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…
After the NAR Settlement: What Has Changed?

After the NAR Settlement: What Has Changed?

Posted inReal Estate
Six months ago I wrote this piece explaining what the new (to most of us) Buyer Representation Agreement looked like. Being that we're now, well, six months into the post-NAR settlement world, it seems a good time to check in and see what has changed in practice. Before tackling that, I'll go with ever-popular bullet points to recap what actually has legally changed. A few things: The common practice regarding commissions for buyer agents prior to last August was this: the…
My Crystal Ball for 2025

My Crystal Ball for 2025

Posted inReal Estate
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Witness: That right there is a two-year graph of average mortgage interest rates, with data from Freddie Mac. The type is probably too small to read so I'll help: over the last two years the number has not been lower than 6.08% or higher than 7.79%. Right now it's around 7%, which is going to be right about average for the past two years. If you ask me to predict the…
Selling in 2025? What To Do Now

Selling in 2025? What To Do Now

Posted inReal Estate
I saw some interesting stats the other day about a group being referred to as sidelined buyers. These are the potential home buyers who are waiting for market conditions to improve before jumping in. A survey of 1000 of these sidelined buyers was done to see what exactly they're waiting for. While a third of them are waiting for the miracle of sub 5% interest rates (ain't happening), another third are ready to go if rates are in the 6's (and…
Just in Time for Halloween: A Primer on Oregon Property Taxes

Just in Time for Halloween: A Primer on Oregon Property Taxes

Posted inReal Estate
Grab a cup of coffee to keep yourself awake, since we're talking about property taxes today. Those of you who own homes in Oregon just got that dreaded envelope in the mail telling you how much you owe for the year, for which I am profoundly sorry. It's not my fault though. That's just life, and at least we don't pay sales tax. There are a couple of topics I'd like to touch on regarding property taxes. First, I'm going to…
The Importance of Pricing Your Home Correctly

The Importance of Pricing Your Home Correctly

Posted inReal Estate
I'll lead with this: nothing is more of a bummer to sellers than to watch your house sit on the market, not getting any offers. It might be because the housing market is in a slow season. It might be because the interest rates spiked. It might be that buyers aren't seeing the house in the same condition that the owner imagines it to be. It might simply be because the house is overpriced. Pricing correctly, not too high and not…
The Oregon Buyer Representation Agreement, Explained

The Oregon Buyer Representation Agreement, Explained

Posted inReal Estate
We've now reached the point where all home buyers who wish to employ a Realtor must sign a contract with them first, before they even see a house together. We've talked about this already, sort of. What was theory is now practice, and there will be plenty of getting used to it from buyers, sellers, and agents alike. If you're going to jump into the buyer pool any time soon, you'll be asked to sign what's called a Buyer Representation Agreement…