Portland Real Estate Blog

The John Ross sold over 200 units the first week they were on the market. Who are these people and where do they come from? The Oregonian answered the question in Sunday’s paper:

52% are between 20-30 years old
20% between 30-39
20% between 40-49
6% between 50-59
2% 60 and older

54% are local to the Portland area
11% are from Portland suburbs
18% from Oregon, outside of the Portland area
9% from California and Washington
7% from the rest of the U.S.
1% international

I was surprised at the high percentage of 20 somethings. $240,000 gets you 823 sqft in the John Ross. The same money gets you a 1581 sqft three bedroom house in Hilsboro 13 miles from downtown.

Location, Location, Location.

Another front page Oregonian headline today about the condo market, specificly the John Ross Condos in the South Waterfront. Over 80% of their units sold within a week of release. Who are these buyers and where are they coming from?

Build it and they will come. Actually, don’t even break ground and they will come. If the Portland real estate market is hot, the Portland condo market is on fire.

The demand for lofts and condos in Portland continues to amaze. The John Ross started taking reservations by appointment last Saturday. 220 of 286 units are sold! Nothing remains below $699,000.

The Strand only has a couple of condo units left in the first two towers- starting at $649,000. There are townhouses still available. The West tower is reported to be opening for reservations in October.

$774,000 gets you two bedroom and 1610 square feet in the Meriwether. The remaining units start there and top out at $1,500,000.

Construction continues at the Vaux (pronounced vo) on NW 24th at Raleigh. The June 30th pricelist had one unit under $300,000 remaining.

Onder Development (same developer as the Strand) got their tower next to the Uptown shops on 24th and Burnside approved by the city council to the pain of the neighborhood association. Read an article in the Portland Tribune here.

The site is almost clear for the Coplin in the Pearl. NW Northrup was closed at 12th to everyone but the streetcar when I tried to drive by on Thursday.

A construction fence has been erected on the property below the Westover Condominiums between NW Westover and 24th. The Cambridge is listed in the MLS system.

I did a photo tour of some of the projects a couple of months back.

The John Ross in the South River Blocks will start taking reservation on July 9th through July 17th by appoinment only and then will release the remaining units to the public on the 19th. They are not selling to investors at this time. A reservation is a non-binding agreement between both the buyer and the seller and is approved by the Oregon Department of Real Estate. Oregon law requires that any and all deposit monies made with a reservation are fully refundable, no questions asked, at any time requested. The reservations will be converted to binding contracts later in the year.

They’ll range in price from $199,000 to $4,000,000. Fully refundable deposits are $5000 for units under $300,000 and $10,000 for units over $300,000.

The building will be 31 stories!

We are not the listing office for the John Ross but can work with you as buyer’s agents.

The Strand down at Riverplace was wildly popular when it was released in April. Now, just a few units in the first two buildings remain available. The West Tower will be released later in the year.

One of the units that still remains on the market has risen $10,000 since its release. This progression is what we expect to see with new construction. They’ll get more expensive until they are gone. With new construction there is no price flexibility- you pay what the builder is asking.

We’ve already talked a lot about the Strand, Vaux, Merriwether, and other complexes already under construction. A special note and condolences goes out to the friends and family of Erik van Doormick, the developer of the Benson Tower, who was killed in a private plane crash at the beginning of June.

So what’s next? Rumor on the street based on what I’ve heard:

Portland City Council had a change of heart and approved the Uptown Condo project behind the Uptown Shopping Center at NW 24th and Burnside. The building will be 150 feet tall, twice the height city code allows for.

The Cambridge is seven units on NW Westover between Flanders and Glisan. They are listed in the mls system between $665,000 and $749,000 and are scheduled for early spring 2007 completion.

Demolition is in full swing at NW 13th and Marshal. The Coplin will take its place.

Hoyt Street Properties has two projects coming up. The Metropolitan will be in the block south of the new park under construction. It will be very high end. After the Metropolitan is online, they will start a loft project on the block north of the Pinnacle.

Sales of the John Ross units in the South Waterfront should begin soon. These, of course, are in Southwest, not Northwest like the places mentioned above.

We are not the listing agents for any of these projects but can work with you as buyer’s agents.

You can’t turn the TV on or open the newspaper without finding a feature about home prices these days. Traditional methods of pricing a home don’t work in this market. Even looking back at the past six months of comparable sales will result in a price below current market value.

Not long ago, we quoted $280 to $350 per square foot in the Pearl District. Now we’re seeing new construction over $400. $500 can’t be far if the market continues.

On Portland Architecture there is a conversation going on about this trend. Is it a problem or is it just the Portland market catching up to the rest of the West Coast?

I’ve had multiple requests in the last couple of days on the topic of the reservation process for new construction. There is no uniform policy so the answers here mostly use The Strand as an example. Keep in mind that we are not the listing agents for any of the new construction developments, this post outlines my experience to date.

Read the rest of this entry

The second round of pricing and availablity came out today. Yes, prices did increase from the first round. Reservations will begin tomorrow at 9:00 AM, first come, first served. Priority will be given to those that put a reservation request in on the first round but did not get a unit.

The second round of pricing and newly released units will be announced tommorow and reservations will begin on Wednesday. Priority will be given to buyers that had requested a unit in the first round and did not get them.

We are not the listing office for the property (or any of the other new complexes around town). We are buyer’s agents and work on your behalf. The listing agent works on the developer’s behalf. We are already working with one buyer with an accepted reservation. Our commission is paid as part of the current asking sales price and is not added to your purchase costs.