time August 13, 2007 at 8:43 pm

Are there competing “complexes” near Microsoft, Ardell?
Is Microsoft one of the higher paying employers?
Will they be hiring more people?
Is their scarcity in the condo market there?

I don’t mean to pepper you with questions but this stuff intrigues me. Never having been to Seattle, it’s like watching a box score in the Sports page to me.

12. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 9:22 pm

LOL, Brady

Microsoft is a big campus. These that I am talking about are only two complexes on the 148th side and were built in 79. They are not competing because not much is for sale. Lots of older property near Microsoft, but not old enough to be charming like in Seattle. Lots of stuff built in the 60s and 70s very close to Microsoft. Most not real expensive, relatively speaking. Lots of splits and ramblers.

I don’t think you can say Microsoft is “higher paying” than others. Lots of employees at all income levels. They are opening a second campus, and that will impact another area of Bellevue.

Most of the Microsoft employees I work with are already here moving from one place to another, not new hirees. All of the property is affected, not just condos. It’s just easier to isolate the pure appreciation on these because none had significant improvements and they are pretty much identical. All 680 to 685 square feet one bedroom condos.

With single family housing, it’s harder to isolate appreciation, but I will do more of that when the season is closer to its end in October. But I don’t mean to suggest that these one bedroom condos have had the highest appreciation in the area.

Off to the airport to pick up my daughter and grand daughter. Their flight gets in at 11:19.

148th is the dividing line between Bellevue and Redond with these condos on the Bellvue side and Microsoft on the Redmond side.

13. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 13, 2007 at 9:31 pm

Interesting note. When the market doubled from 1998 to 2001, it did not have a correction as in lower prices. Just a flat period for awhile.

I’m seeing closings up in July for over $850,000. I was always taught that the lower end had to move early for the higher end to move later. Seems like that is what has happened this year. I ran the stats but I couldn’t get the charts up. At this point I’ll catch both months at the end of August so I can get the 9/1 inventory numbers.

14. Comment from Matthew
Time August 14, 2007 at 6:49 am

What data are you using to track the appreciation around the MS area? What area is considered “around MS”?

15. Comment from fooman
Time August 14, 2007 at 7:22 am

Just curious.

How come no one likes to talk about ‘why’ prices have gone up so high. Have incomes been going up in lockstep? Are rents of similar homes skyrocketing in a manner that makes owning a better investment?

Furthermore, is it statistically valid to pick a few areas ‘over by Microsoft.’? I find it interesting that the title did not include the phrase ‘over by Microsoft.’

Lastly, isn’t it true that these homes all sold before the infamous week of 8/3/2007? I think there is an untold story here which is not seeing the light of day.

16. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 8:34 am

Matthew,

“Microsoft Area” is diffiucult to define. You answered “fooman’s” question for me. I didn’t use “Microsoft Area” in the Title of this post as this post targets these condos’s. I would not have posted it though, if I did not feel it was indicative of appreciation generally in the Microsoft Area. I will use some other exmples as well, these simply isolate the factor of appreciation better since the subject properties are as close to identical as possible, in the marketplace.

The people who work at Microsoft determine the area. Sometimes a property is close, but along a difficult to travel route. The time it takes to get to work being the consideration, not necessarily pure distance issues.

17. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 8:50 am

fooman,

The why is supply and demand. Properties priced at less than $200,000 are a rarity, so supply and demand factors still prevail in this particular microcosm.

Rent vs. buy does not mean the mortgage equals the rent amount. Amazingly some people who bought these new still own them. They moved on and kept it as a rental property. If you are waiting for the price to rent to equal the mortgage payment, I don’t see that happening anytime soon on any property. That you can rent for less than a mortgage payment has never been a significant factor from my vantage point. Many people who buy property could have rented the same property for much less than the mortgage payment, if it were for rent. They did not apply that rationale when deciding whether to rent or buy. Most people buy vs rent to have control of their own lives. They don’t like someone knocking on the door and saying you have to move because I’ve decided to sell the place.

There’s always an “untold” story, fooman. The whole story would be a few books long. This is a blog post. There will be other stories…and the stories never end. That’s what makes it a blog and not a “white paper”.

18. Comment from Brian Brady
Time August 14, 2007 at 8:58 am

“Amazingly some people who bought these new still own them. They moved on and kept it as a rental property”

Perhaps the reason for the scarcity? We have a similar area in San Diego…those darned people just don’t want to sell no matter what happens to prices!

Okay, for fun- what happens if Microsoft goes through a major layoff? (seemingly unlikely but those Apples are trying to accomplish just that)

Obviously, I’m curious about the Microsfoft effect.

19. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 9:24 am

Another place where I can isolate pure appreciation are newer townhomes in a complex of many townhomes that are mostly identical. To look at appreciation, you have to look at apples to apples. That is difficult to find in a marketplace where rarely are properties identical to one another. I will do some more samplings when we get to the end of the third quarter.

Another place I find appreciation is the turnover of homes without improvements made during the ownership time. I find a few of those and will check the base appreciation numbers here against those, as the year progresses.

I would not have posted this data, if I felt it was an abnormality for the area. That 16% seems right based on the property I have happened upon to date through this season.

I calculate areas where I can see the specifics beyond what shows in the mls. I don’t like to “guess”, so I use properties and areas I am familiar with. It’s near impossible to find like kind properties in the Seattle markets where I work. But I can find some straight appreciation numbers on the Seattle, side after the end of the third quarter.

I use Microsoft Area as I deem that the high from which many other areas trail behind. So if Microsoft area is 16% to date, I would not expect to find other areas that are higher overall. You can then gauge the surrounding areas. For example if Microsoft is 16% then Kirkland downtown and Redmond close in may be about the same, but Kenmore and North Bothell about half that. Markets tend to move in unison, but with the same spreads, as usual.

It’s about buyer pool. If 65% of the buyers want to live there, then the appreciation is the highest and if only 5% of the buyers want to live there, then the appreciation will be the lowest. Supply and demand.

County-wide stats tell me nothing and dilutes the info to the point where nothing can be learned from the overall end results.

Take Soho in Kirkland as an example. That complex has been under massive builder re-work for months. I would never include that complex in my stats along with other Kirkland condos. It contaminates the data. I can’t do stats in an area where I can’t isolate and remove the properties that contaminate the results.

Soho will have a massively high appreciation factor, if you calculate sales made during the work, against ones done after the work is completed. But that would be false data as the port-a-potty out the dining room window will affect property value :)

To some extent you have to trust the fact I am trying to find the best samplings available, and not ones that point to abnormally high appreciation rates. This is just one post. There will be others and more to this story. None of these sales were WOW properties with emotional considerations appearing in the appreciation rates.

I have company in from out of town and am listing a property this afternoon. But I’ll try to keep up with comments best I can.

Clearly these appreciation numbers are more exacting than any you may find anywhere else that mix apples and oranges. Nothing’s perfect, but these are factual and accurate, moreso than data that mixes all sales and calls some median “appreciation”, which is never correct. Average of 12% means someone got 5% while someone else got much higher. It doesn’t really tell you anything. And that is the only way I see appreciation presented from other sources.

20. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 9:34 am

Brian,

If Microsoft moved to your neck of the woods, we’d be in deep doo-doo. Goes without saying. Clearly Microsoft affects our marketplace. How could it not? The ramifications would be far and wide, and not merely isolated to “close in” locations.

Interest rates alone were not the only factor in mid 2005…I believe Microsoft was also hiring at the same time.

However I do not think te sampling I used is indicative of a place where Microsoft employees, by and large, choose to live. Most live in much better accommodations. So I don’t think it is as much of a factor as you may think. The $350,000 newer townhomes were more affected than cheap and old one bedroom condos. But I’ll do the entry level Microsoft properties for you…another day.

21. Comment from tj
Time August 14, 2007 at 10:05 am

I think prior to 8/3 this post would have gotten far more traffic due to that the very limited example could be interpreted as “cherry picking” in an attempt to lure buyers into pulling the trigger out of either fear to be priced out or fear of loosing out on apreciation. If Ardell’s example is misleading of current or future apreciation( I’m not saying it is ) it could potentially made buyers to continue to take out risky loans to fund risky investments. Now I don’t think it matters much if anything. With the new lending standards mostly people who can actually afford the homes will be able to buy them. If the lending standards is not loosening again soon I would think that about a year from now we will better now if the current prices are inline with what people in the Microsoft area can afford or not.

22. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 10:14 am

tj,

There’s nothing to “pull the trigger” on. God forbid people should call me wanting to buy one of these. There are none for sale.

I do think the person who bought one over two years ago should consider selling it now, and I have told him so. Not a bad time to take some tax free gains. It would make more sense for him to pocket his profit and rent right now. He’s a student and may move out of area when he graduates. Better to lock in his profit now then wait and see what the market will hold in a year or two, in my opinion.

It’s a misnomer to think that agents are always talking to potential buyers. This post has more to say to sellers than buyers, don’t you think?

