There is a lot of revved-up noise coming from the Pacific Northwest these days. The housing market is booming, the local MLS is getting belligerent, and social media is driving people through the roof.
The Seattle housing market continues to soar with hometown employers like Microsoft with its ChatGPT alliance and Amazon booming, keeping the pressure on the lack of housing affordability. Prices and sales are up substantially year over year and marketing times remain short.
Selling prices remain higher than asking prices and four of ten listings sell for more than the ask.
While this is happening, the Seattle-based Northwest MLS is playing the role of contrarian, refusing to submit to the NAR settlement to clarify the commissions of the buyer’s agent. Notorious Rob, who I met years ago in New York through the former Lucky Strikes Social Media Club and was one of the individuals who fought for me to bring my market report efforts (in addition to my good friend JH) to the MRIS MLS in the Washington DC/Baltimore corridor, now part of Bright MLS. Rob continues to lay out important insights on the state of the real estate brokerage industry in his must-follow Notorious ROB substack. In his latest on the Northwest MLS (Washington State/Parts of Oregon), he lays out why they didn’t go with the flow on the class action settlement agreement.
Speaking of making noise in Seattle, there is a social media crackpot revving his Dodge Charger in the early morning hours in Seattle to get followers on his Instagram page that is stressing everyone out enough to make the New York Times. And before you watch the following Dodge Charger video, take a moment to understand what it’s like to live in Seattle and also this amazing thread on what happened in Cleveland back in the day when chaos ruled. It’s not the same scenario as Seattle, but who knew? While I’m partial to Dodge Challengers because I own one, a Dodge Charger is just as fun as a GOAT (Pontiac GTO).
Did you miss Friday’s Housing Notes?
June 4, 2024
This Is A Whole New Thing – Housing Notes Daily
Well, I’ve been writing this Housing Notes newsletter since March 2015 (more than 9 years as a weekly exercise) and at last count were nearly 500 weekly iterations, evolving into a Friday 2 pm launch date no matter where I was in the world, whether or not I was on vacation, and what was going on in my personal life. It was such a consistent routine that many subscribers told me it marked the beginning of their weekend. But what is going to be so new about Housing Notes Daily?
I’m now a week into this daily effort and I still believe that less is more. My sidebar passion project Appraiserville is being moved to the Beehiiv platform soon and I plan on releasing it weekly while linking from here temporarily. More on that soon. Promise.
Housing Notes Reads
- Related Sells 321 West 44th Street at $103M Loss [Commercial Observer]
- Exclusive | Buyers Battle Over Sean Hannity’s Long Island Home, Which Sells for Roughly $12.7 Million Cash [Wall Street Journal]
- How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Actually Worth? It’s a Billion-Dollar Question. [Wall Street Journal]
- How Much Is Mar-a-Lago Actually Worth? It’s a Billion-Dollar Question. [Mansion Global]
- Homebuilders are still buying down rates to move houses [HousingWire]
Market Reports
- Elliman Report: Florida New Signed Contracts 5-2024 [Miller Samuel]
- Elliman Report: New York New Signed Contracts 5-2024 [Miller Samuel]
- Elliman Report: Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens Rentals 4-2024 [Miller Samuel]
- Elliman Report: California New Signed Contracts 4-2024 [Miller Samuel]
- Elliman Report: Florida New Signed Contracts 4-2024 [Miller Samuel]
