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Portland's Average Days On Market To Sell 2007-05-25 10:28:00 How long will it take to sell my home?That depends on many factors including pricing and condition. An overpriced home can make a great home sit on the market for a long time. While a nice house priced just right can produce an offer on the first day.In general, it’s currently taking 63 days on the market to sell a Portland area home.Here are the average days on market for Portland and its’ suburbs:DOM - Area83 – Oregon City, Canby68 – Gresham, Troutdale66 – Lake Oswego, West Linn64 – Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville62 – Beaverton, Aloha61 – Milwaukie, Clackamas, Happy Valley, Damascus57 – West Portland55 – Northwest Washington County53 – Hillsboro, Forest Grove46 – North Portland46 – Northeast Portland44 – Southeast Portland Read more:Average
, Market
Another High Ranking for Portland 2007-05-29 10:17:00 I mentioned the other day that CNBC ranked Portland as one of the top five real estate markets in the country.Well, Forbes has just done the same thing. Forbes ranks Portland as the 4th best market for real estate in the U.S.Here’s a slide show for Portland and here’s the full story. Read more:Ranking
A Costly Example of Too Much SQFT 2007-06-07 10:02:00 While the average American house continues to get larger, houses can actually be too big. Yes, I said it. Too big. Take for instance former Portland Trailblazer, Scottie Pippen, who just sold his house in West Portland for $1million- less than what he paid for it several years ago.Here the story as published in The Oregonian:Scottie Pippen, the former Trail Blazers star, has found out the hard way that selling a high-end house for a profit is no slam dunk even in Portland's healthy real estate market.The retired basketball legend and his wife, Larsa, sold their 2.28-acre West Hills estate for $2.95 million last month -- down from the $4 million they paid in 2000. That's right, after seven years in the region's strongest housing market in a generation, they lost $1 million.What's up with that?As the Pippens -- who didn't want to comment -- have learned, it's not easy to sell a house in the Portland area for more than $2 million. It can take years to find a buyer willing to go h Read more:Example
How Much Is Too Much? 2007-06-06 12:03:00 “Wow!”That was the expression from a homebuyer after taking one step in an old Portland house the other day.Unfortunately, the wow-factor wasn’t because of the home’s appeal, but because of the way the house has been customized.The house was built in the early 1900s. From the outside, it’s grand; a four-square old-Portland home loaded with yesteryear’s charm. Close-in, nice curb appeal, and priced at more than half a million dollars.Expectations were high. The outcome fell far short. Once inside we were greeted by extensive marble flooring, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, statues attached to the walls, and faux painting made to resemble brick.The truth of the matter is that in another setting, this may have been rather appealing. But the house was so customized and so grand, that it distracted my buyer from focusing on the house itself. She was expecting hardwood floors, coved ceilings, built-ins, leaded glass, all the classics.My point: Beauty is in the eye of the beholde
Number of Home Sales In Portland 2007-06-05 14:15:00 Year-to-date, the Portland metro area has seen a decline in home sales totaling near 400 properties. To be exact, there have 369 less home sales so far in 2007 compared to 2006.Here are the most current figures regarding number of home sales, year-to-date. Most have take place in Southeast Portland with the least number in Northwest Washington County:# Sales
- Area1219 – Southeast Portland1025 – West Portland1005 – Northeast Portland924 - Beaverton, Aloha712 - Hillsboro, Forest Grove711 - Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville589 - Milwaukie, Clackamas578 - Gresham, Troutdale457 - North Portland452 - Lake Oswego, West Linn398 - Oregon City, Canby377 - Northwest Washington County Read more:Number
