Two stories last week about area home values continued slide:

1. “Nearly 40 percent of Puget Sound homeowners underwater”
“Nearly 40 percent of homeowners in the Puget Sound area owe are underwater on their mortgage, according to Seattle-based real estate website Zillow. About nine percent of those owe more than double what their home is actually worth.

The findings are part of a nationwide first quarter 2012 negative equity report. It found 49.2 percent of Pierce County homeowners are underwater, followed by Snohomish County at 47.2 percent and King County at 32.7 percent,” quoting Travis Pittman for KING 5 TV News.
Read more

Editor’s Note:
While Thurston County was not included in this report, there are enough statistics from previous blog entries to demonstrate Thurston home-owners are experiencing the same. See next story below.

2. “Home values climb nationally, fall in South Sound”
“However, home values in the South Sound declined. Values in Olympia and Tacoma were lower both month to month and year to year at $208,800 and $148,500, respectively,” quoting the Puget Sound Business Examiner.

Editor’s note:
What does this all mean locally?
A continual decline in tax revenues for municipal and county governments’ coffers.