Pierce and King counties continued to fare well in stats released this morning from one of the most closely watched measures of housing markets around the country.

The Seattle area, which includes Pierce County, posted a 5.7 percent gain in the price of a typical house, not included condos, compared to August 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. That’s down from July’s gain of 6.9 percent but higher than any of the other 19 markets tracked. Most, in fact, declined year over year. (For some context, Pierce County’s median home price – houses and condos – rose 4.4 percent in August and fell 2.4 percent in September compared to the same months a year ago, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.)

One theory on the rise and fall of prices says those that rose the highest will fall the farthest and the fastest. That seems to be holding up in places like Tampa, Washington D.C., Las Vegas and San Diego, where the index says prices appreciated by at least 112 percent since 2000 and last month each saw depreciation between 7.2 and 10.1 percent. (By contrast, Seattle area prices grew by 92 percent since 2000.)

But that theory falls apart when looking at Detroit, where times are particularly tough. Prices fell by 9.3 percent year-over-year in August, according to the Case-Shiller index, with little price appreciation to fall back on. Of the 20 markets measured, Detroit also has seen the smallest growth in home prices since 2000 – just 11.6 percent in seven years.

Yet another online attempt to grab your real estate attentions comes from Rotten Neighbor.

Here you can post whatever you've ever wanted to say and never own up to about your neighbor. Some of the cleaner South Sound posts include "rowdy group," "drug house" and "seriously a nut case." I saw a handful in Tacoma, Fircrest and farther south, but the site is still fairly new. (One post I saw in L.A. used the first and last name of a supposed landlord -- a violation of the site's own legal terms. Another from L.A. not only (anonymously) identified a couple by their first and last names, along with unflattering comments, but the business they apparently own.)

Here's what the site has to say about its concept and how it might help you:
• Real estate agents will never tell you about bad neighbors.
• If a bad neighbor exists, this information should be made freely and easily available to everyone.
• More and more home buyers and sellers are looking towards the internet for guidance.
• The more bad neighbors you add, the better the service.

I'm wondering how any of these comments have even a hint of legitimacy, particularly given people can lob them anonymously. Would anyone out there use something like this to vet a neighborhood?

The site also has a blog, though posts are infrequent -- just seven since launching in late July.

I e-mailed the company yesterday to find out more about the site but no word back yet.