I recently helped clients buy this 3 bd/2 ba home in North Portland . If you’ve been thinking about buying or you need to sell your home give me a call at 503.748.8206. I’m here to help you with any of your real estate needs and I always appreciate your referrals.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I read an interesting article about how in Arizona and other areas hit hard by foreclosures there is money available for downpayment. Like many federal programs [ie hope for homeowners] very few people if any can figure out how to get the money or even how to apply.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

571 homes were sold in Portland in May, up from 478 in April. I had predicted 500 and this is one of those times I’m happy to be wrong! While not quite up to last years numbers this is a good sign considering where we were at a few months ago. Average sold price continues to hover in the low $300,000’s and inventory continues to fall. These are all factors moving the market closer to a balance again.

Wild cards: Spikes in interest rates, stock market, continued rise in foreclosure listings & unemployment.

I’m predicting around 600 closed sales in Portland (areas 141, 142, 143 & 148) in June, hovering close to last months numbers. This is still far behind last years numbers so pricing will likely stay flat or slide slightly. First time buyers are still the strongest segment in the market and well maintained homes under 275k account for many of the sales.

Sales volume is a leading indicator for price. To help predict where the market is going I will be publishing sales volume trend reports and pending sales trends. The wisdom is that price follows volume so when you see a market trending higher in sales prices will soon follow up and when sales volume is low prices will stay flat or fall.

portland-sales-volume-061509 PDF

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I recently helped clients buy this 3 bd/2.1 ba home in North Portland . If you’ve been thinking about buying or you need to sell your home give me a call at 503.748.8206. I’m here to help you with any of your real estate needs and I always appreciate your referrals.

Popularity: 8% [?]

As a devoted numbers person I follow the predictions and newsletters of a couple economists. I recently attended a luncheon featuring a speech by Tom Potiosky – Oregon’s State Economist. In simple terms Tom is predicting that unemployment will hit 13% in Oregon and slightly higher in the metro area. After that peak jobs are expected to return to positive growth mid 2010 or in about a year from now.

A new forecast from Moody’s Economy.com pegs Oregon as being one of the first 5 states that will recover first. See the predictions for the entire USA.

It seems that there is a growing consensus that the start of our recovery is just around the corner. I definitely feel things picking up with my business and hope this trend continues for all Oregonians.

Popularity: 4% [?]