Archive for the ‘Pearl District’ Category:

Home Owner Association (HOA) dues are a function of most condominium complexes.  For this search in RMLS, I ran condos sold in the last 12 months between 950 and 1050 SQFT in the Pearl District’s 97209 zip code.

There were 25 results and one without the HOA dues listed so based on 24 properties that averaged 997 SQFT, the average HOA dues were $333 per month.  The average HOA cost/SQFT is $.33 and the average $335/SQFT.  At least in this case, we can take the first two numbers of the price/SQFT and get the HOA cost.  I ran a second RMLS search around 1300 feet: average HOA dues: $.33/SQFT.  There is a spread of $350-$475 per month at the 1300 SQFT range. (more…)

Is the Portland’s South Waterfront competitive with the Pearl District? Let’s look at the two areas of concentrated high rise buildings and see how they compare according to RMLS.  Note that the stats here rely on what was entered into RMLS so probably does not include most sold by the sales office directly to buyers.  I drew the map based search areas and limited it to buildings built in 2005 or after (100% of the SWF and 59 of 162 current active listings in the Pearl). (more…)

This offer came as part of an email I received and is reprinted here (including this paragraph) with Hoyt Street Properties’ approval.  They provide “courtesy to brokers” so the buyer can work with their existing Realtor (or us) as their representative without affecting the offer.  The seller can adjust the unit prices at any time without notice.

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The fire alarms went off in the Wyatt last night at about 6:30.  A pleasant voice states, “a fire has been detected on your floor.  Please  evacuate the building by the stairs; do not use the elevators.”  We packed up the toddler, dog and dinner guest and headed out into a smokey hallway and down 15 flights to street level.  Three things become apparent: (more…)

The four graphs in this post are from our monthly Market Tracker report which is delivered to your email inbox monthly.  You can subscribe to up to ten zip codes by contacting us.  You can read our privacy policy on either the TurnerRealtors or PDXRelocations website- we do not share your information. Today’s report is from 97209.  I’ll alternate posting reports between the east and west sides of the River.  (more…)

Somewhat regular commenter, Mr. Thrifty, poses the topic of this post on the recent thread about Details of $75B Loan Modifications and Refinances Released.

Coming up with fresh topics isn’t always easy so I think it’s worth discussing regardless whether it is a perception or reality.  We are currently renting in a recently constructed building in the Pearl (why).  I like living here but it is currently a temporary situation and I can’t say at this point whether I would want it to be “permanent”. (more…)

Once we knew we were moving we pretty much had to decide right then where we were going to live. It was a very different experience from any housing decision we had ever made as a couple. I had my house when we got together and Jenny had hers. The subsequent houses that we bought came as a side effect of being Realtors; we came across what we bought in the course of business, never having to look at a selection of options and make (or not make) a decision – NOW. It’s a position that many of our clients find themselves in but not one that we had experienced from this side.

We pretty much knew we wanted to live in the Pearl District. We had a budget that we wanted to stay in and frankly, we wanted it all for that budget! We wanted a view, two bedrooms, some outdoor space and parking for two cars. No matter what we did, coming from 5000 square feet was going to be an experience in closeness. There are two primary sources for rentals: the leasing offices and individuals on Craigslist (though the leasing offices post heavily on Craigslist). Over three days we whittled the list down to four units and discovered that to stay close to our budget we were not going to get it all: (more…)

An unsolicited chain of events over the last couple of weeks has given us an opportunity that very few get: to downsize into a Pearl District condo without giving up our current home for a specified amount of time. Could we be happy in a condo that’s just over 20% the size of our current home? We have wondered about Pearl living and now we’re going to find out. We’ve rented our house out for six months, fully furnished. The 1902 house that we renovated in 2005 is nearly 5000 square feet and without a doubt more space than we need but it’s what we’ve got and we do love it.

We’re now living in 1054 square feet plus a balcony in the Pearl District; one happy family including a two-year-old toddler and Tasman, the 60 pound, nine-year-old, Australian cattle dog (red/blue heeler). We just spent our second night here and turn the keys over to our house at the end of the week. Our goal is not to have to go back and disturb the tenants for things we can’t live without. The move has been a much bigger chore than either of us expected. I think that’s partially due to the downsizing; picking what you think you’ll need but leaving everything else behind. We can’t just box it all up and figure it all out later. Though not a real estate transaction, the experience parallels it in an expedited manner. By the end of the two week Friday-Friday period we will have: (more…)

I just did a comparable market analysis (CMA) on a property in the Pearl District. The property is listed for $499,000 so I searched back sold properties since August 1, 2005. There were eleven comparable properties. The average price per square foot was $402. It wasn’t all that long ago that $300/sqft was average. (more…)

From May 13th to May 22nd, seven Pearl District units will open to the public. The Pearl CitySpaces project will show units in the Pinnacle, the Lexus and Louisa and will be decorated to showcase seven different demographics.

Tickets Monday-Thursday are $10 and $15 for Friday-Sunday. Tickets are available at Powell’s, Whole Foods, Umpqua Bank and other retailiers throughtout the Pearl. Tickets can also be bought online. (more…)