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Back by popular demand is my second installment of 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 - 2.9 months
97217 - 2.9 months
97212 - 5.2 months
97203 - 5.2 months
97202 - 6.0 months
97232 - 6.5 months
97219 - 8.9 months
97210 - 9.2 months
97227 - 9.5 months
97201 - 18 months
97206 - 6.5 months
97213 - 7.2 months

Condos

97232 - 5.0 months
97214 - 7.8 months
97210 - 8.9 months
97202 - 11 months
97209 - 11 months
97219 - 12 months
97203 - 15 months
97212 - 19.3 months
97217 - 29 months
97206 - 12.8 months
97213 - 8.4 months

Popularity: 30% [?]

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Spring 2008 Portland Report is now available. We’ll be throwing a party soon to celebrate so stay tuned

Spring 2008 Portland Report

Popularity: 23% [?]

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News came out that the April inventory of homes in Portland actually went back up to February levels at 10.3 months. I had predicted, based on the activity levels in my office and among my clients that the inventory would continue to trend down. I will be taking a look at how detached homes close-in are faring because my experience in this arena feels more balanced than the metro inventory would suggest.

For example: I have a client looking in the $300k range. We identified 15 possible properties on Wednesday to look at that weekend and by Friday 5 of them were pending. Well priced homes that are staged or show very well are still going fast, many of them with multiple offers.

Look for another detached home update by zipcode this next week.

Popularity: 23% [?]

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I am often asked the question, “What are the next hot neighborhoods in Portland.” I like answering this question because I feel I have a good take on what makes a great neighborhood. Also, as a Broker that handles commercial real estate, I know many of the developers in town and where they are planning new projects.

What makes a great neighborhood? In one word: Lifestyle = Parks, Transit, Restaurants, Bars, Entertainment

North Portland: Kenton
I love this place. Close it I-5 and Interstate MAX line. Denver has new cafes and shops openning up and Kenton Park is great all summer.

NE Portland: Hollywood
When you’re competing with Alameda and Irvington it’s hard to stand out but for buyers looking to walk their neighborhood this is the place. Close to Sandy which is changing to a more upscale corridor and more affordable than it’s surrounding neighborhoods.

SE Portland: Clinton
Two blocks south of the rapidly changed Division St. you can walk to all Division has to offer with a much quieter feel. Home of one of the best new sushi places [Bara], a theater, and great bars. Centered around 26th Ave to 21st Ave.

SW Portland: Multnomah Village
This is not a secret but I think this area will continue to build as the quaint small town center of SW Portland.

NW Portland: Downtown North of NW Thurman St.
Just above the Pearl District this area has a ton of new development slated for the next few years. A great place to buy an old warehouse and make some real lofts or try to find a rare old house in amongst the industrial neighbors.

Popularity: 27% [?]

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For you reading pleasure I am sharing Portland State University’s Center for Real Estate’s Quarterly Report.

There is very good news for certain close-in home owners - skip to page 62

Report Here

Popularity: 21% [?]

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I was forwarded a wonderful graphic by a friend that shows where all the subprime messes really are:
Map with Subprime Graph

You can see by looking at this graph that it looks like most of the problem areas are centered around metro areas where the increase of buyers from the availability of subprime mortgages fueled a huge rush of new construction. Once the speculation and overbuilding collided with the start of foreclosures it snowballed into actual problems where people couldn’t hold on through the downturn.

There was also a fundamental shift in thinking about real estate from a long term conservative investment into a short term - get rich quick with no money down scheme. If everyone was theoretically able to hold out in the long run I don’t think we’d be having nearly the problems we are. The panic has made this worse and I’m betting that late this year or at the latest in 2009 things will start to look better.

Popularity: 20% [?]

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Last week the monthly Market report was released by the RMLS and the news is good. Portland continues to have a solid market and inventory is actually going down again for the second month in a row. Based on the huge increase in pending sales last month I’m betting that this trend will continue into April. Another factor affecting the market is the long winter we’re having, once the weather finally breaks watch for another run up in pending sales. Appreciation is still a solid 5% and with many multiple offer situations this trend will hopefully continue as well.

The Inventory numbers:
January - 12.8 months
February - 10.4 months
March - 9.1 months

My prediction for April - 7.5 months
Once we hit 6 months of inventory we’re headed back into a Seller’s market so if you’ve been waiting for the right time to buy I’d say that time is Now!

Popularity: 19% [?]

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Winter finally let go of Portland for an entire weekend with a record high 85 degrees! I got out and played some tennis, got a little color, and BBQ’ed with friends. The sunny weekend was a great reminder of what we all love about living in Portland; ski and/or hibernate all winter, and stay outdoors all summer. Time to oil up the chain on your bicycle and put away the chains for your car!

Another favorite pastime for Portlanders is touring homes. I’ve been out looking a lot more lately than I was in January and February; March and April have been shopping season to put it mildly. So if you’re thinking of buying here are some tips:

Open Houses: These happen Saturday and Sunday - You can drive around looking for signs or you can call or email me and I can give you a list of opens.
Brokers Tour: These are Tuesday from 11-1pm and at many of these you get a free lunch! If you’d like to join me for the brokers tour let me know.
Scheduled Home Tours: This is when you’ve narrowed down the list of possible homes to your favorites and I schedule time to show you homes personally - I love looking at homes with clients and have seen many of the homes on the market.

So if you’re thinking of buying give me a call! Spring and Summer won’t last forever…

Popularity: 21% [?]

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Many people have been calling this for a while now but it became official on March 28th, 2008 that PMI [Private Mortgage Insurance] on Zero percent down loans is now gone. So what does this mean?…. It means that the days of buying a house with no cash at all are gone… at least for the time being. Coming up to fill the void is FHA loans which have become less restrictive and allow a purchase with just 3% down. You can learn more about FHA loans Here. PMI is generally required on loans with less than 20% down.

Click here to see James Adair’s commentary on the same subject.

In other news, this week has seen a big increase in buyers getting out there and buying; for two reasons: seasonal increases due to Spring and also buyers trying to make it under the wire with 0% down loans. This will be taking alot of inventory off the market in April and bodes well for a strong Summer to come.

Popularity: 22% [?]

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There is a definite sense that things are picking up right now in Portland. I took a look at the numbers and, Wow! Pending sales of detached homes are up 107% in March over February. Buyers are coming out of the woodworks and multiple offers are becoming common again.

Here is a Breakdown of Pending sales of Detached homes in March [actual numbers exceeded projections!]

NE: Feb 79 - Mar 158
SE: Feb 102 - Mar 215
N: Feb 38 - Mar 89
W: Feb 45 - Mar 104

Totals:
Feb 264 - Mar 566

Percent increase = 114%

Popularity: 22% [?]

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