Sales of used homes were down last month. And rising interest rates should apply downward pressure on housing prices.

Also, we may be in a housing price bubble.

I'm certain we're in a bubble, I just wasn't seeing any signs it might be bursting before now.

And I may be crazy, since it's contrary to what I hear on NPR and see in the papers, but I'm starting to wonder if housing prices are dropping a bit, at least locally. My searches for 3 bedrooms, under $225K are turning up more results than they ever did before.

Which areas are you searching in? My usual searches aren't seeing any drops in price, and supplies are even more limited, but I'm generally looking either north of Lake Union or in the more northwestern parts of West Seattle. Not that I should be searching, as we'll be here for at least two more years, but I feel better if I'm keeping an eye on the market. (Oh, yeah, and I check my area as well, to keep track of the trends.)

Also, we may be in a housing price bubble.

Depends on where you are. Nationally, there are several places considered to be in the bubble zone--LA and Boston spring to mind--but this one (for a combination of reasons, including our limited housing stock and weird zoning laws--plus prices that have climbed at a more reasonable rate than the bubble areas) isn't usually considered one of them outside of the high-end neighborhoods.

Oy.

What's up, vw?

I've been looking a lot in Shoreline and somewhat in Lynnwood, though I'd be much happier with the Shoreline schools. It may just be that more condos/townhouses are being built in Shoreline than before, and they're just naturally cheaper than houses.

And it's really hard for me to believe that there's no bubble in the Seattle area because it still seems outrageously expensive compared to where I've lived before. Granted, Seattle has much higher quality of life than Birmingham. But Philly is a perfectly fine place with all the amenities.

What's up, vw?

Lawyer thinks it's gonna be about $2,000-$4,000 to fix this little problem. Guess who needs to try to find some other options first?

Damn. I hate it when people get to continue to be assholes because doing anything about it is so expensive, whether in money or hassle.

VW, have you written MSN yet? Because I'm betting they'll do the right thing, and pronto.

vw, what Betsy said. In general, if you write to the ISPs, maybe they can make them take down your work, as a violation of the TOS?

DH's verdict on the house:

But dear, it's on the Delridge/White Center line. Her high school would be Chief Sealth, which is almost as bad as Rainier Beach. And it's in a dead spot -- there's nothing for three miles.

Now, there are decent parts of White Center (some grit but no gang-banging), but this isn't in one of them.

I hate this whole process, I really do. It's not like we're all that poor. It shouldn't be this hard to find acceptable housing for a family of three.