Agent Profile
I am a top ranked agent serving the Portland area for over 20 years specializing in residential real estate sales and investments. I created this site as a real estate resource for buyers and sellers who want to be well informed about current inventory and pricing. If you are interested in actively tracking the market, please sign up to receive my daily listing email. We map every new listing each day then update the neighborhood maps. The map is emailed to you...simply click a neighborhood to see the listed properties for sale, complete with pictures, price and address. Agency Info
RE/MAX Equity Group
4800 Meadows Road, Suite 100
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
U.S. Treasury Sets Guidance to Simplify Short Sales
This will certainly change everything. We will find out if this moves forward in 10 days….dare to dream….
Click HERE to view the full article
Mortgage Rates Fall Sharply
As if the extension of the first time home buyer tax credit wasn’t good enough, mortgage rates are down over 2 points from last year. This may just create the perfect scenario for new buyers….
According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was at 4.83% this past week, which is down from 4.91% last week. And….even further down from a year ago at 6.04%.
The best deal of all is a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. The average rate on a 15-year fix fell to 4.32%, the lowest on record.
Pending Home Sales Rise for the 9th Straight Month
This just in: the Business Journal just announced that the National Association of Realtors estimates that pending home sales for existing homes are on the rise for the 9th straight month. The Business Journal also 
claims that the housing market will stabilize by next summer.
Compared to a year ago, pending homes sales were up 3.1%, which was the biggest annual increase on record.
Oregon Foreclosure Rates
The Portland Tribune recently posted an interesting article on Oregon’s foreclosure rates and according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, Oregon’s foreclosure rates are well below the national level. Oregon has the 31st highest rate in the nation of mortgage foreclosures or loans that are three months past due.
Another interesting fact is that Oregon has a lower-than-average number of homeowners with subprime loans, but a higher-than-average number of homeowners with alternative loans.
Click HERE to view the full article
October Market Action Report Continues to Show Promise
The October Market Action Report is in and the numbers continue to show positive numbers.
Overall inventory on the market was at its lowest point since August of 2007 (the month of the national sub-prime mortgage meltdown). Sales activity continued its upward pace compared to last October. Pending sales were up 64% compared to October of 2008 and closed sales rose 37.1%. New listings were down 4.5%
The 64% jump in pending sales is the largest same-month increase since February of 1996. The 2,009 closed sales this October was the highest total, also since August 2007 and its 37.1% same-month increase is the largest since January of 2005.
Compared to September 2009, closed sales increased 11.6% (2,009 vs 1,800), but pending sales dropped 9.1% (2,079 vs 2,286).
Click on the image to view the full report
Congress Extends First-Time Home buyer Tax Credit
Congress has decided to extend the first time home buyer tax credit!
The new law will extend the $8,000 credit for first-time buyers for sales contracts entered in by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30. New portions of the law include a $6,000 credit for owners of existing homes who are purchasing a new principal residence and a $6,500 tax credit if they have been residing in their principal residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight.
Additionally, the income eligibility has been raised to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.
The expansion of the tax credit is supposed to generate 180,000 additional home sales in the coming year.
Mini Housing Boom
While we are on the topic of rising home sales and the first time home buyer tax credit, check out this article from msnbc…..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33448199/ns/business-real_estate/
Hot New Listing
Located in SW Portland, this newly remodeled home has 5 bedrooms (4 of which are suites), 4 1/2 bathrooms, and 5,240 square feet. The home boasts 5 fireplaces, a chef’s kitchen with Viking appliances, cherry cabinets, granite slab countertops, library, game room, two story dining room, wine cellar, an outdoor patio area complete with a fireplace and ceiling fan, and a pool with a hot tub. This home has it all!
The home sits on 1/2 an acre and has gorgeous sunset views
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIRTUAL TOUR
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is Coming to a Close
The first time home buyer tax credit is coming to an end on at midnight on November 30th.
This credit has been a key ingredient in stabilizing the market. The National Association of Realtors estimates that up to 2 million first-time home buyers have taken advantage of the tax credit this year and that about 350,000 sales would not have happened without it.
Additionally, the median existing home price of August was down 12.5% but earlier this year, it was down nearly 20%. Sales are rising.
While multiple bills have been drafted by Congress trying to extend the tax credit or raise the amount, none have been successful…..yet.
Momentum is slowly building in support of extending this credit and I truly believe that if everyone sends just one letter to your local Representative or Senator. After all, what is more encouraging than some good old consumer demand?
September Market Action Report
The numbers are in for September and we are starting to see some improvement from last year. This past month, pending sales were up 34.1% and closed sales rose 9.8%. The one downside is that new listings fell 14.3%.
Compared to August, 2009, pending sales have increased 6% but closed sales have dropped 2.2%.
The average sale price for September 2009 was down 8% compared to September 2008, while the median sale price declined 9.6%.
The Portland Business Journal also commented on the increase we are seeing click HERE to view the article.
Lake Oswego/West Linn still remains high in active listings and has the highest average sale price of $551, 300. This beats West Portland by $88,000!
Click on the image to see the Portland Metro area highlights.