I’d much rather have three people who want to sell these call me than three people who want to buy them. There are no one bedrooms for sale and clearly writing a post about the lowest possible sale price available has nothing to do with trying to get more business. It’s purely for information purposes.

There are better “deals”. You can get a two bedroom in Kenmore of Bothell for much less. But that is because their appreciation rate is lower, so not all good deals equal lowest price per square foot.

Location first…product second…price last.

23. Comment from Joel
Time August 14, 2007 at 10:30 am

Sigh.

“They don’t like someone knocking on the door and saying you have to move because I’ve decided to sell the place.”

Apparently you cannot distinguish between the -possibility- of something happening and it actually occurring. Just because it’s possible for the landlord to kick you out does not mean it will happen. If you were being honest you should have said “They don’t like the possibility of someone knocking on the door and saying you have to move because I’ve decided to sell the place.” But in that case owning a house wouldn’t be any better because look at all of the people losing their house to foreclosure. When the sheriff shows up and forcibly removes you from your home does that feel any better? If I wanted to be as misleading as you (but in favor of renting) I would say “Some people don’t like the idea of being a slave to your debt. If a renter needs to move for any reason they can just pack up and move.”

Off-topic: Is anybody here going to write about the impending changes to the way FICO scores are calculated: http://efinancedirectory.com/articles/Change_in_FICO_Scoring_System_Could_Affect_Mortgage_Loan_Availability.html
or has that already been discussed?

24. Comment from fooman
Time August 14, 2007 at 10:37 am

“That you can rent for less than a mortgage payment has never been a significant factor from my vantage point. ”

You have an interesting vantage point. I think you will find that many people in fact do perform this exact calculation in deciding if it makes sense to buy a home. I pay $1200 to rent a place which would cost $3500 to own. Although I have the means to buy again, there is no way I would do so with such an absurd P/E.

25. Comment from tj
Time August 14, 2007 at 10:43 am

I think you misunderstood me, I didn’t mean potential buyers of your example. The post could be seen by readers as you are trying to give an indications of the general apreciation in the Microsoft area. Especially with the reference you do to your earlier estimate of apreciation in the general Microsoft housing market. I know I did. I’m not sure many are interrested in a post of a home you can’t buy but t indications of the market is of interrest.

26. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 11:34 am

tj,

I really write for myself most times. It is my perception that the highest appreciation is in that Microsoft Zone. So I need to continually test and verify or correct my own perception.

I do these things as part of my every day work. I just work out in public and let you watch me. I don’t do it for an external reason. I do it to sharpen my own tools for the benefit of my clients.

Off to an appointment. Will check back later and read and answer the other comments.

To me blogging is part of my job and I do much of my work in open view. That is what “a blog” is to me.

27. Comment from jcricket
Time August 14, 2007 at 11:58 am

What 2nd campus are you talking about Ardell? It was my understanding that Microsoft has basically gotten rid of their short/medium-term plans to do anything other than build on the Redmond campus and acquire unused office space in the buildings surrounding the campus.

Redmond changed the zoning laws specifically to accomodate this back in the late 90s (rather than have 20,000+ new microsoftie’s end up in Issaquah).

28. Comment from tj
Time August 14, 2007 at 1:18 pm

Fair enough Ardell, I was just noticing a pretty muted response to the bold statement as “16% appreciation so far in 2007″ based on data on one property that is very far from the typical home in the Microsoft area or the whole Seattle area. I think the reason could be that it can no longer cause much harm if it happened to be misleading.

29. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 3:02 pm

jcricket,

Just Google it. I only know what I read and hear when it comes to what Microsoft is or isn’t doing. Point being, in the context of this post, that real estate is clearly affected by people being able to get from their home to work. Whether that is a single family home or a townhome or a condo is irrelevant. For real estate professionals, and from the standpoint of appreciation and market strength and weakness, convenience to where a person works affects home values. If lots of people are looking for that same convenience, a property that offers that convenience will be worth more than one that does not. If appreciation is high for that reason, it’s a better investment whether the person who buys it works for Microsoft or not.

30. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 3:07 pm

fooman,

From your perspective, you are absolutely correct. You are someone who is not in the arena of buying and selling real estate, from my perspective. I don’t spend a minute convincing someone to buy vs. rent. That’s not part of my world. People rarely call me to tell me that they don’t want to buy property. People call me who want to sell and or buy property. I take it from there. Sometimes I tell people who want to buy, that they shouldn’t. But I rarely, if ever tell people who don’t want to buy, that they should.

Clearly some of the people who made the most money in real estate, did not use the cost per month as an indicator of whether or not they should buy vs. rent. If they had, they would never have bought.

