The citizen group is fighting the permits on a number of grounds, from expense to energy conservation to wildlife preservation, to name only a few.

On their website, the group says they only filed the lawsuit “after exhausting all other options.”

Are you a Magnuson neighbor? Wetlands or ballfields? If you were buying a home nearby, which would you prefer?

The Newsweek article, titled, “Is Googie Good?” examines the merits of the 1950s and ’60s architectural craze, as well as the impact on the would-be developers of the property.

The landmark status is particularly bad news for the property’s owners. The real estate company Benaroya purchased the property in 2006 for $12 million. Now, their plans to develop a condominium complex are on hold as they begin to appeal the decision, a process that could take weeks, months or even years. “Here we are, having gone through the better part of a year without making any gains on the property,” says Jack McCollough, the company’s land use attorney. “With the time value of money and market changes, it can have quite a serious impact on us.”

Volunteer activists have taken on the project. Says Newsweek, “They have even worked with a local architecture firm to draw up plans for how a new condominium complex could incorporate this building, allowing for both development and preservation.” The Benaroya company is opposed to this solution.

What do you think? Would a restored Googie diner adjacent to your condo be retro chic or retro-cious?

$200-300,000
$314,950 $304,950 $294,950
14338 Interlake Ave N
2 br/1 ba; 900 sq ft
MLS#: 27216181

$300-400,000
$395,000 $379,000
8509 Interlake Ave N A
3 br/2.5 ba; 1,520 sq ft
MLS#: 28008808

$400-500,000
$470,000 $465,000 $462,500 $459,900 $457,900 $455,900 $452,900
10755 14th Ave NE
3 br/1.75 ba; 2,200 sq ft
MLS#: 27208590

$500-600,000
$679,000 $629,950 $619,950 $609,950 $599,950 $589,950 $579,950 $559,950
6855 17th Ave NE
5 br/1.75 ba; 3,590 sq ft
MLS#: 27177804

Over $700,000
$800,000 $750,000
10717 24th Ave NE
5 br/3.5 ba; 3,750 sq ft
MLS#: 28011946

All information is from sources deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed. To receive daily e-mails with price reductions in the neighborhoods and price ranges of your choice, simply save your search and choose daily updates.

After a million dollar Lake Wenachee vacation home was crushed by snow yesterday, avalanche expert Mike Stanford was quoted in the Wenachee World saying, “People build houses in the stupidest places.”

Lt. Maria Agnew, emergency management director for Chelan County, said… “If you look at where this home was built, with a steep drainage behind it, it’s a natural path for avalanches. There have been avalanches there before.”

Avalanche Q&A:
Q: What causes avalanches?
A: Usually wind, not snow.

Q: How steep is an avalanche prone slope?
A: Generally greater than 25 degrees.

Q: What do you do if you get caught in one?
A: Escape the slab, grab a tree, and swim. [link]

Unsolicited insurance advice: If you own a vacation home (especially one you rent out), a house, and a car or two, it might be time to consider umbrella insurance. For a few hundred dollars a year, umbrella insurance will kick in where your traditional policies leave off, totaling a million dollars or more in coverage. One little lawsuit could make you lose more than just your ski cabin.

What? Keep the luxury insurance, you don’t own a vacation home? Around 10% of Americans own vacation homes, and more and more of them are advertising and renting them to vacationers as a mortgage offset.

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Terri Cullen describes one couple’s experiences with managing their second home as a vacation rental.

You can’t beat the pros: You have a built in family vacation spot, one where your kids – or pets, or parents – can roam free. (Or maybe you live in the burbs or the sticks and you’ve always dreamed of a pied a terre loft.) Depending on the property’s desirability, it can pay for itself. And in some cases second home expenses can be tax deductions, as long as you force yourself to stay there at least 17 days a year.

Need more of the facts? Check out the Vacation Home Survival Guide at Forbes.

And the cons? As happened to the couple in the WSJ story, a burst pipe can do more than just leave you soaked. When your would-be renters find other lodging, it can leave you struggling with an extra mortgage payment as well as maintenance costs.

To say nothing of how an an avalanche might impact your budget.

Overall, Seattle median prices were up YOY for the first time in a couple of months. Prices rose 6.18% from January of 2007. Inventory was just slightly less flooded, at 64.24% higher than last year.

Let’s look at the actual numbers. Seattle’s median home price was $403,475, which is lower than December’s median price of $416,950, and nearly 20% lower than the Seattle market’s peak in August of this year. And inventory is up, again, from 2,963 in December of 2007 to 3426 in January, a change of nearly 16%.

Is this just a typical post-holiday real estate revival? In 2006-7, the change in inventory from December to January was 1,738 to 2,036, or just over 17%. But we’re still talking about a market that is splitting its seams, so the scale of the comparison is critical.

North Seattle:

• Area 705 (NW Seattle) was down YOY by 2.14%. Area 71o (NE Seattle), on the other hand, was up 19.68% YOY, but still far from the summer of 2007, which saw median prices $70,000 higher in the area.
• Pending sales in January were down in both areas YOY, by 9.68% in Area 705, and by 28.32% in area 710.

