What Can Teachers Afford?

Costs out of balance

I find your take on the Seattle housing boom disconcerting to say the least. It's no secret that the Seattle-area home market is the most overpriced in the country, yet your story ["Local homes: Investments that just keep getting hotter," News, July 7] makes it out to be some sort of rich white-man's paradise.

Instead of running a picture of a nice house in the suburbs with the story, why not show what $500,000 will buy you in Queen Anne, Fremont or Capitol Hill? The answer? Not much. Why not show what a teacher working and living in the city is able to afford?

In Seattle, the costs of homes compared to what people earn at their jobs is seriously out of balance, and it's only getting worse. Your story fails to address the big picture.

— Ben Hopper, Seattle