Check out this article in tonight's local newspaper, The Wenatchee World, citing Wenatchee as the #1 appreciating housing market in the entire U.S.  


Prices have increased at the rate of 25.6 from March 2006 to March 2007.  We've seen a 6% appreciation factor for the first quarter of 2007. 


This is good for current homeowners, as their investment grows.


This is not such good news for first time home buyers who don't have equity from a previous home to make a down payment on the ever increasingly expensive homes on the market. 


An affordable alternative for the first time home buyers is a decent supply of Wenatchee area condos coming onto the market in the $125,000 - $140,000 price range.   There are, of course, also many many higher end (luxury style) condos being built.


I've heard some people object to the condo option because they don't like paying the monthly association dues.  The reality is, the association dues are comparable to what a person would spend over time on maintenance of a single family residence.  It's just a forced monthly savings to cover those expenses.  In most cases, the monthly dues also covers some of the utilities for the unit. 


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