Housing

Here is a picture of more soulless condo boxes sure to cash in on this wonderful housing market in Bellngham. Problem is, the market is flooded with condominiums, so these will most likely be rental units. And this generic crap will be so much nicer to look at versus the views of Bellingham Bay that used to be.

If the realtor that shows these places is smart, they'll make sure one of the frequent freight or passenger trains isn't signaling at the crossing immediately below. Their horrns wake me up on occassion at the F Street and Roeder, and that's almost a mile away. The nightly train whistle of the 3am northbound should be pleasant.

And I heard the rental market is still pricey here, as the lending is tight (depending on who you ask), and people are still asking way too much for houses. People don't understand that if a house is not selling at market, it's because it's not at market, it's above market. In a very simplistic sense, if if was priced at market, it would have a buyer and be sold within a reasonable time, not ten-to-twenty months out as the local inventory versus sales indicates.

But I was looking on zillow (for what that web site is worth) and saw that my house has appreciated roughly 3% since I bought it. Not bad in this otherwise dismal market. And if my payment trend continues, I'll have it paid off in ten years. Frugality pays. And what they call a starter home is what I hope to be carried out of at room temperature in roughly forty years.

And then in ten years I'll hopefully use it to generate some rental income and take a few years off to travel. I think I will have earned it by then. If I still have my mind, that is: the stress of working with emerging companies can be both exhilarating and exhausting. But I love it. I don't know why. Strange.