Tagged: real estate

Despite the massive fraud that has emerged as the U.S. tries to dig itself out of the foreclosure mess at the heart of the great recession, there are still huge numbers of honest folks working in the real estate business. 

That's according to professional appraisers in Washington state, dozens of whom have signed an on-line petition. 

Emergency measures in a new law go into effect immediately, creating the infrastructure needed to get more housing counselors working with banks and preventing people from losing their homes.

It's that time of year again when KPLU's John Maynard and real estate appraiser Richard Hagar look at the least expensive and the most expensive homes on the market. This time around, they're zeroing in on King County.

Foreclosures and uncertainty are clogging up the real estate market, and one local expert says prices won't go up again before next year.

The median price of a home in King County  is down nearly 7% compared to a year ago.  That's one of many tidbits in the mass of numbers released this month by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. 

Sales data for February show the median sales price in Washington's most populous county down 7 percent compared to last year. The median price of a home in King County has dropped to $320-thousand dollars. That's about $23,000 dollars less than in February of last year. 

It's happening all over the country, including in the Pacific Northwest. People are walking away from their mortgages. In most cases, the homes that are being abandoned are valued for less than their mortgage. 

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• King County Property Taxes to Rise as Home Values Fall
• Foss High School Won't Close After All
• Hempfest Sues Seattle Over Permit Denial

Lower Property Values, Higher Taxes

It's a "counter-intuitive" reality according to King County Assessor Lloyd Hara. He tells the Seattle Times that many home owners will see their property taxes go up as the value of their homes goes down. Hara says this reality is primarily the result of new voter-approved levies and bonds. Voters approved 44 tax increases in 2010, 38 of them for schools.

In the past month, the Seattle area's foreclosure rate has soared to new heights - it's now higher than the national average. One out of every 476 homes has a foreclosure filing, compared with one in every 497 nationally, according to a new report by RealtyTrac, a foreclosure information firm.

Update Feb. 10, 2011 - The correct percentage of area mortgage holders "underwater" - as reported by Zillow.com - is 34.3%, not of all homeowners. This post has been updated to clarify that point.

Do you owe more on your mortgage than your house is worth? You’re not alone. One-third of homeowners in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties are “underwater” on their homes. "Negative equity" rose faster in this region than anywhere else in the country.