Homework For The Portland Homebuyer 2007-06-08 10:20:00 When it comes to buying real estate, do your homework.I recently helped a couple look for a home in SE Portland just south of the Hawthorne neighborhood. My clients found an old Portland home that was truly beautiful, but like many old properties, it had a shared driveway with the neighbor. What it didn’t have was a garage.When I spoke to the listing agent about the driveway, she mentioned that neighbors were interested in having shared garage built with the new homebuyers to split the cost. This instantly made the property more attractive.I requested the neighbor’s phone number. We talked and the neighbor completely countered what the listing agent relayed earlier. The neighbor said she didn’t have any money for a garage and that she had already told this to the people selling.My point is that you either have to get things in writing or confirm things for yourself. The investment of purchasing a home it too large not to. Read more:Homework
Second To None... Vacation Home Owners 2007-06-13 10:05:00 I’ve been helping a couple from California purchase a second home here in Portland. They’re investing in real estate here to be closer to family and they like what they see in downtown. And they're not alone. Personally speaking, I've seen interest in the second home trend here in Portland remain consistent.Last year, however, the purchase of second homes fell slightly nationwide (I’d be interested in seeing Portland’s stats). The National Association of Realtors reports that second-home sales accounted for 36 percent of all home transactions in 2006, down from 40 percent in 2005.NAR’s research shows the typical vacation-home buyer in 2006 was 44 years old, had a median household income of $102,200, and purchased a property that was a median of 215 miles from their primary residence. “The demographics favor vacation-home sales because large numbers of consumers are in the prime buying ages, and buyers want recreational property for personal use – investment is a sec Read more:Second
, Vacation
, Owners
Where Portland's Million Dollar Homes Are 2007-06-12 10:00:00 In the market for a luxury home? If you’re price range is $1 million or more, than the Lake Oswego – West Linn area or West Portland - Raleigh Hills area should be in your sights.These two areas are home to a high majority of the million dollar properties in the Portland area.Here’s a breakdown of million-dollar real estate properties in Portland:No. - Area167 – West Portland, Raleigh Hills143 – Lake Oswego, West Linn41 – Clackamas, Damascus, Happy Valley, Milwaukie39 – Oregon City, Beavercreek, Canby, Molalla28 – Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville26 – NW Washington County21 – Gresham, Sandy, Troutdale, Corbett12 – Beaverton, Aloha10 – Hillsboro, Forest Grove8 – Northeast Portland7 – Southeast Portland1 – North Portland Read more:Dollar
, Homes
, Million Dollar
The Million Dollar Home Changes 2007-06-11 11:07:00 There are more than 500 homes in the Portland metro area priced at $1 million or more. At least one study says the actual type of million dollar home is now changing.According to Forbes, “In past years, builders could throw together a large house, slap a $1 million price tag on it and expect the property to sell. A sign that new luxury constructions are of a higher quality grade? They're being built smaller, according to research from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."The size of houses has peaked," says Gopal Ahluwalia, NAHB's vice president for research."People are beginning to make trade offs. Square footage is getting smaller in upscale homes, but ceiling heights are getting higher, for example."So what’s $1 million buy in Portland? The magazine compared Portland to Indianapolis, New York City and Oklahoma City:“In the Indianapolis area, where many homes were down an average of 5% according to the NAR, one will find a 1912 mansion boasting 11,000 square feet Read more:Dollar
Portland Housing Prices Steady, Inventory Too 2007-06-15 16:08:00 The average and median sales prices of homes in the Portland metro area continue to climb, as housing inventory remains stable.Year-to-date, the average sales price of a Portland home is $337,900. At this time in 2006, the year-to-date average was $314,500. It should be noted that May of 2007 witnessed a record high average sales price of $348,800 likely the result of luxury home sales which included five homes that sold for $2 million or more.Year-to-date, the median sales price of a Portland home is $285,900 compared to $264,900 at this time in 2006.Is it a buyer’s market or seller’s market? Technically, it’s still a seller’s market with housing inventory now at 4.5 months. This means that if no other homes were added to the market, the supply would dry up in 4.5 months. It’s a slight increase from last month’s inventory of 4.4 months.Even though Portland is technically in a seller’s market, it’s very close to being a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Read more:Housing
