Dreams of Pearl?

The annual Street of Dreams is in the Pearl District this year! In it's 34th year the longest running luxury home tour is going urban, and in a classy way. There is also a focus, in typical PDX fashion, on LEED certification. Starting August 1st, go be nosey and check out 1-2.5 million dollar penthouses. http://www.streetofdreams.com/

5 Tips to Beat the Heat in Portland Oregon

Portlanders know it only happens once a year, but the 100 degree+ temps don't make us happy, especially when we don't have AC at home! So what can you do other than roam the malls and call friends to see if they have AC? Here are my personal tips for Cooling Down in Portland:

1. Public Pools- Portland has a 13 public pools, all with open swim times and affordable prices. www.portlandonline.com/parks for more info. My favorite is Creston Pool on SE Powell and 42nd, it only costs $4 pre adult, and it's tons of fun!

2. The Coast- It's always cooler there, and though it may be crowded in Seaside and Cannon Beach, the towns to the south are less touristy, and have great beaches and gorgeous views! Hwy 101 is beautiful, and this is a great time to explore it.

3. Sandy River- Portland Monthly magazine's current issue focuses on rivers all over Oregon, and the Sandy is right in our backyard. www.portlandmonthlymag.com/travel-and-outdoors/articles/rivers/0709/ for more info. Just be careful of the current, there are no life guards on duty, and people get into trouble every year on the Sandy.

4. Cheap Movies- You know the theatres, especially those owned by McMenamins, have great shows, cheap prices, good beer, and AC! Pick one, go see a feature film, or two.

5. Fountains- if you have No extra cash, and no way to get out of town, just head to one of the great public fountains and splash away with the kiddies. The fountain in Waterfront Park next to the Hawthorne Bridge is my personal favorite.

Short Sales

In Portland the real estate market is flooded with houses that are listed as Short Sales. I keep defining this term because it is contrary to what most think it is: A Short Sale is when a property is for sale for less than the owners owe on the mortgage. The issue with them is that the lender who has the mortgage has to approve the sale price, and that can take months! How do you know, as a buyer, if you are a good candidate to being looking at and possible buying a Short Sale property? Answer these following questions to find out!

1. Are you in a position to wait for the lender's approval?

2. Do you have a home to sell before you can purchase a new one?

3. Will you follow your Realtor's counsel regarding, among other things, market value and contract contingencies?

4. Do you understand that the lender will make the final call on price and terms?

5. Are you interested in flipping the property? If so, are you prepared to to perform more due diligence?

6. Are you willing to consult an attorney regarding any issues with the short sale?

If you answered YES to 1, 3, 4, and 6, and NO to 2 and 5, then you are a good candidate for a short sale. If you answered NO on any of 1, 3 ,4 or 6, or YES to 2 or 5, then you are not in a good position to even consider looking at Short Sales. If you have any deadline then run, not walk, away from Short Sales!

Inventory is Down, Way Down!

I just got some awesome stats on Portland's Real Estate market from June. The good news is that for properties under $300,000 the inventory is down to 6.4 months! That is basically a neutral market, meaning that neither buyers nor sellers have an advantage. There is just about equal supply and demand for those smaller properties, and those for first time buyers. As the price of properties goes up, the more inventory there is, and the more power buyers have. So, if you are selling a home for more than $300,000, be prepared to pay closing costs and do the repairs that buyers ask for. If you are buying over $300,000, ask and you shall receive! For first time buyers trying to qualify for the $8000 tax credit, you may not get all the repairs you are asking for, or as much of a price reduction as you expected, but there is more competition in your price range. Don't forget, in order to qualify for the tax credit you must close before the end of November, that means that the title is in your name, and you have the keys!

Latest Portland Market Info

The RMLS just released the June market numbers for Portland. There is no trend for median sale prices across Portland, they were up or down depending on the area. Here's the breakdown, last May vs. June.

