It’s not a technical term, but the “seller stubbornness” factor in that market has got to be at an all time high. It’s highly neighborhood dependent, of course, but in most areas properties are selling for slightly less than the assessed value, but it’s amazing how many sellers keep their homes on the market for very long periods at levels far in excess of those amounts. Multiple years to sale used to be extremely rare, but is now increasingly common.

And I’ve watched at least several dozen underwater “distressed” homes stay on the market for over a year before simple disappearing into the “shadows” at various stages in the process, unsold and unrented, sometimes “un-foreclosed” despite a long history of delinquency, and just indefinitely held for “later” I suppose.

Suffice it to say, we still have a long way to go to achieve “normalcy” and true price discovery in that part of the country. It’s just psychologically difficult for most people, even aspiring “move-ups” to buy in such an environment, and people prefer to “wait it out” until the smoke clears and things make more sense.

My guess is that Seattle won’t really see good progress on these issues until next summer – and that’s if the economy’s recovery is sustained. If it’s not, well, best not to think about it while I’m still in a good mood.