, Prices
, Inventory
Average Market Time For Portland Homes Increases 2007-06-20 11:39:00 The topic of how long homes are sitting on the market came up recently at a broker’s meeting we have at my REMAX office. One Realtor said that he’s finding that “close-in” homes still relatively quick, while those in Portland’s suburbs are taking longer. There was a general consensus with that and new figures support that.In terms of average days on market, the three areas of Portland selling the fastest are all in the city. And it should be noted that year-to-date, the average market in 2007 is 60 days compared to 43 days in 2006.Here are the average days on the market for homes in Portland, listed from longest to shortest:DOM - Area70 – Oregon City, Canby65 – Lake Oswego, West Linn64 – Hillsboro, Forest Grove63 – Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville62 – Northwest Washington County61 – Milwaukie, Clackamas, Happy Valley, Damascus58 – Gresham, Troutdale54 – West Portland49 – Beaverton, Aloha41 – Southeast Portland36 – Northeast Portland32 – North P Read more:Average
, Market
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Tracking Portland, Oregon Foreclosures 2007-06-19 10:13:00 I’ve been asked more and more about foreclosures, I think, in part because of all the news about the state of the real estate market nationwide. Despite the interest, I can’t say there are foreclosures in the bountiful in the Portland area.In fact, a new report shows that Oregon
’s foreclosure rate has dropped by 50% from May of 2006. Nationwide, foreclosures were up 90% during this same time period.Month-to-month, Oregon’s foreclosures increased 12% from April 2007 to May 2007. The national average was a 19% climb.Oregon ranks 28th in the country in foreclosure rate with 1 foreclosure for every 1765 households. The report, provided by RealtyTrac, can be seen here. Read more:Tracking
, Foreclosures
Current Real Estate Prices In Portland 2007-06-18 10:05:00 It doesn’t seem like that long ago you could buy a house in North Portland, that wasn’t a fixer, for $150,000 easy.But as I state the obvious, real estate in Portland has really appreciated over the last few years. Today, the median sales price of a home in North Portland is just under $250,000 and that’s the least expensive area around.Here are the average and median sales prices, year-to-date in 2007, for homes in Portland and the suburbs:Average - Median = Area$550,400 - $462,500 = Lake Oswego, West Linn$464,100 - $377,000 = West Portland$399,600 - $369,000 = Northwest Washington County$375,600 - $335,000 = Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville$345,000 - $307,700 = Milwaukie, Clackamas, Happy Valley, Damascus$320,300 - $299,900 = Oregon City, Canby$312,900 - $274,500 = Northeast Portland$298,100 - $270,000 = Hillsboro, Forest Grove$285,200 - $260,000 = Beaverton, Aloha$282,400 - $260,000 = Gresham, Troutdale$281,700 - $248,000 = Southeast Portland$264,000 - $248,500 = North Read more:Current
, Estate
, Prices
Mortgage Insurance Makes A Comeback 2007-06-22 09:50:00 Recent studies show that more home buyers are now opting for mortgage insurance.Why? They expect to take advantage of a new tax break that makes some of their mortgage-insurance premiums tax deductible. The new law allows borrowers who take out a mortgage or refinance in 2007 to write off all — or a portion — of their mortgage insurance payments for the year.Chris Martin, a local mortgage broker in the Portland area, has seen this firsthand.Q: Chris, have you seen a few examples of this or is this a larger trend?A: This is a trend that is increasing and will continue as mortgage professionals become educated on the benefits of using mortgage insurance as opposed to taking out a higher rate 2nd mortgage.Q: How much of a benefit is it now that mortgage insurance is tax deductible?A: The benefits are significant for borrowers. The borrower is now able keep both mortgages into one first mortgage which is usually a lower rate. Then you figure your tax deductible mortgage insuranc Read more:Mortgage
