For example, March saw 203 Tri-Cities homes sell, with 1076 houses on the market. Have a look:

April’s home inventory went down, but sales went up.

And in May, home inventory went to its lowest level in years (it hadn’t been below 1000 since September, 2002!) and sales increased again.

“Great, Cari, what does this all mean??”

Simply this - it’s a seller’s market in the Tri-Cities. When supply decreases and demand increases, we see one of the most fundamental economic laws take effect - prices rise. If you have something other people want, a buyer will pay for the privilege of obtaining what you own.

According to Business Week by way of King5.com, Tri-Cities is one of the best places to start over if the economy has punched you in your bank account.

So, to recap - good weather, good schools, and a job!  What more could you ask for?

Although I have to admit, I really miss reviewing general real estate news, recapping local trends and mostly, pouring over the stats for our area.  It’s been a couple of months since I’ve done a recap of stats for the month, and I have a general idea of how the market is going (up!), but I don’t have the specifics.  That’s driving me crazy!  I have the info in front of me, it’s just going to talk some time to filter through the numbers that don’t matter, and condense the info into something everyone can understand.

So, just hang in there, please keep checking back regularly, and I promise, I’ll be able to get a statistic snapshot together soon.

By way of explanation, I can only rely on that old stand by - I’m busy!  But I truly am.  If you’ve been following me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/carimcgee), or Facebook, you might have been privy to my celebrations each time I put something under contract recently.  Woo-hoo!

And this post will not be a long, juicy missive full of all kinds of good info, which is what I’d like it to be.

However, I am going to link back to two Consumerist posts from last week that any home buyer should pay attention to (btw, have you subscribed to the Consumerist yet, as I’ve urged every reader to do repeatedly?).

Both concern credit and how lenders (and others) use it to figure out what makes you tick and to whom they should give a home loan.

Back to the salt mines…

In January I wrote about the delay and then supposed resolution (but not really) of the Mission Support Contract out at Hanford.

This is great news because it means JOBS, which means people can buy houses, which means our corner of Washington is still economically healthy!

Back to the links -

This is sad, and interesting.  A Kennewick couple lost their home to a forelcosure auction.  They claim the bank didn’t tell them the process had progressed to this point.  I, for one, believe them. I know another couple struggling with their payments and the bank they’re dealing with is all over the map. “Don’t make your payments” - “Pay other bills off first”  - “Can you bring your balance current within the next couple days?”  WHAT?  No one calls back, they claim they don’t have access to the records from previous conversations, and the left hand has no clue that there is even a right hand, much less knowing what it’s doing.

And speaking of foreclosures, the President had an idea he thought might help, but the Senate is saying “Not so fast...”

Locally, remember the concert line-up at the Benton County Fair and Rodeo? Apparently a lot of people thought it sounded pretty good, so they stayed out all night for tickets.  I don’t think that usually happens here.

If we used to have one, but haven’t for almost ten years, why do we need one now? I’m talking about a water park, aka “Aquatic Center” that the powers-that-be are considering raising taxes to build.

At a recent PTO meeting, a teacher told me they were concerned about budget cuts.  She told me that if she didn’t get the raise she was due for, she was going to find a job elsewhere.  I mentioned this little gem about how we’re one of only 27 US cities NOT in a recession.  I was then reminded that budget cuts to the schools are a state issue, not a local issue.  So, unfortunately, it looks like our little corner of the state will suffer some due to Washington’s debt. A political aside- also at that same meeting, a parent said, “I think it’s interesting that the coffers were full all through the election, and then -boom!  The day after she’s re-elected, we’re in a crisis”  I think that’s interesting, too.

That’s it for this week.  Stats are coming later in the week, so check back soon.

The Tri-Cities is one of only 27 cities in the nation which is not mired in a recession.  Very cool, huh?

I told you you needed to buy investment properties -

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/541278.html

And everyone keeps saying the money currently pouring in will run out in a couple years, which is true.  But there are plans afoot to make sure we’re still keeping our heads above water even then.

More people equals more crime, right?  Not necessarily, most of the new people will come to work at Hanford, and

“People who work out there are very well-educated, law-abiding citizens,” said Benton County Sheriff Larry Taylor. “We do not anticipate any problems with the increase in people.

Read more here.

Richland’s motto is “Resilient. Resourceful. Ready.”  We all are if this article is to be believed.

Looks like everybody is getting into the act and spending money.

That’s all for this week!