Real estate transactions 6/16/08
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
Curveball thrown at Pearl’s Encore condominium tower
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
Green architect near finish of first independent project
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
Realtor Notes: PMAR launches consumer Web site
The Oregonian
Real Estate News
The Oregonian
Real estate agents band together to boost sales of million-dollar …
The Oregonian
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Yesterday wasn’t such a bad day. Not only were we graced with much-needed sunshine, but the release of the latest Real Estate Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) data also offered hope that summer that might not be as gloomy as spring.
I get the data one day after than those with the inside track, so I’ll have to quote Ryan Frank of The Oregonian for today. [Read more →]
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Most home values in county fall
The Columbian
Real estate transactions 6/13/08
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
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The big real estate news of the last week has been the bankruptcy of local home builder Legend Homes. It didn’t come as a big surprise, since stories have been swirling for a while about unpaid contractors and the company’s problems with its creditors. According to the Portland Business Journal, the company’s largest creditors, KeyBank, Columbia River Bank and Bank of America, is each owed in excess of $16 million.
Legend Homes has finally acknowledged the bankruptcy on its website, with this statement:
Legend Homes has been building homes for Oregon families since 1965. Our solid reputation is based on decades of creating quality homes through honest, responsible business practices. We have recently filed for Chapter 11, a tool allowing us to continue regular operations while we reorganize our capital structure. In fact, many well known companies have also successfully used this tool, including Sears, K-Mart, United Airlines, Macy’s, Texaco and Kimball Hill Homes.
We anticipate that Legend Homes will ultimately become a stronger organization with long-term financial stability. We value our home buyers and homeowners and intend that daily operations will continue as usual, along with customer support and programs. At this time we are awaiting direction from the courts regarding the details pertaining to this process. Please continue to check our website for further updates.The full press release is available here.
Customers who have purchased a home or who are on the process of buying one from the builder shouldn’t be affected by the bankruptcy.
→ No CommentsTags: housing · legend homes bankruptcy · news · portland · real estate
Despite the steady stream of bad news for the world economy, and Portland Metro’s approximate 4% real estate price drop over the last year, not all statistics are getting worse. Some of the other important indicators for Portland proper are actually holding steady, showing some signs of health.
According to California-based Altos Research, the median single family home price as of June 08 was $349,732, and has been holding pretty steady for the last few months.
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Oregon builder Legend Homes seeks bankruptcy protection
The Oregonian
Industry Notes
The Oregonian
Legend Homes files for bankruptcy
Bizjournals.com
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News articles and market statistics are great, but sometimes it’s helpful to see what local Realtors are saying about the market. With this in mind, I like to check Realty Times every few months to see what the agents on the street are thinking.
I last checked the data back in November, when the bad news was really starting to pile up for the Portland market. Local Realtors were surprisingly optimistic back then. Not so anymore.
Of course, this is a small sample group and these ratings are a form of self-marketing, so we have to eye their remarks with this in mind. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: average price · house value · housing · mls data · news · portland · real estate
Portland Realtor and prolific blogger Salvador Del Cid has posted a short video about Sellwood. Check it out here: http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/F0A6B87A70/#wrapper
→ No CommentsTags: finding a home in portland · housing · portland · sellwood
I’m always looking for good real estate deals in the Portland area. Twice in the last year I’ve found what looked like great deals on condos, only to have my time wasted by the following scenarios.
→ No CommentsTags: condo · investing · news · portland · real estate · real estate listings
Even with the recent declines in real estate values, Portland is regularly cited as one of the best metropolitan real estate markets. Our values are down between 3.5 and 4 percent from a year ago, depending on your source, but this is nothing compared to the double digit drops in California, Florida and Michigan.
And even with values dropping, we’re the third best major metropolitan market in the U.S., according to the most recent Case-Shiller Index.
| Metro area | Median home prices | Overvaluation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Q 2007 | 1Q 2008 | 1Q 2008 | |
| Atlantic City, NJ | $273.1 | $262.8 | 55.6% |
| Bend, OR | $319.9 | $290.5 | 49.5% |
| Longview, WA | $204.8 | $208.9 | 40.2% |
| Wenatchee, WA | $244.5 | $257.1 | 40.0% |
| Ocean City, NJ | $327.9 | $321.7 | 39.5% |
| Bellingham, WA | $300.9 | $300.3 | 38.0% |
| Portland, OR-WA | $305.9 | $302.3 | 36.2% |
| St George, UT | $257.8 | $240.6 | 35.2% |
→ No CommentsTags: average price · finding a home in portland · median price · news · portland · real estate
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Estately.com jumped into the pool of online house and condo search engines last week, offering its services to the Portland metro area. On May 27th, Stumptown was added to the list of 10 searchable West Coast cities, stretching from Bellingham to Oakland.
Since it will be competing with the likes of rmls.com, roost.com, choicea.com, craigslist.com, johnlscott.com, and others, the question is: Do you need it, and is it worth your time? The answers depend on what kind of searcher you are, and how many sites you want to use.
Overall, Estately is a good tool with some glaring deficiencies - just like the rest of them. It combines Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data (which can already be had at rmls.com) with Google maps, and creates a pretty package. If you’re a graphically oriented person it’s a big upgrade from rmls.com and you’ll probably like it.
It takes a few minutes to figure out the interface, but once you get used to it, it’s fairly intuitive. It starts with a basic search that offers, Location, Price, Square Feet, Property Type and Text Search, but allows you to add more options like Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Days on Market and so on, if you see fit. I agree with this strategy. Most people I know are overwhelmed if there are too many search options to start. Power users can always add more options.
