Local home values dip below paid prices

A story in the Puget Sound Business Journal last week stated that a significant portion of Washington homeowners have found themselves in homes worth less than when they purchased them.

More than 14 percent of homeowners in Washington state owed more on their mortgages in September than their homes were worth, according to third-quarter data released last Tuesday. In the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, the “underwater” percentage is even less, at 13.1 percent.

Those percentages fall well below the national rate of 23 percent of homeowners whose mortgages have negative equity and are deemed “underwater” or “upside down,” according to a report by First American CoreLogic, a California real estate research firm. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of both.

Seattle and Washington state numbers pale in comparison with some other states, such as Nevada, where 65 percent of all mortgages are considered “under water,” followed by Arizona (48 percent) and Florida (45 percent).

The number has been growing as pre-foreclosure activity has risen, the report said. Most of the homeowners facing underwater mortgages financed their properties between 2005 and 2008 and used adjustable-rate mortgages.

Tent City moves to Issaquah in January

Tent City 4 will be moving once again to the city of Issaquah in late January, when the homeless encampment sets up at Community Church. Tent City 4 will move to Issaquah after a stay at a Bellevue church and will set up at Community Church at 205 Mountain Park Blvd. S.W. This is the second visit to Community Church by Tent City 4. The church last hosted the group from August to November 2007. Organizers said the camp will move onto church property on Jan. 23 and stay until to April 23. The encampment has up to 100 homeless residents, and moves between Eastside churches. Residents leave the camp for work during the day. Applicants undergo sex offender and warrant checks.

Community Church will seek help with the encampment from other churches and civic groups.