Portland’s February numbers turned out better than both years prior.  Plus the number of new property listings was down from 2010.  Sales have been consistent overall running around 1600/mo for the Portland metro area.  This is good news for our housing market.  The amount of inventory overall is shrinking slightly and the rate at which prices are dropping is tapering off.  There was a 10.5% drop in prices when comparing February 2010 to February 2011 but figures only average 3% for the past 12 month period.

What’s the overall feeling of Portland real estate?  It’s stabilizing but has some distance to go before appreciation happens overall.  Buyers confident with their jobs are making moves that’ll pay off over time.  Big question is what’s going to happen as inflation kicks in and interest rates are no longer in the 4’s.  Hard to say for certain.  What drives home sales in Beaverton, Portland, Lake Oswego, Tigard and Hillsboro is mainly consumer confidence.  I doubt we’ll see much drastic change in prices or interest rates through the summer. 

Banks are still holding onto inventory and foreclosures are incredibly common so we’ll continue to see them in the MLS.  Houses for sale in Portland are led in price by foreclosures and short sales, nothing new here.  What is new is the amount of Realtors that are short sale certified and working with banks that are getting progressively better at dealing with offers, albeit, they’ve got a heck of a long way to go (banks).  80% of offers I write on short sales end up never closing.  Not saying to buyers that chasing them is not worth the effort but, rather, don’t get too emotionally attached to the property…

It’s a great time to purchase right now.  Prices are back to 2003 or earlier levels and interest rates are phenomenally low.  Investors should be paying close attention as cash flow numbers have never been better, at least in the 15 years I’ve been watching Portland real estate activity.  Rents are rising. 

Bottom line is that buyers can probably dilly dally through the spring but sellers are not gaining by holding off on the sale.  Hit the market with strong (not high) prices and you’ll net more overall than chasing prices downward.

Call us and find out more about the Portland real estate market. We have specific strategies to guide both buyers and sellers. Find YOUR HOME WORTH now.

To search for your home in anywhere in the Metro Portland area, use our FREE Exclusive Home Search tool. For more information about living in Portland and finding your dream home, call Dave at (503) 789-7633, Toll Free (877) 629-5825 or email.

Learn about our Exclusive VIP Buyer Services. Contact Dave now. Make informed decisions; make smart choices. Call Dave now at (503) 789-7633 or Toll Free (877) 629-5825 ext. 7.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon? We can help. Click here.

Dave’s Commentary on the Portland Real Estate Market:

• Listed home inventory took a slight bump up to 11 month’s supply, balanced market is 6
• Sale volume decreased over Augest by 25%, slight increase in listings
• Foreclosures are easy to find and continue to be heavy competition for sellers

Portland real estate continues to experience sliding prices.  Fantastic news for home buyers looking to score with 2004 prices in 2010.  Couple that with pheonominal financing rates and you’ve got a recipe for success long term.  FHA rates are still incredible at 4% and give first-time buyers their best option for low down payment.

Beaverton and Hillsboro real estate have seen slower sales rates now that school has started.  Projections are for prices to edge down slightly further by end of 2010, possibly another percent or two.  At the moment we’re looking at a 11 month supply of homes for sale.

Good news for landlords as rental prices are definitely on the rise.  It’s possible to purchase investment property in Portland and have it cash flow right out of the gate.  Unheard of in recent years.  Renters are having to scramble a bit to get the good homes.  Investors that keep rates slightly below competition will experience significantly less than a default 5% vacancy.

A recent investment property in Hillsboro turned over with a 9.2% cap rate.  Cash on cash return was over 10%, calculated with zero appreciation.  Wow!  Now is the time to get into investment housing around Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego and other surrounding areas.

Sellers will continue to be frustrated with market performance and are best advised to incorporate staging and décor enhancing options to make that listing jump from the competition.  Realtors represent the market, not seller’s relationship with their equity.  Tough pill to swallow for sellers but the market will improve over time. 

Houses for sale in Portland are selling under the cost of construction.  This market will recover eventually and those whose purchase in 2010 will see a good appreciation over average home ownership time period.  Home ownership pans out on average when people stay in the house more than 4 years.

Call us and find out more about the Portland real estate market. We have specific strategies to guide both buyers and sellers. Find YOUR HOME WORTH now.

To search for your home in anywhere in the Metro Portland area, use our FREE Exclusive Home Search tool. For more information about living in Portland and finding your dream home, call Dave at (503) 789-7633, Toll Free (877) 629-5825 or email.

Learn about our Exclusive VIP Buyer Services. Contact Dave now. Make informed decisions; make smart choices. Call Dave now at (503) 789-7633 or Toll Free (877) 629-5825 ext. 7.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon? We can help. Click here.

What’s it going to take to get my home sold!?  After listing a home for sale in the Portland real estate market and not getting desired result sellers have two choices in order to produce an offer.  Improved the property or lower the price.  That’s it.

Is a property priced competitively?  Pretty simple to answer by gauging response after being listed in the Multiple Listing Service (RMLS in Portland).  A reasonable amount of traffic is having a showing 2+ times per week.  If houses are not receiving that then buyers are buying something else.   Quite frankly, they aren’t even seeing enough value online to warrant a tour.

