The “A” in Zillow Stands for “Accurate”

The “A” in Zillow Stands for “Accurate”

Posted inReal Estate
You're shopping for a house and your dealbreakers are that it has to be at least 2500 square feet, not be in an HOA, and feed into a specific school. Zillow has filters for all of those things, so you're good to go, right? Consumer-facing third-party sites like Zillow (or Redfin, or realtor.com, etc.) are a great tool for buyers to launch their search, but it's worth knowing where their limitations lie and when it's best to double-check data or ask…
Portland Home Prices: Still Cheaper, Believe it or Not

Portland Home Prices: Still Cheaper, Believe it or Not

Posted inReal Estate
Yeah, houses cost a lot. I know. I assure you, it's not my fault. That being said, it could be worse. How do I know that? Because I've lived places where houses cost a whole lot more than they do here. I also know because I look at statistics and studies, so you know it's not all anecdotal. Portland is, generally and unofficially, considered a HCOL (that's high cost of living) city. There is such a thing though as a VHCOL…
Portland Real Estate in 2025: What Happened?

Portland Real Estate in 2025: What Happened?

Posted inReal Estate
About this time last year I wrote about my predictions for Portland real estate in 2025. If you want the tl;dr digest, here's what I predicted for 2025: Interest rates would end the year in the 6% range, but wouldn't be a meaningful drop from where we ended 2024 (just under 7%). New listings and sales, which had essentially bottomed out in 2024, would show some incremental increase. Prices wouldn't meaningfully change. I also closed that post by saying I'd be…
50-Year Mortgages? No Thank You

50-Year Mortgages? No Thank You

Posted inReal Estate
Betting on the financial illiteracy of Americans has historically been a profitable endeavor for the powers-that-be, so it should come as no surprise that an idea to introduce 50-year mortgages is being talked about right now. It has been proposed as a way to make home buying more affordable, which is a dubious assertion at best. I shouldn't have to tell anyone it's a bad idea, but here we are. It's a bad idea. Here's why. Math. Assume you're buying a…
The Ultimate First-Time Homebuyers Guide

The Ultimate First-Time Homebuyers Guide

Posted inFirst-Time Home Buyer Guide, Real Estate
Rerun! Since I couldn't think of a decent topic this month for the newsletter, I'll bump my six-part Ultimate First-Time Homebuyers Guide. This is a great resource for anyone dipping their toes in the water of homeownership for the first time, or even if it's just been a while. The guide lives here, or you can read on. Here we go! Part 1: The Money Let’s start with the biggest question. Can you afford it? The best way to tackle this…
Don’t Wait For Mortgage Rates to Drop in September, Because They Probably Won’t

Don’t Wait For Mortgage Rates to Drop in September, Because They Probably Won’t

Posted inReal Estate
At their latest annual conference, the Federal Reserve made it pretty clear that they intend to drop their short-term rates this September, likely by a quarter of a percent. This isn't unexpected, as the bond market has been betting on this happening for a little while now. As (sort of) a result, mortgage rates right now are as low as they've been since last October. Before I make the point I came here to make, I'll offer a brief reminder of…
So, How’s the Market?

So, How’s the Market?

Posted inReal Estate
Realtors get that question quite a bit. The answer, which nobody likes, is "it depends." Are you a buyer or seller or both? What kind of home are you trying to buy or sell? Where is it? What price range? All of those things can change the answer you get, since there isn't just one answer to the question. When I'm asked the question, there are a number of pieces of data that I rely on to start my answer, while…
How to Win in a Multiple Offer Situation

How to Win in a Multiple Offer Situation

Posted inReal Estate
Offer the most money. Thanks for reading everyone, see you next month! Well, wait. Yes, it always helps your chances when you offer the most money, but there is more to it than that, especially when offering on a house that's getting a lot of interest. Art, science, and good old fashioned intuition all contribute to the strategy of writing a good offer. It may not be 2021 anymore when every house got a dozen offers, but we do still encounter…
Where Are All the Single Level Homes?

Where Are All the Single Level Homes?

Posted inReal Estate
Fun Fact of the day: by 2030, every Baby Boomer will be at least 65 years old. The average life expectancy for a 65-year-old today is about 19 more years, which is either an encouraging fact or a sobering statistic, I suppose. At 70 million or so, about 20% of our population is in the Boomer age range. Also, in 2030, the oldest Gen X'ers will turn 65. Anyway, yeah, we're all getting older, if we're lucky. I do have a…
MLB to PDX! (Updated)

MLB to PDX! (Updated)

Posted inReal Estate
Today I'm taking a break from talking about little real estate (houses) to talk about big real estate (stadiums). It's opening week for baseball, and the Giants are on pace to win 122 games, and that's all the excuse I need. A while back I wrote about the efforts to get Major League Baseball to Portland and now that there are Official Updates, I'm updating. Briefly though, the how and why of where we are. A group called the Portland Diamond…