South Seattle:

• Area 385 (SODO and Beacon Hill) dropped 5.6 % YOY to $340,000. Area 380 (Southeast Seattle) gained about $10,000, for a 2.71% increase YOY.
• Pending sales were down a lot YOY in Area 380, 42.22%. And in 385 they were up by 11.76%.

I’m seeing a pattern here. Drop your price and you’re more likely to sell. It’s not exactly genius, but it seems to hold true on a macro as well as an individual level. The neighborhoods whose home prices dropped more sharply are having better sales percentages… for now.

February’s a short month. What do you predict will happen this month?

If your home was damaged, here are some pages you might want to visit:

• What help is available in your county?
• There are different benefits available. Do you qualify for housing assistance? How about non-housing assistance?

Ready to apply? You can apply online or call 800-621-FEMA (3362).

FEMA, I probably don’t need to say, is the acronym for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which became part of everyone’s vocabulary during Hurricane Katrina. But don’t worry, folks, they’re moving the vision forward.

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, Redfin’s great map tool just got better. Now instead of squeezing your ideal neighborhood into rectangles to search for a home, you can type the neighborhood name into the search bar, and voila! There’s your neighborhood — and only your neighborhood.

Using the search bar and My Redfin, you can be advised of new homes and price reductions in your neighborhood of choice. Check out the freakish depth of the new and improved Redfin at the Corporate Blog.

Here are some Ballard homes that aren’t free, but just went down in price this week.

Price: $309,500 $299,500
1525 NW 57th St #504
1 br/1 ba; 870 sq ft
MLS#: 27174001

Price: $494,999 $478,999
7002 28th Ave NW
3 br/1.5 ba; 1,800 sq ft
MLS#: 27165272

Price: $545,000 $535,000
2716 NW 65th St
4 br/2 ba; 2,060 sq ft
MLS#: 27165871

Price: $699,950 $674,950
7515 27th Ave NW
3 br/2.75 ba
2,140 sq ft
MLS#: 27203745

Remember the $300 check that changed your life when you received it in 2001? Well, depending on who wins the argument, you could get $600 this year!

Far more stimulating is the increase in the federally backed loan limits. If coupled with low interest rates, that could actually boost the housing market. Currently, any loan over $417,000 is considered non-conforming, or jumbo. This means the interest rate is higher, and after this past year’s foreclosures took their toll, so is the bar to get one.

Scroll down on this page for a chart detailing the proposed ceilings in all the regions affected. The rate varies from region to region, as the new maximum would be 125% of the median home price in the area, up to $729,750. The only regions in the country to get to the limit are all in California, and include Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The Seattle area is the second lowest on the list at $493,400.

Should we stimulate the economy — which, we will remember, was damaged in part by overzealous lending, generous appraisals, flip hype, and shady deals — by lending people even more money? Reduced to that bare idea, it’s ludicrous. Or maybe it’s more complicated than that. Please, tell me it’s more complicated than that.

1734 NE 113th St
Originally listed at $539,000; sold for $493,000 on 12/17/07 after two months
2 br/1 ba; 1,320 sq ft

2707 NE 103rd St
Originally listed at $449,000; sold for $405,000 on 12/14/07 in just over two months
4 br/1 ba; 2,000 sq ft

In November I asked the question, “if it’s a buyer’s market, where are all the buyers?” Whether your attitude about home prices at their peak was that Seattle real estate was in demand for good reason, or that prices were falsely inflated, they’ve fallen some — and many sellers are ready to deal.

So why not buy? Because this may not be the absolute bottom of the market. OK, that’s probably true, given that many foreclosures are still to come. But we won’t know what price is bottom until the market starts to climb again.

“Loss aversion” is the answer, says one Eastside real estate blogger. Sounds almost redundant, right? Who wants to lose? But we’re not just afraid of loss, we’re so afraid to lose that we’d rather get in when the market’s hot — which is exactly when prices are inflated and we stand to lose the most.

How does that work? The overall change in satisfaction when you lose is greater than when you win. From the Wikipedia entry on loss aversion:

In prospect theory, loss aversion refers to the tendency for people strongly to prefer avoiding losses than acquiring gains. Some studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically, as gains.

So in order to avoid losing, we buy high and sell low.

But here’s the caveat, also from Wikipedia:

…if a person has only $1000, getting $1000 simply doubles their wealth (which would be desirable), but losing $1000 would wipe them out completely (which might be a matter of life and death). In this case, given the need for money for food and shelter in order to survive, the individual will be far more motivated to avoid losing $1000 than to try to gain $1000.

In other words, if you don’t have much money to gamble with, stay out of the casino. Sitting on a lot of cash and wanting a long term investment? This is a terrific time to buy. Found your dream home? Buy it.

Looking for a quick rise, easy money, and a fast turnaround for your last few bucks? You might want to try the next “bubble.”