Eastsider

Patrick, you should go through a few more of the "eastside flops" -- there are some spectacular flops that are not short sales/foreclosures. Check out http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2008/08/19/prices-flopping-all…

Of course, being a real-estate professional, you may choose to ignore it :wink: - Thu Aug 21 2008, 20:17

Check out some of the "flops" on the eastside at http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2008/08/19/prices-flopping-all… - Wed Aug 20 2008, 23:26

I really like Tom Smith's response below.
Remember that you can refinance and get a better rate later (when the interest rates go down), but you can never get a lower purchase price once you have bought the home - Tue Jun 10 2008, 16:20

Some cities are just starting to see the downtrend, while some others are deep into the downtrend. A lot of us look at a home as a place to live and as an investment.

From the investment perspective, it's not the best time to buy a home. If the home does not appreciate at least 4% each year, you are better off renting in most cases. Additionally, you have to be sure that you will live in that home for at least 5 years to make monetary sense. Use a good rent vs. buy calculator to guesstimate which is better for your circumstance -- one calculator that I like is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu...70&oref=slogin# . One piece of advice that a real-estate professional gave me is to avoid homes that were built during the "housing-boom times" (esp betweeen 2002 & 2006) -- since builders were optimizing on quantity of homes rather than quality, during this time period.

For those who really want to live in a home, consider renting a home for a year or two (you can get some reasonably good deals on rentals, since homes are not selling). In the Seattle area, rents of high-end apartments & that of good homes are more or less the same (currently). Renting a home from a private owner (as opposed to a company that manages an apartment community) is not all that hard, though you have to watch out for a few gotchas. - Sat May 24 2008, 07:35

Check out another opinion at http://smariner.blogspot.com/2008/05/is-it-good-time-to-buy-… - Thu May 22 2008, 21:29