Appreciation Rates For The Portland Area 2007-06-21 09:24:00 Here are the current appreciation rates for the Portland metro area, as provided by the RMLS:Rate - Area16.3% - Gresham, Troutdale13.3% - Lake Oswego, West Linn13.1% - Hillsboro, Forest Grove11.5% - Southeast Portland11.5% - North Portland11.2% - Milwaukie, Clackamas9.4% - Northeast Portland9.1% - Oregon City, Canby6.4% - Beaverton, Aloha6.1% - Northwest Washington County5.2% - West Portland3.8% - Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, WilsonvilleAppreciation percents are based on a comparison of average price for the last 12 months with 12 months before. Read more:Rates
Portland noted in the Wall Street Journal 2007-06-27 11:14:00 A writer for the Wall StreetJournal
recently wrote an article that’s kinda, sorta about the energy debate and fuel efficiency.At the center of the article was Portland. Here are some excerpts:“Portland is a green place, surrounded by temperate, Douglas fir rainforests and dotted with lush gardens. Portland is also Green in the political sense, at least, more so than Detroit. Years ago, Portland's political leaders blocked construction of a freeway through the heart of downtown, and took other measures designed to limit suburban sprawl and put the automobile in its place as a servant rather than a master. In 1993, Portland was the first American city to craft a global-warming action plan, Mayor Tom Potter recently told a congressional committee. Mayor Potter said that per capita greenhouse gas emissions have dropped, and that since 1990, Portland's local greenhouse gas emissions are down 1%...…Portland's efforts to limit sprawl have helped to sustain the value of properties i Read more:noted
, Street Journal
Portland Home Sales Down 5% in 2007 2007-06-26 09:49:00 Year-to-date in 2007, home sales are down 5% for the Portland metro area. Yet, homes are still selling.Here are the number of closed sales in the Portland real estate market:Sales
- Area1589 – Southeast Portland1409 – West Portland1326 – Northeast Portland1209 – Beaverton, Aloha940 – Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville915 – Hillsboro, Forest Grove799 – Milwaukie, Clackamas763 – Gresham, Troutdale613 – Lake Oswego, West Linn585 – North Portland532 – Oregon City, Canby513 – Northwest Washington County Read more:Portland Home
Strong Appreciation Predicted For Portland In 2007 2007-06-25 09:28:00 According to Housing Predictor, which provides real estate forecasts throughout the country, Portland is one of the Top 25 appreciating markets in the U.S.In fact, Portland ranks 12th with a forecasted appreciation rate of 6.7% for 2007. Albuquerque, New Mexico tops the list with a 9.1% increase in appreciation forecasted for this year.Here is a link to the story. Read more:Strong
, Predicted
Portland Permits: Why They're Important 2007-06-29 10:04:00 It seems like more and more I’ve been running into issues dealing with permits… or lack of them.I can’t begin to tell you how often homeowners make repairs or remodels without getting the proper permits. And I guess it may not be a problem, until it comes time to sell.Here’s an example:I recently helped a couple relocate to Portland from Seattle. They wanted an old Portland home in a traditional neighborhood close in to the city. The house had a finished basement which looked great. However, I noticed in the seller’s disclosures that the seller’s response to any work needing permits was “unknown.”I knew that the sellers had finished the basement themselves and combined with the answers in the disclosures, I had a strong hunch permits were not obtained during the remodel. You can check for permits online at www.portlandmaps.com. As great as this website is, I wouldn’t use it as the be-all, end-all source for information. Instead, a visit to the city was made con
A Visitor's View of Portland, Oregon 2007-06-28 10:44:00 Portland has earned more kind press. Here are some excepts from a travel article:“To savor the weirdness, it's best just to strike out into Portland's quirky neighborhoods, wandering in and out of shops, bakeries and bistros, and see what strikes you back.Or bike it in one of the world's great cycling cities. Five thousand Portlanders pedal to work every day, so the bike lanes are sacrosanct, as is the lane for skateboards and inline skates.Portland has spent decades and billions going green and invites travelers to see how it works. Visit Forest Park, the nation's largest urban wilderness, at 5,000 acres. But don't forget the world's smallest dedicated park, the beloved Mill Ends Park in a freeway median, all 24 inches of it.”Here’s the complete article on Portland. Read more:Visitor
