A new report ranks metro areas by their level of statistical overvaluation, putting Tacoma at No. 27 with the value of a house, excluding condos, for the first quarter of the year pegged at $278,800. (Pierce County’s median home price in April, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, was $263,051.)

While the ranking, which is out of 330 metro areas, seems high, the report says Tacoma falls in the category of “moderately overvalued” and “not so high as to be at risk of substantial price decline.” Global Insight, which put together the report, labels Tacoma 24.5 percent overvalued.

Other Northwest markets didn’t fare as well. Anywhere over 35 percent, according to Global Insight, runs “a risk of substantial price declines” of 10 percent or greater.

Here’s a look at other Northwest markets, their rankings and by what percentage Global Insight considers each overvalued.

2. Bend, Ore. 49.5 percent
3. Longview 40.2 percent
4. Wenatchee 40 percent
6. Bellingham 38 percent
7. Portland 36.2 percent
11. Eugene, Ore. 32.8 percent
12. Medford, Ore. 31.9 percent
16. Salem, Ore. 28.9 percent
20. Olympia 26.4 percent
27. Tacoma 24.5 percent
28. Seattle 22.8 percent

Global Insight uses various factors to determine under- and overvaluation in each area, including median home price, household income, the density of households and mortgage rates.

The report, which I ran across this morning at the Seattle Bubble blog, also provides a map that color codes markets around the country and their stats by rolling your cursor over each.

This housing crisis story has many of the ingredients of a typical foreclosure: an owner with poor health, a difficult repair issue (mold contamination), a house that won't sell and a housing market that's seen better days. In this case it's the mansion of TV star Ed McMahon, which has been on the market for two years.

Here's what the LA Times reported this morning:

McMahon, the longtime sidekick to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," defaulted on $4.8 million in mortgage loans with a unit of Countrywide Financial Corp., which filed a notice of default in March, according to ForeclosureRadar, a company that sells default data pulled from public records.

The 85-year-old pitchman for various products, including American Family Publishers, is the highest-profile person to be caught up in the nationwide real estate downturn and mortgage crunch.

"He's not alone. There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," McMahon's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said late Tuesday.

Bragman said McMahon fell and broke his neck about 18 months ago and has been unable to work since.

"The ideal situation would be that he would be healthy and able to earn a living to pay for his house," Bragman said.

The six-bedroom, five-bath home on Crest Court is listed for sale at $6.25 million, said real estate agent Alex Davis of Alex Davis Estates, who has the listing. It's been on the market for two years, he said.

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