Portland Real Estate Blog

The national median home price has dropped 3.5% in the last year according to the National Association of Realtors. Portland? Portland, Oregon real estate prices have increased 13.1% in the same 12 month period according to the newly released S&P/Case-Shiller! Their report tracks 20 cities, not the national market.

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen much more real estate activity that we expected. Buyers are returning to the market after a period when it seemed prudent to sit back and watch the market. Some expected depreciation to soften the market and make that dream home more affordable. Since the market has retained its strength, sitting back doesn’t look like a smart bet. Usually people put off real estate during the holidays and start in earnest in the New Year.

Using our new map search tool, I searched for homes in the downtown and surrounding areas in $200,000 increments.

Up to $200,000:

$200,000-$400,000:

$400,000-$600,000

$600,000-$800,000

$800,000-$1,000,000

Over $1,000,000

New today on our main website, TurnerRealtors.com: Property Investment Profiles for some of the high-rise condo and loft towers in the Pearl District. We’ve got eight of them up so far:

• Pinnacle Property Investment Profile
• Elizabeth Lofts Property Investment Profile
• The Gregory Property Investment Profile
• Edge Loft Property Investment Profile
• The Metropolitan Property Investment Profile
• Avenue Loft Property Investment Profile
• Marshal Well Loft Property Investment Profile
• The Henry Property Investment Profile

In the near future, we’ll add:

• The Eliot
• The Merriwether
• The John Ross
• Benson Tower
• Chown Pella
• The Lexis
• The North Park Blocks Loft
• Pearl Lofts
• Tanner Place
• Johnson Street Townhouses
• McKenzie Lofts

We’ll activate the links as they come online.

If there are other properties you want to see on Property Investment Profile (PIP) let us know using the link to the left. We can set PIP specifically to your address as long as it is in the RMLS system. It works on condos, townhouses and single and multifamily homes as well as lots and land.

Our personal passion/affliction is old Portland homes. We’ve got four of them in our portfolio. We sold one this year and used a 1031 Exchange to purchase two more. Part of our due diligence on both included a search on PortlandMaps.com to see if there were records of old oil tanks on record. Both show underground oil tanks so the red flag is thrown. That part takes a matter of seconds.

The Department of Environmental Quality oversees the recording of the decommissioning of oil tanks. There is lots of information on oil tanks on their website. The DEQ is working on setting up an online database but is not available yet. It makes it especially important for home owners to keep (and be able to find) the official record of a tank being decommissioned. The DEQ can verify each property but it has to be done on a case by case basis.

Portlandmaps doesn’t have all the records either. If they don’t have a record of a tank, it doesn’t mean there isn’t one there. Even back then, homeowners did things without permits! When we sell old homes, we look for the telltale signs that there may have been a tank. These include fill pipes and lines or holes in the foundation. The home inspector is going to look too and may recommend a tank locate. There are companies specifically equipped and trained to locate tanks. If they find evidence of one, they then test the soil and if contamination is found, report it to DEQ. Sellers almost invariably end up paying for the repair.

If you don’t know about the problem, you inherit the problem. Unless it could be proved the seller knew there was a tank and didn’t disclose it, there is probably very little chance that there would be any recourse.

Standard disclosure involving taxes: ask your accountant.

Mortgage insurance is common when the buyer is putting less than 20% down on a property purchase. There are ways of avoiding it by taking out a second loan at the time of purchase but these loans almost always have higher interest rates than the primary 80% loan. The advantage is that the interest paid on the second loan has always been tax deductible. Mortgage insurance is not deductible. That is until 2007.

Borrowers closing loans to purchase homes in 2007 who have annual household incomes of $100,000 or less will be able to get a low down payment mortgage and deduct the full cost of their mortgage insurance premiums on their federal tax return.

Source

Oregon Real Estate is still looking like a sound investment. The days of high teens appreciation may be gone but experts quoted in today’s Oregonian still see 5%-8% appreciation in 2007. That means the $300,000 house you look at today could cost between $315,000-$324,000 this time next year. There is more concern regarding the condo market as there are about 16,000 units coming available in the next few years.

Winter months are good for real estate. Both buyers and sellers are more motivated. A home’s landscaping in the winter can never look like it does in May (if you have no intention of doing landscaping before listing you home, list in the winter). It’s harder to make a house shine. Sellers are selling for a reason. Buyers have to want to look at homes in less than ideal conditions.

With a recent client on a particularly nasty night, we looked at a home that was about 45 degrees inside because it was vacant. It was dark and really stormy. Not exactly prime home viewing conditions. We had to go back to another home twice. The first time we saw it in the dark and then again in the daylight. They’ve got an accepted offer on that home.

We’re typically slower during the winter months but in the last couple of weeks, we’ve picked up and though our clients may not be looking or selling today, they are making plans for the New Year. Investors that know year in year out that they need to buy investment property renew that resolution each year. Taking the first step, buying that first investment property, is always the hardest.

We’re looking forward to next year. Doing what we do now better and introducing new tools and programs to enhance the real estate transaction.