Improving value can be lucrative and as simple or complex as sellers would like.  Simple means consulting a staging professional to give decorating tips or completely stage a home.  Vacant homes benefit significantly from this.

Let’s take a look at a current listing example in Hillsboro at 1234 Oleander Ln.  MLS #10066603

This particular home was done originally in white, interior and exterior.  Owners made several improvements to both color and finishes after consulting with Maureen Bray at Room Solutions, 503 246-1800

Warm neutral tones were used in the living room and family rooms.  An old fireplace insert was removed and the mantel repainted white.  New windows were installed, eliminating the single pane with storm aluminum frames.  Laminate flooring was replaced in the dining and family room.  Deck was refinished and home staged.

While sellers of this home were gung ho on remodeling and upgrading the home it’s probably fair to say that most homeowners are not that ambitious.  Look at the staging improvements alone.  Color and warmth were added to an otherwise blank canvas.  Buyers can see themselves living there and that’s the difference.  Sellers will recapture their improvement investment here and sell quicker.

Buyers are very superficial.  Change perception of value and you’ll get an offer!

Dave’s Commentary on the Portland Real Estate Market:

• Available inventory is at 7.3 month’s supply, pretty average
• Sales have slowed this month, another 2% drop anticipated before end of summer
• Bank foreclosures still lead the “good deal” market and will be through 2010

Closed sales were up through April significantly reducing the amount of homes for sale around Portland. Our Lake Oswego office in particular saw about the same number of sales this year as last. With about 70 agents in the office it’s a good gauge of what’s happening overall in Portland.

Website traffic remains constant to this site but the number of inquiries generated has dropped which tends to be a forecast of slowdown in sales. This same thing happened in November 2009… Wonder if it’s a pattern but too early to tell just yet.

Lockbox activity according to RMLS has dropped by comparison to last year and over the last 2 months. A reflection of no more first-time buyers going for the tax credit? Not necessarily. The number of buyers pulled into the marketplace because of this tax incentive was not as great as everyone believed. The $6500 credit for current owners to move did nothing as far as I could see. People were either purchasing or not, $6500 didn’t matter to them.

Money is still cheap with interest rates hovering around 5% and FHA remains quite attractive, more so than ever actually. 2010 will continue to be a great year overall for real estate investment.

Call us and find out more about the Portland real estate market. We have specific strategies to guide both buyers and sellers. Find YOUR HOME WORTH now.

To search for your home in anywhere in the Metro Portland area, use our FREE Exclusive Home Search tool. For more information about living in Portland and finding your dream home, call Dave at (503) 789-7633, Toll Free (877) 629-5825 or email.

Learn about our Exclusive VIP Buyer Services. Contact Dave now. Make informed decisions; make smart choices. Call Dave now at (503) 789-7633 or Toll Free (877) 629-5825 ext. 7.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon? We can help. Click here.

Dave’s Commentary on the Portland Real Estate Market:

• Available inventory is at 12.9 month’s supply, well above average
• Prices have stabilized on entry level pricing for regular resale houses
• Bank foreclosures still lead the “good deal” market and will be through spring

It was mentioned back in December than Portland’s housing market had hit bottom, now numbers are beginning to reflect than.  Home buyers willing to make the first-time buyer move will see great return on investment given a few years.  While Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and surrounding area homes for sale have seen entry level pricing firm up, luxury home sales are still hurting.  Prices around $2ook are in demand as buyers scrimp competitively to get the good deals.  Want to sell?  Price it right.  Buyers are there.

Luxury homes in Lake Oswego, West Linn and other locations where prices lead overall stats are still feeling the pinch.  Market times for these properties are around 153 days on average.  With economic improvement homes for sale in the $500k+ category will pick up.  Summer’s coming and so are the movers.  Expect increased sale volume but also increased home listings.  New construction will not play a big part in 2010.  Inventory needs to be bought up.  Now is the time for purchasing!

Multi-family sales around the Portland metro area also finally seening some activity.  2009 was not the year to unload property for financial gain, that’s for sure.  Sales were very stagnant.  In the last month or two plex sales have began to show signs of improvement.  Investors are gaining confidence in real estate again and rents have stabilized.  Portland’s rent rates followed real estate sales as tenants buckled down and did more conservative moves to save money.  Vacancies are back around 6% again now.  Don’t try and gain top rental dollar for an investment unit, vacancy is not worth the lost income!

Go buy real estate in Portland, that’s the bottom line.  Does anyone honestly think this is a bad time to purchase?  Look at prices and interest rates.  You tell me…

Call us and find out more about the Portland real estate market. We have specific strategies to guide both buyers and sellers. Find YOUR HOME WORTH now.

To search for your home in anywhere in the Metro Portland area, use our FREE Exclusive Home Search tool. For more information about living in Portland and finding your dream home, call Dave at (503) 789-7633, Toll Free (877) 629-5825 or email.

Learn about our Exclusive VIP Buyer Services. Contact Dave now. Make informed decisions; make smart choices. Call Dave now at (503) 789-7633 or Toll Free (877) 629-5825 ext. 7.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon? We can help. Click here.

