Cedar Mill Farmers Market (NW Cornell across from Sunset H.S.)
Saturdays, 8:00am-1:30pm, starting 5/12/2012

Hillsdale Farmers Market (Behind Hillsdale Shopping Center)
Sundays, 10:00am-2:00pm, starting 5/6/2012

OHSU (OHSU Auditorium Courtyard, Sam Jackson Park Rd)
Tuesdays, 11am – 3pm, starting 6/5/2012

NW 23rd Farmers Market (NW 23rd & NW Savier St)
Thursdays, 3:00pm-7:00pm, starting 6/7/2012

Pioneer Courthouse Square (SW Broadway and SW Morrison)
Mondays, 10:00am-2:00pm, starting 6/18/2012

Portland State University (South Park Blocks)
Saturdays, 8:30am-2:00pm, starting 3/17/2012

World Trade Center (First Ave. and SW Salmon St.)
Thursdays, 11am – 1:30pm, starting 6/28/2012

Shemanski Park (between SW Salmon St. and Main St.)
Wednesdays, 10am – 2pm, starting 5/2/2012

For a complete list visit www.portlandfarmersmarket.org

According to Case-Shiller, Portland was down 0.3% from January and down 3.0% from February 2011. This differs from the February 2012 RMLS Market Action Report which stated that in Portland the average sale price increased 4.3% in February 2012 compared to February 2011, while the median sale price fell 1.3%. Part of the difference is in the methodologies used in each report. The RMLS report uses simple averages and medians, so that the results are effected by the mix of homes sold in a month. For instance, 15 homes sold above $1 million in February 2012, compared to 6 in February 2011, raising the average regardless of whether those particular homes gained or lost value. Case-Shiller, on the other hand, measures same-home resales, i.e., what a home sold for in the past vs now indicates the value change between two dates, and when combined with thousands of such measurements gives overall trends. It, too, has its shortcomings.

The major California cities were down between 3.9% and 5.2% in February 2012 from February 2011.

Curious about your neighborhood?

Call us at 503-222-4300, or

email us at ClientCare@PortlandHomeTeam.com.

New listings rose 15.8% over February 2012 (2,492 to 2,886), but were down 5.6% from March 2011 (3,056 to 2,886)

The combination of fewer new listings and more closed sales contributed to the lowest unsold inventory since June 2007. At the March rate of sales it would take just 5.0 months to sell all 8,391 homes on the market in Portland.

 
The March 2012 Portland median sale price rose 2.2% over February 2012 ($211,000 to $215,700) and 0.3% over March 2011 ($215,000 to $215,700). Comparing first quarter 2012 to first quarter 2011, the median sale price decreased 1.4% ($215,000 to $212,000).

April looks promising as well. March 2012 accepted offers increased 7.7% over February 2012 (2,109 to 2,272) and were 12.8% more than March 2011 (2,014 to 2,272).
 

Who do you know that is interested in buying a home or rental property?

Call us at 503-222-4300, or

email us at ClientCare@PortlandHomeTeam.com.

We’d love to help!

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George Hobica of Post writes: “Remember how Seattle used to be the cool town and Portland was that little thing you sort of just breezed through? Well, Portland’s the one everyone’s paying attention to now, and you can still breeze through it.”

Among the favorable factors mentioned: our infamous food carts, Portland Saturday Market, local brews, unlimited biking opportunity, and gorgeous scenery. Specific name dropping included VooDoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee, and Deschutes Brewery.

Hobica details the compelling reasons to visit Portland under the following headings and links to great web resources for each (you’ll have to click through to the article to get those):

#1 It’s exactly what you think.

#2 The city has an amazing arboretum.

#3 Emerging artists.

#4 Distillery Row.

#5 Local brews.

#6 Gorge-ous scenery.

#7 A coffee maven’s haven.

#8 Culinary treats.

#9 And save room for dessert.

#10 A peddler’s paradise.

None of this is news to us, but the article reinforces why we love this city so much. So go to Multnomah Falls, try out a new food cart, drink locally brewed beer this weekend, and take advantage of this fantastic city we live in.

