Seattle to Tacoma REALTOR

Seattle Shipward staying afloat (Seattle Times)

Seattle’s Todd Pacific Shipyards stays afloat in a sinking industry By Susan Gilmore THERE SHE WAS: one of the state’s most influential legislators, a 69-year-old grandmother fitted with a hard hat and goggles and climbing a narrow, icy ladder while dodging sparks from a welding torch on a cold December afternoon. Why do that? For state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, who chairs the powerful... [Read more...]

---

Mercer Island Property set for Auction (Seattle Times)

Mercer Island property once listed for $40 million is going up for auction in April By Eric Pryne Seattle Times business reporter Next up: A 23,00-square-foot Mercer Island waterfront mansion, complete with a 12-foot Chihuly chandelier in the entry, a 66-foot indoor saltwater pool, a stocked trout pond and two count ‘em, two wine cellars. Bidding starts at $15 million. Do I hear 16? New York... [Read more...]

---

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac start buying back bad loans (Seattle Times)

Fannie, Freddie to start buying back bad loans By The Associated Press WASHINGTON Government-controlled mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Wednesday they will buy back troubled loans contained in securities they already have sold to investors. The two companies are repurchasing mortgage loans for which borrowers have missed at least four months of payments. At the end of last... [Read more...]

---

Google makes bid as a social networking site (Los Angeles Times)

Lots of Buzz over Google latest bid at social networking By Jessica Guynn Los Angeles Times SAN FRANCISCO Google, which has faltered in its attempts to break into the booming social-networking business, is making another bid to counter the growing influence of Silicon Valley rival Facebook and San Francisco upstart Twitter with new products that make it easier to share with friends on its Internet... [Read more...]

---

Rhapsody is going to restructure (Seattle Times)

RealNetworks makes key play with Rhapsody spinoff By Brier Dudley Seattle Times technology columnist Excerpt from the blog RealNetworks announced Tuesday it’s going to restructure Rhapsody and spin off the subscription music service into a stand-alone company. The Seattle company is the majority owner of Rhapsody, which is also partly owned by MTV. The venture was formed after Real bought Rhapsody... [Read more...]

---

NWMLS stats for 2009 (NWMLS.COM)

Northwest MLS Brokers Report $17 Billion in Home Sales During 2009 KIRKLAND, Wash. (Jan. 26, 2010) – Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service tallied more than 52,000 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums during 2009, about 3.7 percent fewer than the total for 2008. Last year’s completed transactions had a combined sales value of more than $17 billion. In its annual statistical... [Read more...]

---

Tacoma and Seattle both are in the top five cities to rebound in 2010 (MSN Real Estate)

The 5 best markets for 2010 It won’t be a high bar to be considered a top performer in this year’s housing market. By Lisa Scherzer of SmartMoney Tacoma, Wash., tops Moody’s list of cities where home prices will perform the best in 2010. After a dour year when housing prices fell more than 12% nationwide, will 2010 bring sunnier tidings? The short answer: only a tad in a select few... [Read more...]

---