Mortgage Issues?

Here is a little article explaining some of the other reasons we don't have a strong housing market... I mean, other than employment and wages...

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/19/real_estate/low_risk_mortgage_denied/index.htm?section=money_pf&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_pf+%28Personal+Finance%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

The Tin Theater

We'd just like to encourage you to go to this site and sign up for the emails while will come to you to tell you about the current and upcoming movies at this great spot. We have seen a couple of movies here and it is a fine experience. You can go to the site by simply clicking on the title of this posting.

Noise Study from Port Continues

This next week there will be another public meeting held at Cedarhurst Elementary School on June 9th at 6:30... This is from the press release put out by the Port.

The Part 150 Study looks at ways to reduce aircraft noise impacts on communities. Throughout the study, the public is invited to participate in the solution and recommendation process through active engagement in a series of topical workshops.

The June 9th workshop will run from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Facilitators will lead three group sessions at the workshop: the first addressing what was heard at the first workshop, the second involving a detailed discussion on a few of the proposed ways to reduce noise and the third on the study’s noise modeling and the noise data collected to date. Participants will take part in all three sessions and a general Q&A will occur at the conclusion.

Further information can be found at Sea-Tac Airport’s Part 150 website where you can also sign up to receive email updates throughout the process: http://www.airportsites.net/SEA-Part150/default.htm

For more information on Sea-Tac’s noise programs, visit http://www.portseattle.org/community/environment/noise.shtml.

Farmers Markets in our area

It is the time of year for Farmer’s Markets once again. If you are in Seattle, here is the web-site to go for the Seattle Neighborhood Markets: http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/ . If you are in the South Sound area, you might use this web-site to get locations and hours: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/05/17/65070/farmers-market-locations.html . The Burien Farmers Market takes place every Thursday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the Burien Town Square and the Des Moines Market will start June 5th and run on Saturdays, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Dock Street and 227th. If you’d like to bookmark a place where you can see all of the Farmers Markets in the state, then this will be a great site for you phone or laptop if you are traveling this summer: http://www.wafarmersmarkets.com/index.html

Rates

Here are the current interest rates from Troy Chamber of Arboretum Mortgage. Lowest rates in 2010 right now...

Mortgage Interest Rates*
Rates as of Thursday, 20th May, 2010:
Conforming APR Jumbo APR
30-Yr. Fixed 4.750% 4.882% 6.250% 6.307%
7-Yr. Fixed ARM 4.375% 4.478% 4.375% 4.457%
5-Yr. Fixed ARM 3.750% 3.89% 4.250% 4.395%
7-Yr. Fixed ARM (Interest Only) 4.50% 4.601% 4.625% 4.789%

More Foreclosures? JP Morgan thinks it is possible

If you'd like to read more about this, click on the title for an article by Shahien Nasiripour. We all know that there are more foreclosures coming, but we don't know exactly when and how this will happen. JP Morgan/Chase is just warning its investors to be prepared. This is an area that has yet to be addressed in governmental policy... or, at least addressed in a satisfactory manner. If it is addressed, I do hope it just doesn't reward more of the big lenders for making terrible loans....

Home Prices Still Falling???

It is always so interesting to read the national press about home prices.... It really feels as though we might have started to truly bottom out in our area. I don't have the numbers to back that up yet, but at least in our office, things have started moving fairly rapidly....

If you click on this title you will see that the 'former hot spots,' read that as Florida, Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc.... are still falling and it looks like they will continue to drop throughout this year.

Still very happy to live in the Northwest.