Portland Real Estate Blog

Quoting RMLS Market Action for February, published March 15th:

February Residential Highlights
The number of homes changing hands in the greater Portland Metro area is up again. When comparing February 2006 to the same month of the previous year, the number of closed sales increased 2.2%. Alternatively, the number of new listings dropped 6.9% and the number of accepted offers decreased a significant 11.3%.

At the end of February 2006, there were 5,503 active residential listings in the Portland Metro area. Given the month’s rate of sales they would take approximately 2.7 months to sell. Furthermore, the average time a listing remains on the market in the Portland Metro area continues to shrink–falling 19% from February 2006 (47 v. 58).

Year-To-Date Trends
When comparing market activity through February 2006 to the same time period in 2005, it appears that there has been a downward shift.The number of closed sales is down slightly–1.3%. New listings also decreased 1.7%. Pending sales dropped more considerably, falling 8%.

Appreciation
To calculate sale price appreciation, prices for the twelve months that ended with February 2006 are compared to prices for the twelve months ending in February 2005. Using those time periods, the average sale price appreciated 16% ($288,500 v. $248,700). Using the same date range to compare median sale price we see a 16.9% appreciation rate ($242,000 v. $207,000).

Portlandmaps.com has added a new heading under the crime tab: Sexual Offenders. Click on the link on the given address and up pops a Google Map with flags that tell you who they are and where they live.

Posted on MSN, this list ranks 276 metro areas on their appriciation. Portland ranks 54th.

Rankings for house-price appreciation from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) were released March. 1. Rankings are listed by Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs); some MSAs have been further divided into Metropolitan Statistical Area Divisions (MSADs).

OFHEO’s House Price Index is published on quarterly basis and tracks average house price changes in repeat sales or refinancings of the same single-family properties. OFHEO’s index is based on analysis of data obtained from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from more than 30 million repeat transactions over the last 30 years.

According RMLS, Portland’s appriciation was 14% for Multnomah Country in 2005 and average time on market was 44 days.

There’s a current listing in the Henry (Pearl District) that prices out at about $500 per square foot.

Coming soon, the Harrison Condos will put the rapidly escalating condo prices to the test. The condo conversion will be much more reasonaby priced than the new constructions that are popping up all over the city.

The Porland Business Journal’s front page story on March 3, 2006

Sales of the first 190-plus units in the former Portland Center apartments, now the Harrison condominiums, will begin this month. With an inventory of more than 560 units and townhomes carrying prices well below that of new construction in the neighborhood, Harrison offers an interesting test of the strength of Portland’s growing penchant for urban living.

At $175,000, Harrison units start at about $100,000 per unit less than prices asked at the South Waterfront. In aiming for a smaller price, Harrison is catering to an underserved market, and the commercial real estate community is anxious to see how well it is received.

There is some support for a real estate transfer tax in Oregon. Washington County already has one. I’ve done some initial research and if asked to vote on it today, would vote against. The basic theory is that when a seller sells their home, the sale would be taxed an the seller would put less money in their pocket. Money collected would go towards helping low income individuals become homeowners. I think, and have not confirmed, that Washington County’s tax simply goes into the general fund.

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The authors of Freakonomics had a story published in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday. Basicly a shot at all Realtors. Lumping us all into one incompitant and overpaid lot. I have to take issue with it as many hard working Realtors will. Read the article first and then check out the comments. It wasn’t me but they’ve already been called Moronomics so there are obviously at least two views of the industry.

The discussion is just getting started on their blog.

I didn’t write the headline, the Portland Business Journal did on the front page in the Friday, March 3 eddition. Live in the area served by RMLS? Sign up for the Property Investment Profile (pip).

Prudential Northwest Properties saw the potential more than a year ago and launched its own valuation program, Property Investment Profiles, or PIP. It is the largest local residential real estate firm to feature a home valuation tool on its Web site.

The Internet has been a paradise for home hunters. Countless sites help buyers sort through listings. Financial calculators and mortgage brokerages abound. But it has not, until recently, offered much information for the non-seller who just wants to know what a house is worth.

Zillow and its lesser-known competitors are changing that by delivering real property value information to owners.

On PIP, Portland-area homeowners can register to receive home value information at regular intervals — much the way they receive financial statements. The system has enrolled about 10,000 properties and is growing at a rate of 100 a day.

Comparing PIP to a bank statement is apt, said Sean McRae, chief information officer for Prudential Northwest Properties. For most, a home is one of their leading assets. Being able to monitor its presumably rising value gives owners a critical piece of information on which to base investment decisions and home improvement projects.

Living in your home while it is for sale is like the movie Groundhog Day. Each day your home is on the market, you have to believe that it is the first day on the market and that it will be show to potential buyers while you are out. Often the call will come when you have gone to work for the day. “I’d like to show your home in a couple of hours.” Now what? Let ‘em show because the odds are tomorrow isn’t going to work for the showing agent or the buyer.

Really, the best way to get your house show is to trash it and head out for the day. Seems like an agent will call every time. I recently showed a house and knew that it was being shown later in the day. The seller said it was messy and she wasn’t kidding. Breakfast plates on the table complete eggshells, unmade beds throughout and underwear on the bathroom floor. That may be everyday life but it can’t be that way while your house is listed. The distraction can be a killer.

Take a few minutes and think how you want people to see your home. It can be tough if the house sits on the market for any amount of time but you’re only hurting yourself more if the house isn’t in showroom condition.