The Case of the Dueling Real Estate Headlines

The P-I is running an AP story with the headline: "Seattle home sales plummet 41% from a year ago," (lede: "Seattle and Portland were among the top 10 metro areas in the nation with the most pronounced drop in sales") while the Seattle Times counters with "Record U.S. home-price decline in August attracts buyers." So there's an upside? "...sales are sluggish in formerly stable markets like the Pacific Northwest and Charlotte." Oh. At least we've got strong fundament--oh. Hey, sunny San Diego County real estate is ten percent cheaper than King County. Wait, is that good or bad?