Jump in Seattle Area Home Prices Indicate Signs of Rebounding Local Economy

Jump in Seattle Area Home Prices Indicate Signs of Rebounding Local Economy

By Jim Cline

The just-released home sales data indicates some continued improvement in the local housing market.  This is also a good sign of a broader recovery not only of the Seattle area economy, but possibly a statewide recovery.  As we recently reported, the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council continues to indicate that the Washington State economy is recovering at a somewhat stronger rate than the national economy.

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Wage Series Part 9: Does Geographic Location Matter?

Wage Series Part 9: Does Geographic Location Matter?

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

In the previous two articles in this wage series, we discussed the extent to which population and assessed valuation correlated with wage rankings.  In this article, we discuss geographic location and the effect of various labor markets on public safety wages.

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Wage Series Part 8: Does Assessed Valuation Matter?

Wage Series Part 8: Does Assessed Valuation Matter?

By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer

In the last issue we discussed whether – and to what extent — population influenced a jurisdiction’s relative wage ranking. In this article we discuss to what extent assessed valuation influences that ranking. [Read more…]