Reports on Portland Real Estate
By Charles TurnerThe AP released a somewhat positive real estate story yesterday. KGW released their own story which was not so rosy based on a report from Zillow.com.
The AP story starts:
WASHINGTON (AP) — An index that tracks signed contracts to purchase
existing homes rebounded in December, as buyers snapped up properties
at deep discounts, especially in the South and Midwest.
and continues:
The Realtors group, normally known for its optimistic view of the
housing market, is now cautioning against getting too enthusiastic
about any recovery — as it lobbies hard for new government tax credits
to boost home sales.
Congress: please either rename the $7500 First Time Buyer Tax Credit to the $7500 First Time Buyer Government Loan or fix it so that it really is a tax credit. The story isn’t all good news as it also reports that mega-home builder D.R. Horton lost $63M last quarter.
The Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends reports that the grass is greener on the other side. Almost half of “us” are not happy where we live and would rather live somewhere else. Denver is number one. Portland is number eight.
KGW’s story led the 6PM news last night. I can’t find any reference to it on their website. It was based on data released by Zillow. I believe that the figure was close to a 12% decline in 2008 and no sign of 2009 being a year of recovery. The segment included a remodeler who is in danger of not making any, if not losing, money on thier project. Yes, it could happen to me too.
I don’t think that Portland will report as well as the 6.3% national number cited in the AP story. RMLS Market Action is probably more than a week out but I expect the Arctic Blast will have thrashed January’s numbers.
The Bend real estate market has been slow. I look for the market to turn around this spring/summer partially because of the $15,000 tax credit. Also look for prices to go up in the next few years as most economist agree that this stimulus package will be inflationary! Now’s the time to buy!
This is priceless, “please either rename the $7500 First Time Buyer Tax Credit to the $7500 First Time Buyer Government Loan or fix it so that it really is a tax credit.” oh man, ain’t that the truth. I wish Washington really understood what everyone is going through. They just don’t get it. When’s the last time they paid for the gas they put into their own tanks or had to leave something out of their budget to make ends meet?