Washington

Homebuyers looking in Seattle and the Eastside have had many more homes to choose from lately and have even seen prices drop significantly from their record-setting spring highs.

Home prices are continuing to fall across an unseasonably cool Seattle real estate market, with homes that would have been snapped up in an instant just several months ago now sitting unsold.

Seattle is building housing like never before, while housing growth has slowed significantly in the suburbs.

Almost $50 billion. That's how much Spokane County, Wash., is worth, according to this year's property assessments, up $4.1 billion over last year.

For the first time in a year and a half, Washington is no longer the state with the hottest housing market in the country, though not because homes here have suddenly become cheap.

Seattle-area home prices led the country again over the peak spring period and grew at their fastest rate since the 2006 bubble, spurred by a spike in home costs in the metro area's least-expensive homes.

For now, Pullman, Wash., real estate is a sellers' market.

Spokane County, Wash., home prices rose in June, but the number of sales dropped off slightly.

Home prices dropped from May to June in King County, Wash., for the first time since the recession, as competition among buyers weakened and the number of homes for sale surged.

The deal is designed to improve capital ratios and reduce risk at the Seattle company.