This page will be dedicated to information via links to articles and publications for living in Olympia and Thurston County. The articles may be about real estate, mortgages, schools, communities, events and other items of interest to those living or planning to relocate here.
$8,000 Homebuyers tax credit extended - CNN Money.com - 11/05/09
President Obama reups popular tax credit through June 2010 and expands it to include people with higher incomes and some who want to trade up into new homes. Read Article....
Home sales see start rally, agents say - Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 10/06/09
Real Estate: Pending sales up more than 11 percent. Pending home sales in Thurston County rose more than 11 percent in September, a sign that first-time homebuyers rushed to take advantage of an $8,000 tax incentive program before it expires next month, South Sound real estate agents said Monday. Read Article..
Homes sales end long fall
Economy: August first month since August '07 to see rise
Rolfe Boone, The Olympian - 9/5/09
August was the best month for Thurston County home sales in more than two years: It was the first month since early 2007 that the number of homes sold increased from the year before. Read Article...
Thurston County home sales improved in August but the sales totals still didn't match the record number of homes sold in August 2006, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Monday. Read Article...
Homes sales stage best month of '09
Real Estate: Building in the county down overall, but city's single family sites increase 30 percent
Rolfe Boone, The Olympian - 8/30/09
Better days are ahead for Thurston CountyCounty’s housing market, according to new South Sound home-sales and residential construction data, although the market remains slower than in the boom years of 2003 to 2006. Real estate experts, too, see signs of recovery, but they acknowledge that the housing market still has lots of room for improvement.
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Take visitors to local hot spots - Heather Woodward, The Olympian - 8/04/07
Summer is when South Sound puts its best foot forward. The sun comes out more often. Temperatures rise to a delightful 70 or 80 degrees. Read Article...
See Built Green ideas at Tour of Homes - Heather Woodward, The Olympian - 7/28/07 Incorporating environmentally friendly construction practices into the construction of local homes has been routine at Scott Homes Inc. Read Article...
Moore’s movie ‘Sicko’ spotlights Olympia man - Breanne Coats The Olympian - OLYMPIA — When Eric “E.T.” Turnbow of Olympia videotaped himself doing a handstand on London’s Abbey Road in 1997, it had two unintended consequences...Read article
Olympia in top 5 percent of public high schools - Rankings based on advanced courses, graduation numbers -Venice Buhain The Olympian - 5/22/07
Olympia High School is one of the top 5 percent most-challenging public high schools in the country, according to Newsweek magazine and the Washington Post annual Challenge Index.
Kurt Badenhausen 04.05.07, 6:00 PM ET - Forbes.com
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Olympia home permits up
Thurston: Rising rates, new tax incentives credited
Rolfe Boone, The Olympian - 7/07/09
The Thurston County housing market had its best month of the year in June as home sales rose above 300 units for the first time in 2009 and nearly matched total sales in June 2008, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Monday. . Read Article...
2009 Best Cities
No. 6 Olympia, Washington
From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, July 2009
By Marc A. Wojno, Senior Associate Editor
Olympia is a cultural diamond in the rough of the Pacific Northwest. Mischaracterized sometimes as a sleepy government town, Washington's state capital -- just 60 miles southwest of Seattle on the southern tip of Puget Sound -- enjoys a thriving visual and performing-arts scene. Read Article...
By Marc A. Wojno, Senior Associate Editor
Olympia is a cultural diamond in the rough of the Pacific Northwest. Mischaracterized sometimes as a sleepy government town, Washington's state capital -- just 60 miles southwest of Seattle on the southern tip of Puget Sound -- enjoys a thriving visual and performing-arts scene. Read Article...
Some bright spots in the local housing market
More than 200 units sold for the first time since October
Rolfe Boone, The Olympian - 4/08/09
Thurston County home sales got back on track in March after a promising January and a disappointing February, rising above 200 units sold for the first time since October, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released this week. Read Article...
Help for new home buyers a good idea
The Olympian - 2/13/09One sure-fire way to help boost the economy is to get more first-time homebuyers into the market. The key, of course, is to ensure that they are well screened, have their financial house in order and are able to meet their monthly mortgage obligations. Read Article...