, Oregon
Magazine Says Portland Rental Market Improving 2007-07-03 09:39:00 A new Money Magazine
article titled “Investors Strike Gold,” highlights what’s happening here in Portland. Some of the key points are the improving rental market as well as the influx of newcomers to Portland.Personally speaking, I agree with the magazine’s statement that people who end up moving to Portland do so not necessarily for employment, but for lifestyle. Over and over again, I hear clients who relocate to Portland tell me they wanted a better quality of life.Here are some excerpts from the article:“A dynamic turnaround in the Portland multifamily market is shaping up for the second half of this decade. While the rest of the West Coast took off in the first years of this decade, Portland's market was stuck in first gear.During this time, Portland had the highest unemployment among the nation's largest urban areas (8.8 percent in June 2003), but the population still grew an average of 1 percent annually, due largely to in-migration of echo boomers, also known as t Read more:Rental
, Market
New Studies Rank Oregon Life Spans, More 2007-07-02 09:55:00 A new longevity report ranks Oregon
7th for “Highest Calculated Age” in the country. In other words, Oregon is 7th for predicted life span.The top ten states are listed:HawaiiColoradoNew MexicoCaliforniaArizonaVermontOregonWashingtonIdahoMinnesotaHere are other categories where Oregon ranks in the top ten:Best attitude on agingFewest hours spent at workMost likely to engage in brain activityMost dietersMost likely to snack on vegetablesLowest consumption of red meatHigest intake of supplementsLeast likely to screen for cancerLowest frequency of doctors’ visitsHere are all of the rankings. Read more:Studies
Most Expensive Home in U.S. & Portland 2007-07-06 09:53:00 I guess it’s a dream house- for billionaires!The most expensive property for sale in the U.S is Hala Ranch, located near Aspen, Colorado. And to see the property, you must be a billionaire. So far, there have been 11 showings out of 1,000 requests.The price tag is $135 million and for that you get a main house of 56,000 square feet, 15 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms on 95 acres. Did I mention the barbershop, car wash, and dedicated wastewater treatment plant? You can check out the property here.While not $135 million, the most expensive property in the Portland metro area does have its’ own private art gallery. Yes, in West Linn you’ll get more than 11,000 square feet on 11 acres, six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, and an eight car garage. The cost? It's $7,750,000.
Average Rainfall Amounts In Portland 2007-07-05 11:09:00 It rains in Portland?Ok, not funny. It does and thankfully by this time of the year, the sunshine has arrived. Knock on wood, but there's no rain in any 7-day forecast right now. I do, however, get asked about the rain by people relocating to Portland.But not all rain, or at least rainfall, is the same. Here are 30-year average rainfall amounts for Portland, some suburbs, & outer areas:Inches - Area59 – Estacada49 – Vernonia46 – Oregon City45 – St. Helens45 – Troutdale42 – McMinville40 – Beaverton38 – Hillsboro37 – PortlandSource: Portland Monthly Read more:Average
Percentage Of Home-Based Workers High In Portland 2007-07-12 10:31:00 “Drive until you qualify.”Some clients of mine who relocated to Portland from California told me it’s a slogan to describe the pricey real estate market south of us. In other words, keep driving until you can afford to buy a home. Plain and simple, long commutes are norm.Thankfully, Portland isn’t quite the same.In fact, Portland has one of the highest percentage of home-based workers in the country. Nationally, 3.6% of employees work from home, but Portland has a higher rate of 5.3%. Here are some other leading cities:Rate - City6.3% - San Francisco5.3% - Portland5.1% - Seattle5.0% - Austin, TX4.9% - Colorado Springs, CO3.6% - National Average Read more:Workers
