BlogBloghttp://seattlesbestrealestate.com/blog/2011-12-22T21:34:25ZSquarespaceSome experts say the Seattle housing market is ready for a turnaround.http://seattlesbestrealestate.com/blog/2011/11/1/some-experts-say-the-seattle-housing-market-is-ready-for-a-t.htmlDavid Bell2011-11-02T00:00:00Z2011-11-02T00:00:00ZThe Seattle housing market has gone through some very difficult times as well as the rest of country. Seattle however has faired well above average, depending on which side you are on, that is.

For sellers, it’s been hard, with prices falling by as much as 30% starting in early 2008. Seattle however was one of the very last markets in the US to experience falling home prices. Some predicted that because we were last to fall we would be last to recover. That doesn’t seem to be the case however. From all indications it looks like Seattle has hit the bottom and is starting to rebound.

For buyers, falling prices mixed with historically low mortgage rates has been a bonanza. It is much harder to get a mortgage these days, however the solid buyer has made out quite well. What will the next few years bring however?

Lets look at some of the data from the National Association of realtors. Today it is 2.5 Times cheaper to purchase home than is was 30 years ago! Taking the numbers from the *Affordability Housing Index, maintained by the National Association Of Realtors, June 30th, 2011 the Affordability Index Composite was 182.7 (the higher the composite number the more affordable purchasing a home is). For 1981, it was 68.9! So you say, “1981′s market isn’t relative to toady’s market.” OK good point, well then lets look at 2006. Even in 2006 the Affordability Index Composite was 107.1, which 1.7 Times more expensive than where we are at right now.

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