Agency, group target housing market - Alliance supports legislation boosting first-time buyers
Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 2/06/09
A state agency and a statewide organization have teamed up in an effort to stimulate the state's housing market, representatives from both groups told The Olympian's editorial board this week. Read Article...
Deals boost home sales - Number sold up for first time in nearly 2 years as prices decline
Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 2/05/09
Year-over-year Thurston County home sales rose for the first time in nearly two years in January as South Sound buyers took advantage of bargain prices for single-family residences and condos, according to home-sales data released Wednesday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Read Article...
Owners tout view at newly named high rise - Potential tenants get inside look at former Capitol Center
Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 1/31/09
The nine-story building that stands between Capitol Lake and Budd Inlet in downtown Olympia has a new name and a new look, and the owners spent about three hours Friday trying to land new tenants. Read Article...
Houses hit the market - Foreclosures cause uptick in new listings
Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 1/07/09
The number of Thurston County homes newly listed for sale rose 13 percent in December 2008 compared with December 2007, a possible sign that more foreclosed properties were coming on to the market, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Tuesday. Read Article...
County homes sales buck trend - Months-long streak of double-digit decreases ends as 316 residences are sold in October
Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 11/07/08
Thurston County home shoppers apparently were unfazed by turmoil on Wall Street last month and bought more than 300 homes in October, nearly matching total sales for October 2007, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Thursday. Read Article...
County Housing Market Strong - Thurston highest Sound area performer - Rolf Boone, The Olympian - 10/22/08
The Thurston County housing market continues to outperform those in other Western Washington counties, with selling times and inventory levels here falling in the past 90 days, new data show. Read Article...
Home sales show an increase Report: Rise in houses sold in western part of state first in more than one year - The Olympian, news services - 10/07/08
Home sales in much of Western Washington were up for the first time in more than a year and a half, but prices were down, and there were fewer homes on the market. Read Article...
House prices tumble in June - Rolf Boone - The Olympian - 7/10/08
Thurston County home prices slid more than 9 percent from June 2007 to June 2008, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported, the steepest year-over-year drop this year and the largest decline South Sound real-estate experts could remember. Read Article...
Local home values hang on as sales decline - How real estate market is performing in South Sound - The Olympian - 7/06/08
Thurston County home sales are down, building activity has tapered off and more people have fallen behind on mortgage payments, according to newly compiled data for the first half of the year. Read Article...
Home buyers look to cut commutes and fuel costs - The Olympian - 6/19/08
South Sound home buyers are looking for houses closer to work, to cut the high cost of commuting brought on by record fuel prices, real estate agents and their customers said Wednesday. Read Article...
Olympia in top 5 percent of high schools - The Olympian - 5/21/08
Olympia High School placed in the top 5 percent of Newsweek magazine's ranking of top public high schools in the nation, for the third time. Read Article...
Sun comes out on home sales - Jim Szymanski, The Olympian - 5/6/08
Rebounding pending home sales last month were a sign that there might be new energy in the Northwest real estate market, Realtors said Monday. Read Article...
Real estate agents say drop in home prices not a worry - Rolf Boone , The Olympian - 4/5/08
The median price of a single-family Thurston County home fell last month compared with the same period a year ago, but South Sound real estate agents said they were not worried about it. Read Article...
Best Place for Business and Careers - Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com - 3/19/08
Companies in the U.S. are facing myriad challenges, from the credit crunch to soaring commodity prices to corporate tax rates that are behind only Japan's among developed countries. What is a chief executive to do? Read Article...
West Olympia residence certified by National Wildlife Federation - John Dodge , The Olympian - 3/31/08
West Olympia homeowner Joan Machlis said goodbye to her lawn and hello to a rich variety of plants designed to attract birds, bees, butterflies and salamanders. Read Article...
Thurston home prices steady - Rolf Boone , The Olympian - 3/6/08
Despite a 24 percent drop in Thurston County home sales in February, median home prices remained steady and rose nearly 4 percent on a year-over-year basis, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Wednesday. Read Article...
Real estate sales down 12 percent through month - Jim Szymanski , The Olympian - 12/23/07
This was a healthy year for South Sound real estate sales though sales through November were down about 12 percent compared with 2006, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data for Thurston County. Read Article...
Rolfe Boone, The Olympian - 9/05/2009
