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Monday’s housing news
Existing-home sales could reach normalcy in 2013, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) .
Closing costs are down
The average cost of closing on a mortgage has dropped by 7.4 percent over the past year, reports CNN Money . Based on a recent survey conducted by Bankrate.com, a $200,000 mortgage with 20 percent down might cost a buyer $3754 in closing fees, or $300 less than one year ago.
Seattle beats Silicon Valley
Seattle wins the top spot for long-term, broad-based technology growth, reports Forbes . Based on a ranking system developed by the Praxis Strategy Group, Forbes considered employment growth in two sectors — high-tech companies (software, data processing, Internet publishing) and industries connected to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The numbers were tallied over the last two years as well as the past decade for the 51 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. Surprisingly, the Emerald City beat out Silicon Valley and the other 49 areas with these high notes: 12% tech job growth over the past two years 7.6% STEM growth over the past two years 43% increase in tech employment over the decade 17% expansion in STEM jobs over the decade The presence of tech-oriented companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing supports consistent growth in the Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue metro areas. GeekWire credits Amazon for playing a large role in the recent expansion
