From Tacoma to Ballard, light-rail changes, soaring real estate prices bring a cascade of new costs

Elected officials hope to perform a good deed for Seattle’s Chinatown International District by drilling downtown’s future light-rail tunnel all the way south to Sodo

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/from-tacoma-to-ballard-light-rail-changes-soaring-real-estate-prices-bring-a-cascade-of-new-costs/

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Seattle ranks among cities where homeowners were most cost-burdened in 2020

Seattle was ranked among the top 15 large cities across the country where homeowners put 30% or more of their income toward their mortgages in 2020, according to a new study.

https://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/seattle-homeowners-put-30-income-toward-mortgage-15870581.php

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Buying a home? How to choose the right Seattle neighborhood

As with most developed cities, Seattle is density challenged. That is, more people want to live here than there are homes available. The result of this manifests itself in higher than national average home prices.

https://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/how-to-choose-right-seattle-neighborhood-to-buy-in-15865379.php

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Seattle tops list of metro areas where homes sold the fastest since start of pandemic

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Seattle area housing market saw homes selling in a matter of a days.

https://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/Seattle-tops-list-of-metro-areas-where-homes-sold-15861723.php

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New law cracks down on shell companies to combat corruption

For the first time, shell companies will be required to provide the names of their owners or face stiff penalties and jail sentences. The information will be stored in a confidential database accessible to federal law enforcement and shared with banks who are often unwitting accomplices to international corruption.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/new-law-cracks-down-on-shell-companies-to-combat-corruption/

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‘My Runway Is Over’: Covid Pushes a City Block to the Brink

he pandemic hasn’t triggered a real estate meltdown on Main Street, but time is running out for one Seattle landlord and her tenants.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-14/seattle-small-business-how-one-landlord-and-her-tenants-survived-the-pandemic

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Pierce County inventory shortage for home sales lingers through December

The trend of little-to-no new inventory for home sales in Pierce County continued in December, as the county’s median closed sale price was down over November’s high, according to the December report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article248372485.html

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Say Goodbye To Record Low Rates

Mortgage rates jumped up for the first time in two months, likely due to rising long-term bond yields. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage climbed by 14 basis points to 2.79% this week, the highest it’s been since early November 2020, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/mortgage-interest-rates-01-14-2021/

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Middle-class homeowners will get 'priced out permanently

The number of homes for sale reached an all-time low in December, as buyers remained active and eager to buy even during the holiday season. National inventory declined by 39.6% over the last year, and fell below 700,000 for the first time, according to a new report from realtor.com

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/housing-real-estate-market-prices-grant-cardone-undercover-billionaire-211441245.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=ma&guccounter=1

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December 2020 Monthly Housing Market Trends Report: Number of Homes for Sale Hits a New Low

Realtor.com®’s December housing data release reveals that home buyers and sellers were much more active this holiday season compared to last year. Home listing prices continued to increase at double-digit rates compared to last year, fueled by buyer demand, which also continued to snap up homes at a rate almost two weeks more quickly than last year.

https://www.realtor.com/research/december-2020-data/

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Top Economic and Housing Experts Predict Post-Pandemic Rebound With Continued Job Growth, Stable Interest Rates in 2021

NAR also names its top 10 real estate markets during and in a post-COVID-19 environment

https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/top-economic-and-housing-experts-predict-post-pandemic-rebound-with-continued-job-growth-stable

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Weekly Housing Market Monitor

NAR Research compiles the latest housing market data in this weekly monitor, based on what REALTORS® are seeing in their market, mortgage data, jobless claims, foot traffic, and the latest home sales numbers.

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/weekly-housing-market-monitor

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Market Hotness Index

Metro Hotness - Zip Code and County Hotness

https://www.realtor.com/research/reports/hottest-markets/

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HOUSING STATISTICS

Housing Statistics offers 43 different sets of data, downloadable either as Excel or PDF files (updated weekly). Housing data and primary indicators of the industry are housed in one easy-to navigate location containing historical and current sets of statistics such as: Housing Starts (by Region & Structure Type), Homes Sold by Region, Producer Price Indexes (for Building Materials), Manufactured Homes, New Home Characteristics, Residential Vacancy & Absorption Rates, Units Under Construction, Value of New Construction, and many more.

http://www.nahbclassic.org/reference_list.aspx?sectionID=819&channelID=311

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Economic Indicators

U.S. Census Bureau Economic Indicators

https://www.census.gov/economic-indicators/

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Local Market Reports

All real estate is local and every market is unique. To help REALTORS® and other housing market analysts get the most out of the plethora of data that is available, NAR Research produces a series of Local Market Reports (LMRs) which provide insights into the fundamentals and direction of the nation's largest metropolitan housing markets. Each report evaluates a number of factors affecting home prices, including:

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/local-market-reports

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CoreLogic Home Price Insights

The most geographically comprehensive and current home price index.

http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/researchtrends/corelogic-home-price-insights.aspx?WT.mc_id=crlg_151103_aHqc0&elq=d6379903117d41bcbe7b9f6a82f2189a&elqCampaignId=2692&elqaid=7659&elqat=1&elqTrackId=097f671c98fc48249757d8ddbd229326#.Vj1WlvnnuUl

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Bureau of Economic Analysis

U.S. Economy at a Glance

http://www.bea.gov/index.htm

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Mortgage Market Survey Archive

Compilation of Weekly Survey Data for 2015

http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/archive.html

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Housing Economics

NAHB produces in-depth economic analyses of the home building industry based on private and government data. Our economics group surveys builders, home buyers, and renters to gain insight into the issues and trends driving the industry.

https://www.nahb.org/en/research/housing-economics.aspx

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