97211 has been added to the latest inventory report.

Full Report here

Popularity: 39% [?]

Your favorite in-depth market report is back for a third time in ‘08. Learn why Portland and Oregon are still a great place to buy and we haven’t had declines like other states. Great info from our State Economist Tom Potiowsky and local OAR Fellow Elizabeth Warren.

Click here to enjoy

Popularity: 33% [?]

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: 36% [?]

I have added the top picks for Old-PDX homes on the Market.

Also: This Wednesday I’m attending a lunch presentation by the State of Oregon Economist Tom Potiowsky, Ph.D.

Stay tuned for an update after the presentation.

Popularity: 45% [?]

My years long obsession with Old PDX homes finally has a home! I have been working for the last few months to put together a great website devoted to this wonderful and much loved style of home. Many thanks to Yvonne Legrice and Eugene Design Pro for helping make this dream a reality.

OldPDX.com

I will shortly be adding a section on Available homes that will be updated regularly.

Also soon to be added is a section interviewing architects, home restoration experts, and historians about what makes the Old PDX style home unique and special.

If you have a favorite Old PDX home send me a photo and I’ll add it to the tour of my favorites.

Popularity: 45% [?]

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

Spring 2008 Portland Report

Popularity: 46% [?]

So I thought I’d share my excitement about buying a new home on SE Clinton. I just finished inspections and will be picking a loan program this week. I was reminded of what a big deal it is to buy a house. I was nervous writing the offer, The home is in great shape but it was built in 1905 so I was happy when I got the thumbs up with my inspector. Now I get to wait while we do the appraisal and start packing up my stuff for the move.

It’s such an exciting process and it’s such a great time to buy. You should buy a home too!

Popularity: 38% [?]

Tax time is right around the corner and you know what that means… Time to file that first extension! [Extension Form]

I also wanted to give you a heads up on a few things in relation to taxes and your home or investment property - Owning a home gives you access to all kinds of great deductions, deferrals, and exemptions. Please see a CPA to learn how these concepts apply to your situation as I am not giving any tax advice in this article.

The first big deduction is your home mortgage interest deduction - this is one of the big reasons given to own over renting. Also, recently they made a change and MI (Mortgage Insurance) is sometime deductable as well. [Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Form]

One of my favorites is depreciation of investment property, this means you get to tell the government that you are losing money due to a building getting older when in most cases its actually getting more valuable. This one can be particularly tricky and if you’re have trouble sleeping you can read all about it here: [Depreciation Info]

Probably the biggest tax break you will ever get is the exemption of capital gains on the sale of your primary residence. Basically, if you lived in your home for 2 of the last five years you get off the hook for capital gains up to $250k if single or $500k if married. Learn more in 36 riveting pages: [Selling Your Home Tax Info]

And last but not least are tax deffered exchanges of business and investment property know as a 1031 exchange. This allows you to sell an investment property and then put all the money and debt (or more) into another like-kind property (real estate in the USA used for investment or buisness) and defer the capital gains until a later date. Interesting factoid: the 1031, also know as a Starker Exchange was changed from a simultaneous event to one in which you have time to find replacement property by an Oregonian named TJ Starker[IRS Section 1031]

Popularity: 42% [?]

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: 42% [?]

I was interviewed by a cool new website called www.portlandonfire.com that profiles one Portlander every day.

See the interview here

Popularity: 41% [?]