Portland's Broker Open Houses Multiply 2007-07-11 09:50:00 Whew! There were 102 broker’s opens this past Tuesday. That is a lot! And that’s just Portland’s eastside.A broker’s open is an open house that a listing agent hosts to attract primarily other real estate agents. It’s the listing agent’s opportunity to meet other agents in person and receive feedback in terms of pricing and how well a home shows.Anyway, broker’s opens are held on Tuesdays in Portland. When Portland was in a strong seller’s market, there may have been 30-45 open houses on the eastside tour. Generally speaking, the real estate market has been pretty balanced, but 102 open houses sure seems like an awful lot. Read more:Broker
, Multiply
Reality Bites In North Portland 2007-07-10 10:50:00 I’m going to list a home in North
Portland at the end of this week. The homeowner is a loyal client of mine so I’ve known for a couple of months that he’s been on the verge of selling it.To prepare, I started visiting comps about two months ago just to see what was out there. I figured some of these houses would close by the time it was ready to market my client’s home.And since then I’ve been consistent about visiting active homes for sale that are similar in North Portland. There are some nice homes out there, but there are also some crazy prices for ugly homes!In St. John’s, I saw a “remodeled” ranch home listed between $250,000-$300,000. For this price, you’d expect a knock-out of a house. But this property had old shag carpet, a bad paint job, and outdated kitchens and bathrooms. I was in and out of this house in less than 15 seconds and a buyer probably would have high-tailed it out of there even faster.On the flip side, I did see some homes that were quit
Home Prices in Portland, The Last 15 Years 2007-07-09 11:02:00 I guess I’ve been fortunate enough to establish a loyal following to my blog.It seems readers come in all forms. Recently, a reporter from Money Magazine called me to discuss the type of real estate market Portland is experiencing. And just last week, a reporter from the Willamette Week called because he was writing a story on real estate appreciation in the Boise-Eliot neighborhood.Both wanted to know how real estate has appreciated in Portland. Which got me thinking… maybe they’re not the only ones wondering how much home prices have risen over the years.Here are the average sale prices and median sales prices of homes in the Portland, Oregon metro area spanning back to 1992:Year = Average & Median Prices
2006 = $322,600 & $270,5002005 = $282,900 & $237,5002004 = $246,000 & $204,5002003 = $222,500 & $185,5002002 = $210,700 & $176,9002001 = $201,000 & $169,9002000 = $198,600 & $166,0001999 = $188,600 & $160,2001998 = $181,000 & $156,9001997 = $173,000 & $15 Read more:Years
, Home Prices
Former Fixer Now A Remodeled Ranch In North Portland 2007-07-13 18:24:00 You might recall that several months ago I interviewed a client of mine who purchased a fixer in North
Portland with intentions of flipping the house. Well, it's been almost five months of blood, sweat, and tears, but the house hit the market today for resale.It’s a ranch home in North Portland’s Portsmouth neighborhood. As the listing agent, of course I’m going to say nice things about the house, but the homeowner, Dustin, really did a great job. I say this because too often I see people flip houses and take shortcuts. Dustin didn’t do that.Instead, he used high quality materials to upgrade the home. This included solid-surface Corian countertops and new tile flooring in the kitchen. Flippers who flip cheap often use laminate countertops and vinyl flooring, not that there’s anything wrong with that. They’re just not “upgrades.”The house utilized electric zonal heat which was in good working order. However, the homeowner installed a central heating system which meant t Read more:Former
, Fixer
, Remodeled
, Ranch
Portland Noted For Investment, Vacation Home Market 2007-07-13 10:44:00 Overall, the sale of investment properties and vacation homes is down across the nation. But as Entrepreneur Magazine points out, that gives real estate investors more choices.Of note, Portland is mentioned in an article about this subject matter. One advisor urges buyers to be patient, observant and prepared in real estate markets with job and population growth. “Hotbed areas today… include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Portland, Oregon, all of which boast robust rental communities as well.”Here’s the story. Read more:Vacation
, Market
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