→ 4 CommentsTags: finding a home in portland · housing · investing · mls data · portland · real estate
→ 1 CommentTags: housing · news · portland · real estate
Way back in November, Portland, Seattle and Charlotte were the darlings
of the U.S. real estate market, as the only cities still experiencing
rising real estate prices. The pundits were speculating that our
relatively strong economy, urban growth boundary and growing population
might just insulate us from the big price chills that have cooled other
big cities. [Read more →]
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If paying a realtor 6% to sell your house doesn’t sound good you might want to take a look at ChoiceA, especially now that they offer free yard signs to compliment their free listings. [Read more →]
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If you didn’t buy your dream home at the mid-December Buena Vista auction you can still make an online offer. Some 34 of the original 250 homes are still for sale on the auctioneer’s website. [Read more →]
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Portland and Seattle remain two of the top three real estate markets in the country, gaining 1.9% and 3.3% in the last year respectively. Only Charlotte, North Carolina, posted higher gains as of October, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller price index. The latest data marks the 10th consecutive month of negative annual national returns and the 23rd consecutive month of decelerating returns. [Read more →]
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Good news? Bad omens? A sign of the coming slowdown, or just a return to a normal market? Since their have been so many interpretations of the November Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data, I thought it would be a good time to see how local realtors are rating the Portland market. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: mls data · news · portland · real estate · rmls data
Dire real estate news continues to spook the nation, but the Portland area still looks relatively good. The latest Multiple Listing Service data, released today, shows that the median sale price for the metro area rose 7.0%
→ 1 CommentTags: average price · housing · median price · news · portland · real estate
I spent my Saturday observing the Buena Vista auction at the Oregon Convention Center. As expected, it was quite a circus. I wrote a story about it for the Willamette Week, which should appear in Wednesday’s edition. [Read more →]
→ 1 CommentTags: Uncategorized · buena vista auction prices · buena vista auction results · redc portland auction
Depending on where you look, the official website for this weekend’s Buena Vista home auction currently lists different percentages for winning bidder’s earnest money deposits. The Terms and Conditions document states that buyers have to pay five percent as earnest money when they win, but the FAQ page states that they will have to pay only three percent. [Read more →]
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If you’re like me, you’re probably anxious to see what the November RMLS data will reveal about real estate in the Portland area. Have we joined the ranks of cities who’s home values are dropping? Or, are we still bucking the national trends and seeing at least modest gains?
I called the RMLS offices this morning, and they say they plan to send out their monthly newsletter tomorrow (Friday), so check back tomorrow for an update and comments on the data.
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The Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) has finally posted sales agreements on their website for the upcoming Buena Vista home auction. (For more details about the auctions see our previous stories here.) To view the purchase agreements go to the REDC auction website (link below), choose any property, then look under Legal Disclosure Documents. [Read more →]
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Portland’s trend of declining median prices and longer days on the market continues.
According to Altos Research, as of December 9th the median listing price for Portland was $358,000.
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Like siblings raised in separate families, the Portland and Vancouver areas share many of the same characteristics, but their upbringings have led them in different directions. Richard Carson, former director of Clark County’s Community Development Department, writes in The Columbian today that “The basic urban planning requirements are almost identical in Oregon and Washington,” but the implementation varies and it’s led to different real estate markets. [Read more →]
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With Buena Vista’s home auction only nine days away I thought it would be useful to look at some of the terms and conditions of the big event. Real Estate Disposition Corporation will run the auction of 248 Buena Vista homes on December 15 and 16 at the Oregon Convention Center. [Read more →]
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Most residents report that both livability and the cost of living high are high in Portland, according to the December 2007 City Auditor’s report. [Read more →]
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As the market for condos and single family homes cools in the metro area, real estate pundits are predicting apartment developments will be the high-profit projects for 2008. Three percent vacancy rates and an eight percent rent growth in 2007 combine to make Portland a hot prospect for next year, the Multi-Housing News reports. [Read more →]
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How Much Did My Neighbors Pay For Their House?
Here are some links to help you determine what your neighbors paid for their houses:
Portland, Oregon (OR)
www.portlandmaps.com
Seattle, Washington (WA)
King County
www.metrokc.gov/gis/mapportal/PViewer_main.htm
San Francisco, California (CA)
http://gispub02.sfgov.org/website/sfparcel/INDEX.htm
Whenever anyone asks me for advice about a Portland area property, my first response is, “Have you looked it up on Portland Maps?” The answer is usually “No,” so my advice is to go there to start (www.portlandmaps.com).
I’m amazed at how few people know about Portland Maps, and even more amazed realtors aren’t telling all their clients to go their when looking at a home. It’s managed by the City of Portland’s GIS department, and offers a wealth of data and maps, from taxes and sales histories, to zoning, crime stats, and street paving plans, and in my opinion should be the first stop for anyone looking to buy real estate. [Read more →]
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News articles and market statistics are great, but sometimes it’s helpful to see what local realtors are saying about the market. With this in mind, I like to check Realty Times every couple of weeks and find out what the agents on the street are thinking. I haven’t analyzed their ratings for three weeks because there were no ratings for eleven days, but it seems like the activity is picking back up. This is the slowest time of year for real estate agents, so it’s not surprising that they aren’t very active online. [Read more →]
