Monday's roundup

From my local paper: It appears that I'm not the only Eastsider to get worked up about traffic.

NPR's Marketplace is talking about a guy who has moved into his storage unit (which is equipped with a restroom?!) Hopefully his rent will be cheaper than a 30 year fixed mortgage with 20% down on this hovel.

Speaking of which, the current housing marketplace in Seattle makes me glad that me & my significant other aren't in a position to purchase a house at this time. We could afford a nice condo or a decent townhouse, but the prospect of price depreciation scares me off from buying at this time. A friend who presumably thought she had to "get into the market" picked up a condo in this complex in a bucolic city within commuting distance to downtown. I've been reading a great local housing bubble blog, and I can only wonder how far this condominium will drop in price before housing bottoms out.

Not convinced that the housing market is completely overheated? I offer you this as an example:

From the Seattle PI:

"Park two of GMC's biggest Sierra pickups next to each other. That's a lot of truck, but a small condominium -- at least by Seattle standards.

But a local developer is betting Seattle urbanites are primed to carve out their own two-truck chunks of Belltown. The moda condos, set to break ground in October, promise "New York-style living," with units as small as 296 square feet that start at $149,950."

"Rick Hooper, policy director for Seattle's Office of Housing, noted in a moda news release that city officials want more affordable homes downtown, close to jobs and transportation.

"To find a developer who's able to put an attractive product on the market that hits that lower price range is fantastic," he said.

The building's 251 condos will range up to two-bedroom, two-bath units selling for more than $400,000. All of the condos will have such luxury touches as appliances with stainless-steel finishes, granite or limestone countertops, floors finished with cherry or walnut and tile bathrooms."

Mr. Hooper, these condos aren't homes. These are the size of hotel rooms.

Finally, Seattlest has a great reason not to buy a VW Passat.