September is almost over and I haven’t had the chance to post to the BLOG all month. There were several stories that I was working on this month that I didn’t get around to completing, including:

Newsweek issued a warning about the impact the commercial real estate bubble will have on the greater economy. (Not that it’s news at this point.) The nation’s offices, hotels, and malls now carry $3.5 trillion in debt. Falling rent and rising defaults could inflict more damage on the greater economy (and result in further cap rate creep) in the coming year. According to sources, Seattle-Bellevue has over eleven years of Class A office inventory based on historic absorption rates. The spread between bid and offer on commercial sales continues to stall activity. Those sales that are closing are for the most part at barn burner prices. There is activity in commercial leasing and sales with some deals closing, however, it’s a tough market with no immediate end in sight. It’s a great time to be a cash buyer.

Housing is showing some signs of life with prices stabilizing in parts of the Seattle market. The Obama first time buyer tax credit is helping. Demand for residential properties priced over $1.5MM, however, is all but dead. Influencers include a general lack of interest in McMansions and lack of creative financing for upper end buyers. The high end outlying market has been way overvalued for a long time now. Financing will loosen up eventually, but the days of no down and easy credit and terms for high end buyers won’t be back soon.

Home inspectors in Washington State must now be licensed. RCW 18.280.020 provides that a person shall not engage in or conduct, or advertise or hold himself or herself out as engaging in or conducting, the business of or acting in the capacity of a home inspector without first obtaining a license as provided in this chapter. Any person performing the duties of a home inspector on June 12, 2008, has until July 1, 2010, to meet the licensing requirements. However, if a person performing the duties of a home inspector on June 12, 2008, has proof that he or she has worked as a home inspector for at least two years and has conducted at least one hundred home inspections, he or she may apply to the board before September 1, 2009, for licensure without meeting the instruction and training requirements of RCW 18.280. In order to become licensed as a home inspector, an applicant must furnish proof of a minimum of one hundred twenty hours of classroom instruction and up to forty hours of field training supervised by a licensed home inspector and pass a written exam. The license must be renewed every two years. A good law and one that was long overdue. Even with licensing in place, however, buyers still need to check the fine print on the contract, particularly the waiver and limitation of warranties.