Each year the National Association of Realtors puts out a report on the cost of common remodeling projects and how much they add to the value of a typical home. The following is a list of the estimates for the Portland area published in December, 2011:

The construction cost data comes from HomeTech Information Systems, a remodeling estimating software company, and is adjusted for regional pricing variations. The added value estimates are based on sampled NAR members’ professional judgment, not actual sales. ©2011 Hanley Wood, LLC. Reproduced by permission. Complete city data from the Remodeling 2011-12 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.

Call us (503.222.4300) or email us (ClientCare@PortlandHomeTeam.com) to discuss your remodeling plans.

Opportunities in the housing market continue to grow for buyers and sellers. Home affordability, driven mostly by record low interest rates, is among the lowest it has ever been. According to the National Association of Realtors, and based on national averages, the payments on a home today represent 12.8% of the median household income. Home owners should start to see prices stabilize and begin to grow, presenting more favorable opportunities for those looking to sell their homes.

This Month in Real Estate (US) March 2012

Interest Rates

The most powerful indicator of home affordability, interest rates on mortgage loans, was down again in January. The national average for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.92%, down 0.04% from the month before, and down nearly an entire percentage point (0.84%) from a year ago. These historically low rates, coupled with today’s home prices, represent an incredible opportunity for home buyers.

Home Sales

Home sales were up 4.3% in January from December 2011 to 4.57 million (seasonally adjusted), and this is up from 0.7% from the year before. The steady increase in home sales over the last few months is positive encouragement for a continued housing recovery.

Home Prices

Adding to home affordability in January, the median home price was down 2% from a year ago, to $154,700. While prices are still declining, foreclosed and other distressed properties, which have been putting downward pressure on home prices, are being moved more efficiently off the market, and default rates on home mortgage payments for the past three years are among the lowest in history.

Inventory

As sales increase with a growing demand for homes, the inventory of properties for sale fell 0.4% to 2.31 million, or a 6.1-month supply at the current sales level. This is down from a 6.4-month supply in December 2011. Historically, a 6-month supply has meant that the housing sector is balanced–favoring neither buyers’ nor sellers’.

Source: National Association of Realtors

 

Home buyers are getting the message that housing prices have reached bottom, and that waiting to buy puts them at risk of paying much higher mortgage rates than are now available. So they are out shopping.

Many sellers are not yet ready to put their homes on the market, preferring to wait until the market recovers, or at least stabilizes. So for the time being, the supply of homes for sale is due primarily to people who have to sell, short sellers and banks selling foreclosed properties.

Buyers are looking for good deals, but they are also looking for the right property. Lower inventory means there are fewer homes for them to consider. For now, if they don’t find what they are looking for, they wait.

Is this a stalemate?

As usual, market averages reported in the media gloss over neighborhood differences. Homes in some neighborhoods are getting multiple offers within days of going on the market. When buyers do find the home of their dreams, they must often be prepared to bid competitively.

Low supply and high demand usually leads to rising prices. Some argue that this time is different, an exception to economic axioms. We’ll see.

To read the article, click here.

Nineteen of the 20 MSA’s and both monthly composites were up versus May, the exception being Portland, which was flat (although technically, Portland was up 0.01%, rounded to 0.0%). All markets remain below their June 2010 levels.

Regionally, the West Coast continues to outperform the country as a whole. Seattle was up 0.7% from May to June. The major California cities, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, were up from May 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.4%, respectively, and substantially above their Spring 2009 lows.

At the other extreme, the four Sunbelt cities – Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa and Miami – and the weakest of all, Detroit, set new lows in 2011. According to Case-Shiller, these shifts suggest that we are back to regional housing markets, rather than a national housing market where everything rose and fell together. So pay attention to Seattle, which Portland tends to match closely, and the California cities, which we tend to follow by a few months.

Curious about your neighborhood? Call us at 503.222.4300, or visit our Portland Home Team Market Data Center.

Months inventory at the end of July rose to 7.0, meaning at the July rate of sales it would take 7.0 months to sell all the homes then on the market. This was an increase over June’s 6.0 months, yet within the “balanced market” band of 5 to 7 months supply that we have seen for a while now.

Curious about your neighborhood? Call us at 503.222.4300, or visit our Portland Home Team Market Data Center.