SellPDX.com

Welcome to the latest update to the inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than six months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I’ll add it in.

Detached Homes:
97214 - 3.6 months
97217 - 4.4 months
97202 - 4.5 months
97212 - 5 months
97203 - 5 months
97211 - 5.1 months
97227 - 6 months - biggest change = down 3.5 months!
97213 - 6.2 months
97206 - 6.4 months
97232 - 6.7 months
97210 - 7 months
97219 - 8.2 months
97201 - 17.8 months

Condos

97232 - 4.9 months
97213 - 6.5 months
97209 - 8.7 months
97211 - 9.2 months
97210 - 9.8 months
97206 - 10.6 months
97212 - 10.6 months - down 8.7 months
97214 - 10.8 months
97203 - 11 months - down 4 months
97219 - 14 months
97202 - 15 months - up 4 months
97217 - 23.4 months

Popularity: 35% [?]

I came across a great article in the San Francisco Chronicle about foreclosures and bank owned properties.
I am often asked about these types of property by clients looking for a good deal, and let’s be honest, we’re all looking for a good deal. But like anything that might appear great on paper there are trade-offs. These two categories, foreclosures and REO’s [real estate owned by the bank] are very different from short sales because in these cases the homes are owned by the bank.

If you want info on foreclosures let me know - the title companies all publish the NOD [notice of default] lists that I’m happy to share with you. Foreclosed homes are sold at auction and in my experience you need to pay cash that day. You get no inspections, no preliminary title report and all due diligence needs to be done upfront.

REO’s are sold on the market just like normal homes except that there might be longer turn around times for offers and you will get no disclosures. Banks also will likely have a lengthy disclaimer that basically says buyer-beware, and the bank knows nothing about the property.

Is it a good deal?

That’s a hard question to answer but in Portland I just don’t see it being a great deal yet. The main reason is that we just don’t have enough defaults in the area to create the inventory needed for big discounts. If the banks only own a relatively small amount of homes they don’t have the motivation to sell them quickly which means they go for close to market value.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Last week I attended the monthly CCIM Commercial brokers marketing session and the luncheon speaker was the State of Oregon economist.

My take on the report was that Nationally we are in a recession but in Oregon the majority of our business sectors are still in year over year and quarter over quarter growth. As a state there is an expectation that housing prices will go down 5-10%… BUT…. The Case/Shiller Index shows the metro market rebounding already over the last 3 months. Areas like Bend and the outerlying areas will likely fall more and Portland metro, especially the inner areas will stay strong. Timing any market is mostly good luck and guessing but keep in mind if you’re on the fence that we are experiencing very real inflation and that will likely trigger rate increases [which we are already seeing]. A small rate increase can completely remove any benefit of buying at a lower price. See this great article about cost vs. rates [paragraph #9 has the math for you]

Read the Executive Summary here

Popularity: 43% [?]