Check out the newly updated neighborhood profile detailing the St. John’s District of the “fifth quadrant,” North Portland. Combining the best of urban accessibility and small town atmosphere, it’s a fantastic place to live. Check out some of the independent book and music stores in the city, catch some sun or a music festival at Cathedral Park, or ride your bike down the charming neighborhood streets. If you’re looking for homes, apartments, or condos for sale around the St. John’s District, check out this information page filled with the best restaurants in North Portland, the top parks, shopping, and neighborhood resources. Relocating to a new area can be hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve got the best real estate agents in Portland on your side.
Archive for the ‘Real Estate Trends’ Category
UPDATED St. John’s Neighborhood Profile at Your Road Map to Home
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010New Affordable & Green, Architect-Designed Housing in Portland
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
You already know that Portland is a haven for sustainable living, but lot of people think that fully sustainable homes are only for the upper crust. Portland-based design group Minimalist+ is working to change that by bringing pre-fabricated and affordable stylish homes to the metro area. The houses are architect-designed, modern wonders that are assembled in local Portland warehouses, so little carbon is wasted on transportation. These little gems pop up in a matter of days using light panels, preserving surrounding trees and landscaping.
UPDATED Mississippi Neighborhood Profile at Your Road Map to Home
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Check out the newly updated neighborhood profile detailing the Mississippi District of the “fifth quadrant,” North Portland. Combining the best of urban accessibility and small town atmosphere, it’s a fantastic place to live. Check out some of the best food carts in the city, catch your favorite band at Mississippi Studios, or ride your bike down the charming neighborhood streets. If you’re looking for homes, apartments, or condos for sale around the Mississippi District, check out this information page filled with the best restaurants in North Portland, the top parks, shopping, and neighborhood resources. Relocating to a new area can be hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’ve got the best real estate agents in Portland on your side.
Bank owned foreclosures for the Portland area, this effects home sellers!
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
Everyday I watch the new REO listings and post them to my Twitter account. I’m amazed at how much the number of REO listings are increasing. This is not good news for those wanting or needing to sell their home. However, if you must you need to do so soon while low interest rates are keeping the housing market fluid.
The Real Estate Market’s Response to Interest in Walk Scores
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Trends in national real estate are showing that home buyers are increasingly interested in walkability, in many cases choosing smaller, more expensive, older houses with better access to amenities in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. In addition to good schools, low crime rates, and big yards, today’s home buyers are paying more and more attention to the proximity of stores, coffee shops, theaters, and parks. Traffic congestion and long commutes have become a fact of life for many Americans living in urban areas, increasing the attractiveness of a home situated in a place that would encourage them to use their walking shoes more than their engines.
Bank Owned Home Sales in Portland Soar
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
According to the most recent RMLS (Regional Multiple Listing Service) report, one in six homes bought in Portland were bank-owned homes. Buying at or near the bottom of the real estate cycle can be the best time to buy a home. It also may be the best time to sell if you are moving into a replacement home that suits your needs better than your existing home. Why buy now? Let me count the reasons. It is now a “buyers market” meaning the asking prices on property is at or near the bottom of their cycle and homes are not receiving multiple offers as they were during the “bubble” days. As you can see from the statistics on bank-owned homes above, there is a high percentage of bank owned real estate and short sale deals out there if you have the right agent to walk you through the maze. (more…)
Assessed Value of Your Home Too High?
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
It happens alot… client is looking for a hell of a deal, we find it and then they are faced with owning a home with a REALLY high assessed tax value. We are hearing success stories of buyers petitioning to have the value lowered (especially in the Happy Valley area) but I have never heard of someone getting a refund for their hard work until I read the article on MSNBC; I doubt it would work in the state of Oregon!
Condos Becoming even more difficult to finance with FHA… oh GREAT!
Friday, February 5th, 2010
“Lender Tu” had this to say about recent lending changes concerning condo purchases:
Typical Short Sale Story- Limbo for Buyer & Seller
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Yep, this is a typical story. It’s amazing! I am always explaining these types of stories to buyers but it’s so hard to believe that the process is this awful! There are “some” circumstances that will allow for a smoother process but in most cases your chances of pulling off a short sale are minimal. To make the short sale process worse, I frequently see listing agents that don’t know what they’re doing in a normal transaction let alone a short sale. IF YOU ARE SELLING SHORT, MAKE SURE YOUR LISTING AGENT IS A SEASONED SHORT SALE AGENT! Anyhow, take a read at the Oregonian’s “Short Sale Leaves Homebuyers, Sellers in Limbo” . -Kristie McD. Your Portland, Oregon Realtor!
TAKE ACTION NOW! IF YOU NEED TO USE FHA FINANCING…..
Friday, January 29th, 2010
TAKE ACTION NOW if you need to use FHA financing for your purchase or refinance!
FORBES: Portland, OR named 1 of Top Ten Cities to Go From Renting to Buying
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Forbes says that although Portland, Ore is not cheap for buyers, it is cheaper than normal. We keep sprawl in check which keeps home prices up and continues to keep home values protected better than other cities that have allowed too much sprawl and over build that brings home prices down. We frequently get out of state (and country) inquiries on real estate here and they are always surprised to see that Portland’s home market has faired very well compared to other markets around the country. Anyhow, read the article; it’s a very informative one! -Kristie McD. McDonald Group Realtors FORBES ARTICLE HERE
A Few Articles Re: interest rates rising & FHA tightening on loan standards
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Clients of ours forwarded the linked articles below to us for consideration; I’m passing along to you. I do expect FHA will continue to tighten and I do think interest rates will go up. For those of you thinking you want to wait for home prices to reduce, keep in mind that an increased interest rate may eat up any sale price savings and that if you are borderline qualified you may not be eligible for a loan a month from now. If you are a first time home buyer I do not recommend writing on short sales unless they already have a pre-approved amount acceptable to what you would want to pay. Chances are slim you would close in time for the credit and they waste alot of valuable shopping time. Here’s those articles:
Coldwell Banker CEO on Fox News: Market “what up”
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Jim talks about the credit for not only the first time home buyers but the credit for the move-up buyer as well. Interest rates are expected to rise but Jim points out that even when they reach 6% they will still be better than the rates we saw in the 80′s! I love your glasses Jim! Very Portlandy! -Kristie McD.
Down Housing Market has Lead to a Falloff in Divorces
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Interesting little article in The Wall Street Journal. I agree with them; many couples are waiting it out. I have seen one couple that can’t make up their mind, house on the market, off the market, on the market… but overall, with no money to dispute over it’s more of who wants to take on the liability. I read through the article and there is an idea they didn’t present…. and interestingly a co-worker of mine and I were just discussing this the other day…
Look at the price on that SHORT SALE! It’s too good to be true!
Sunday, December 13th, 2009
Yep! It probably is. Until an offer is received, the short sale process between the homeowner and the lender(s) cannot begin. In other words, the seller & listing agent need an offer, any offer, before they can turn in the initial packet required to get the process started. You are likely being used; they just want your offer.