That said, I clearly think today is a better time to sell than it is to buy. People who are buying property are not doing it because they expect the market to go up another 100% in the years from 2007 through 2010. Or at least I hope not.

31. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 14, 2007 at 3:17 pm

Joel,

I can only tell you what people tell me. I don’t tell people to be afraid of renting. Clearly many people rent in rental complexes where no one is going to knock on their door and say you have to move, unless it’s a condo conversion. I do know that some of our clients purchased because they had to move, and didn’t want to get into another rental situation, because they don’t like someone telling them when they have to move. That’s just a fact.

I have to run. I’ll take a look at that FICO scoring thing when I get a minute.

To all…this is a post about appreciation. Not about “rent vs. buy”. Clearly you can rent those condos for less than a mortgage payment and I know people who rent there and I never tell them they should buy vs. rent. My job is to tell my client who bought there, when it might be a good time to consider selling it. He clearly should sell it and rent…even if he rents there. Because it is likely he will have to move out of the area in 2-3 years.

So Joel, I am telling him to sell and rent, because it fits HIS situation. I may tell another client something completely different. There is no one thing that everyone should do that fits everybody’s situation. There is no one right answer when it comes to whether or not someone should buy, sell or rent. If they are buying, they need to be a lot more careful right now. I think it’s a bad time to buy new construction. Leaves you no hedge room. But if someone says, ARDELL, we are planning to live here for 20 years, then they don’t really care about hedge room. A right choice for one client is not a right choice for the next one. There’s no one size fits all real estate decision.

32. Comment from Joel
Time August 15, 2007 at 2:05 pm

I never said that people don’t buy in order to avoid being evicted by their landlord. That is an obvious concern. My apartment complex is renovating and some residents were worried that they were going condo. All I said is that the way you say:

“They don’t like someone knocking on the door and saying you have to move because I’ve decided to sell the place.”

Makes it sound like getting kicked out of your rental is a sure thing and could happen at any moment. Again let me illustrate my point by saying something equally misleading: “I don’t want to live in a big city because I don’t like the thought of being mugged and shot in the face.” While it may be true that most big cities have higher crime rates that small cities, and the probability of being mugged and shot is higher, they way it’s said makes it sound like getting mugged is inevitable.

33. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 15, 2007 at 5:13 pm

Still, some people don’t like to live in big cities for that reason :) Often once someone moves to the burbs, they don’t even want to go to the City. Sad, but true.

Actually, while the comments took this post pretty sideways, a lot of the people who buy the condos in the post buy them to rent them out. They don’t cash flow, but the last one I got for a buyer client was a two bedroom for $150,000 or so.

Truth is, people come to me because they want to buy or sell property, not because they want to rent. Lots of people want to rent, I just don’t have these conversations with people…except when people come over to my blog post talking about renting being a better option. Not sure why people do that.

Clearly someone has to own the places that people rent. Everyone can’t rent. Can they?

34. Comment from David G from Zillow.com
Time August 17, 2007 at 7:13 am

Hi Ardell,

Looking at the entire Redmond market we measured 10.8% appreciation year over year vs. last Q2. That area is absolutely still red hot.

In case you missed it, Zillow’s Q2 report for Seattle/Tacoma/Bremerton is here;
http://www.zillow.com/static/xls/2007Q2_Seattle_Tacoma_Bremerton_WA_CMSA.xls

And here’s a quick view of national appreciation by MSA;
http://www.zillowblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/rankbar.htm

35. Comment from ARDELL
Time August 17, 2007 at 7:46 am

David,

When you say “Entire Redmond Market” do you do both 98052 and 98053 together? I didn’t click your links yet. I’ll go in after I hit post and see if it answers that question.

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Time August 17, 2007 at 8:32 am

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37. Comment from John D
Time October 29, 2007 at 11:52 pm

Just thought I’d pop in late here because I know your promised market recap is coming. I was wondering why this post deals with a different set of properties than you used in the February post? In the earlier post you said that Sixty-01 “has a lot of “same product”/apples to apples for straight appreciation comparisons.” So it seems it would make sense to use it again for checking your predictions.

I don’t even know if old comments get checked, but I would love to see an update on the original complex.

38. Comment from ARDELL
Time October 30, 2007 at 7:12 am

John,

I get an email when there is a comment on the posts that I have written, regardless of how old the post is. I’ll do an update on both sixty-01 and these two complexes as well. I’ll do it when I get into the office.

39. Comment from John D
Time October 30, 2007 at 12:55 pm

Thanks Ardell.
I appreciate it.

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