Yelm Public Safety Building & City Council Chambers

Yelm News in recent days:

1. Home prices, sales falter in April
The median price of homes sold during April fell throughout the South Sound and sales totals fell with the exception of Mason County, according to the latest information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service…

In Thurston County, sales fell 27.41 percent, from 259 to 188. The median price was down 7.77 percent, from $226,850 to $209,232, “quoting Rolf Boone in The Olympian.

2. Q1 home value declines match worst of housing recession
Home values in the United States fell faster during the first quarter of 2011 than they have in any quarter since 2008, when the housing market experienced its worst performance, according to Zillow’s first quarter Real Estate Market Reports.

The Zillow Home Value Index fell 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011, and declined 8.2 percent year-over-year to $169,600. Home values have fallen 29.5 percent since they peaked in June 2006. In the South Sound, values fell 10.4 percent year over year in Olympia to $212,400 and 13.6 percent in Tacoma to $165,000…

‘Home value declines are currently equal to those we experienced during the darkest days of the housing recession. With accelerating declines during the first quarter, it is unreasonable to expect home values to return to stability by the end of 2011,’said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist,” quoting the Business Examiner.

3. Yelm City Council meetings to start at 6pm
The Yelm City Council voted in Ordinance 937 last night to begin Council meetings at 6pm, effective June 14. This is instead of a 7pm start.
Ed. Note: While 6pm is still during the commute and dinner hour, this change will have no affect on those attending the City Council meetings, since no resident of Yelm attends these meetings on average, except an occasional news reporter & recently, a new-comer to the city.