North Portland- May $229,900-June $229,900, up $900

NE Portland- May $255,000-June $258,000, up $3,000

SE Portland- May $219,000- June $237,500, up $18,500

West Portland- May $367,500- June $350,800, down $16,700

Lake Oswego/West Linn- May $350,000- June $398,000, up $48,000

Milwaukie/Gladstone/Boring/Clackamas/Estacada- May $265,000- June $249,500, down $15,500

West Linn and Lake Oswego had the greatest gain in median sale price, up almost 14%. Only two areas were down in median price, and they were only down by around $16,000.

In general, good news for Portland real estate!

Seller's Mistakes

As a seller in a buyer's market there are several common mistakes that are made. Knowing what they are, and not falling into them will help you sell your house faster!

1. Listing your home for a price that is comparable to others listed in your area. This is a problem because those homes are still on the market, and in this market sale prices are often much lower than what properties are originally listed at. Contacting a qualified Broker who can research similar properties that have sold, and help you price your home right, will make the process smoother, and save you money in the long run.

2. Listing your home for what you paid for it, plus what you want to make on it! If you bought your home at the height of the market, and expect to make several thousand dollars on it today, you are up for a world of hurt. Find out the market value of your home (what it will probably sell for today) from a Realtor. If that number doesn't make you faint, then list your home!

3. Expecting to get all of your money back on improvements and upgrades. You love your new kitchen, and felt every penny and minute you put into it deep in your stomach. The buyer will not, and will not reimburse fully for the time, efforts, and money. Hopefully the changes you did make will not turn buyers off.

4. Putting your home on the market just to see how much interest there is it, or if you could even attract a buyer. The longer any house is on the market the less it is worth. Don't waste your time and emotions or a Brokers! When you are ready to move out then you a ready to sell, not a minute before.

For more info on these pitfalls check out this article!

http://realestate.oregonlive.com/?classification=real+estate&temp_type=search&tp=RE_olive&tl=42&guid=99692

The President's Mortgage Plan: Is It Working, or Even Happening?

Remember all the hoopla about Obama's Mortgage Plan, how everybody could refinance their loans when or before they default on them? I vaguely recall it was announced in February 2009, and allegedly implemented in April 2009, but where are the effects? According to www.cnnmoney.com's article, http://bit.ly/2OkkZO, the banks and service centers are trying to refinance and modify loans, but they are drastically under staffed and overwhelmed. Most people that inquire about their mortgage do not get responses, even after they have sent in all the required paperwork and established a relationship with a loan officer. We all know that the mortgage business is in crisis, and has been for a few years now, causing hiring freezes and layoffs. It takes time to hire back and train enough people to take care of the massive amount of homeowners that do and will need help with their mortgages. So far, only 200,000 trial modifications have been done, and 20,000 refinancing. Banks say that it will take several more months for them to have adequate staff, systems, and protocols to be able to deal with the demand for mortgage help, but how many people will loose their homes before then?

Google is finally taking a real step into real estate search. To compete with Zillow and other sites that allow users to look for properties for sale, Google has updated http://maps.google.com/help/maps/realestate/ to allow users to use the familiar Google Maps format to find properties. As an avid Google user and proponent of their apps, I am very upset to say that the sources Google is drawing their properties from are not very detailed. I work with an international real estate company, Coldwell Banker, and I could not find one listing from our local company, Coldwell Banker Barbara Sue Seal Properties, in Portland Or. I found links for a few other, not to be named, companies. Out of the four or five reputable, large, and powerful real estate companies in the Northwest only one came up! Google has not brought it's real estate site out to the main public as the newest and best thing, and I think they have a lot of work to do before it is useful. As a broker who searches for property daily I found it confusing and not helpful, unlike every other Google product I use. Hopefully Google will continue to make the site more powerful and user-friendly, because I think my buyers would love to use it.

My New Logo!

Yay, I just got my new logo! I love it!

HVCC Moratorium Bill?

Calling your Congressperson and Senator does work, and so does signing an online petition. Two Reps from California and Mississippi have put forth a moratorium bill to stop the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which I ranted about last week. It has come to light for those politicians, and hopefully many more, that tying appraisers hands, keeping them under the thumb of bank owned management companies, and not rewarding experience isn't just bad for the appraisers, it's bad for the whole real estate industry!http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090706_washingtonreport.htm

This article at the RealtyTimes.com website restates what I've written.