Downtown city life may not be for everyone, but for those who are drawn to the fast paced lifestyle of the city center, it can offer some pretty amazing perks. Downtown Portland, in particular, is one of the most vibrant downtowns in the U.S. to live in.

One of the most obvious benefits is transportation. There’s no need for a car if you use Portland’s nationally recognized public transit system, TriMet. For most residents of downtown Portland, walking, biking, and public transit are the preferred mode of transportation.

City blocks in Portland were intentionally designed smaller than in some other cities (200 feet instead of a typical 300 to 800 feet), making for a closer walk to Portland’s many corner restaurants and shops. If your workplace is downtown, this means you may truly be able to do without a car completely.

The Pearl District is one of the most popular places to live in the downtown area because of the abundance of retail shops and easy transportation. You can search this site to find condos and lofts in the Pearl District and other downtown Portland areas.



Portland’s real estate market is not bad. Buyers of investment properties need to take advantage.  Want a competitive edge?  Better be on top of the new listings.  Most websites offer automatic email functions.  These can often be set to send immediately as new property listings become available but some only send once per day.  Only looking once per day may not cut it when competing for hot properties around Portland Oregon neighborhoods.

How can buyers have first shot at the good deals?  Reality is that 99.9% of real estate transactions happen through Realtors.  Hook up with a good one.  Agents working with investment property buyers need to stay on top of new listings and do market research immediately as houses become available.

What’s a good deal for investors?  Take a look at Portland’s west side for example.  Beaverton homes and Hillsboro neighborhoods often offer better cash flow than those found elsewhere.  When looking at the home purchase consider what sort of expenses are attached directly to PITI (principle, interest, taxes and insurance) and what neighborhood rents are.  Entry level homes offer much more bang for the buck than higher end, rental wise.  Rents on a 1200′ 3 bedroom 2 bath detached Beaverton home are running around $1100/mo at the moment.  Figure a good price for such a property might be $175k.  Compare that with cash flow on a $350k home where rents may be $1600/mo.  You do the math.

Competitive nature of investors.  Being first to the table with an offer is key.  It’s almost better to shoot first then aim in this market, you’ll have opportunity to bail out later.  I’m referring to red hot bank dumped properties here and not average run-of-the-mill real estate.  Hot properties like ones priced at $90 sq. ft. vs. the neighboring ones selling around $150.  These will be bank-owned foreclosures in Portland and surrounding areas, and they’re marketed through agents just the same as any other property.  I’ve seen several in the last few months around Beaverton and Hillsboro, they do exist.  Jump on them the same day they hit the market.

Sitting on the fence. At any given time there are a ton of buyers who say “wow, that was a good deal.  I’d have bought that one… if I’d known about it.”  The only reason buyers don’t know about it is because they (and their Realtor) are not paying attention.  Countless would-be investors sit on the fence analyzing a particular property while another savvy investor snatches it up.  That way the little kid mentality can kick in; That guy wants it, now I really want it.  Not all properties listed in RMLS are still available, some are awaiting bank paperwork before listing a property as “pending” in the system.  Dilly dallying doesn’t pay!

Data: June 8, 2009

Source: RMLS Area Report Metro Portland & Adjacent Regions

Dave’s Commentary on the Portland Real Estate Market:

RMLS numbers reflect a reduction in Portland’s housing inventory. We’re down to an 11 month supply for April’s final figures. This is a good sign that the market is starting to improve. Typically the amount of homes for sale rises in spring as do the number of closed sales. A reduction in overall inventory means that buyers are purchasing at a faster rate than homes are being listed for sale.

Working with buyers provides me an opportunity to interact with listing agents when out showing homes. I always ask other agents what their offices are seeing and what that person’s take on the market is. Lately it’s all been the same. Business is up!

Comments vary across the range of course but the majority of agents I’ve spoken with are raving about the amount of buyers they’re currently working with. While May’s inventory numbers are not out yet it’s exciting to anticipate. My guess is that it’ll be down even more, showing more market improvement.

RMLS data shows dwindling appreciation figures so keep in mind that these are a reflection of activity 3 -6 month’s ago. Forecasts are still fairly abundant that late 3rd quarter/early 4th will show we’ve reached a plateau. By the time the media starts reporting on such buyers will start seeing sellers being less desperate.

Dave’s prediction; We’re getting very close to bottoming out or may have already done so. Buyers closing in 2009 will reap huge benefits 5 years from now. Fence sitters need to make their move.

Call us and find out more about the Portland real estate market. We have specific strategies to guide both buyers and sellers. Find YOUR HOME WORTH now.

To search for your home anywhere in the Metro Portland area, use our FREE Portland Home Search tool. For more information about living in Portland and finding your dream home, call Dave at (503) 789-7633, Toll Free (877) 629-5825 or email.

Learn about our Exclusive VIP Portland Buyer Services. Contact Dave now. Make informed decisions; make smart choices. Call Dave now at (503) 789-7633 or Toll Free (877) 629-5825 ext. 7.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon? Let us help with your Portland Relocation.