Case Shiller for September 2008 continued its downward trend.  The Portland index is down to 169.67 compared to August’s 171.93 and a high of 186.51 in July 2007.  September’s mark is at about the same level we had in March 2006 (169.87).  The index is down 9.0% from its high. The S&P500 index is down 25.2% from March 2006 – October 2008 (calculated here).

According to SFGATE:
“There wasn’t a good number in there, but these numbers don’t really
reflect what’s happening now,” said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist
with Englewood, Colo., consulting firm IHS Global Insight, noting that
the bad economic news began midway through September and has worsened
since. “We should expect really awful housing (data) for the rest of
the year.” (more…)

It’s old news now. The IRS is offering a $7500 tax credit to first time home buyers. Keep reading. If you don’t own and have not owned a home in the last three years, you can take a $7500 credit (not a deduction) off your tax bill. That means, for a transaction that closes by December 31st 2008, you can take the credit for on your 2008 taxes. Owe the Feds $10,000? Pay them only $2500. Don’t owe them anything? They’ll write you a check for $7500. Also note that this is not tax or legal advice so consult the appropriate professionals (accountant and/or attorney). (more…)

I’m using Prudential Northwest Properties Transaction Platform which gets it data feed from RMLS to search for properties listed in Portland excluding any suburbs.  Between October 1st and October 31st, 2008, 637 properties listed in RMLS sold (864 sold in the same time frame in 2007). In 2008, they ranged from an in-park double wide to a $3.3M Dunthorpe home.  As of now, there are 5992 properties showing as active. (more…)

RMLS Market Action for October was just released. Nothing really surprising in the broad numbers. Inventory is up to almost 12 months. Accepted, closed and pending sales are down from this time a year ago. Average and Median prices are also down for the Portland Metro Area. The following breakdown “is based on a comparison of the rolling average sale price for the last 12 months (11/1/07-10/31/08) with 12 months before (11/1/06-10/31/07)” (more…)

I’m pleased to announce the launch of of our latest website, www.PDXRelocations.com. It is a targeted Portland Relocation website for those moving to or new to the Portland area but the content is relevant to even the most knowledgeable Portlander. We’ve licensed copy from First Book’s Newcomer’s Handbook® for Moving to and Living in Portland. We’ve got all of the neighborhood chapters online, accessed through an interactive Google Map. (more…)

Weather reports this time of year are pretty straight forward in Portland; rain with the chance of more rain and the possibility of more rain, maybe even snow after that. We set our clocks back (we might have remembered to change the smoke detector batteries at the same time and settle in for dark cold nights. Dark, wet, rain and cold make selling a house even tougher if you don’t do something to address it. So what do we have to consider when selling a home in winter? (more…)

The Wall Street Journal has a semi-interactive map showing state’s homeowner’s negative equity positions across the country. Nevada heads the list at 47.8%. New York is at the other end of the spectrum at 4.4%. Oregon is at 7.7% with another 2.2% within five percent of falling into negative territory. The title of the page: Haunted Houses. (more…)