Mortgage Interest Rates: Oof.

Posted inReal Estate
Since the start of the year mortgage interest rates have risen about 60%, and they’re widely expected to continue rising. That is a very sobering thought for those searching for a house. In essence, it means a homebuyer’s purchasing power has dropped 20% since New Year’s Day. That $600,000 budget now looks more like a $500,000 budget. The idea is that the rising interest rates will act as a fire extinguisher for inflation in general and the hot housing market, slowing…
February Market Report – Portland West Side Real Estate

February Market Report – Portland West Side Real Estate

Posted inReal Estate
All real estate is local, and this monthly report is a resource for those buying or selling on the Portland metro's west side. The data below is for the areas including but not limited to NW Portland, SW Portland, Beaverton, Bethany, Hillsboro, Tigard, and Lake Oswego, and includes all residential resale transactions (new construction not included). With the slow slow slow holiday season in the rear-view mirror, February becomes a good month to begin to see what kind of real estate…

First Time Home Buyer? Some Tips to Get Started

Posted inReal Estate
There’s nothing quite as exciting as buying your first home, whether you’re looking for something to start out with and build equity or your “forever” home. It can also be a stressful process, filled with unknowns and market-specific factors that are constantly changing. While the last couple of years of the Portland housing market has mostly favored sellers, we're now seeing shifts in the market that allow buyers more time and flexibility to shop. Still, there's much to learn and the market…
Why Asking Price Doesn’t Matter

Why Asking Price Doesn’t Matter

Posted inReal Estate
In the past twelve months, about two-thirds of single-family houses listed for under $1 million that have sold in the greater Portland metro went for over their asking price. The remaining third was about evenly split between those that sold at list and those that sold under. Distill all that down, and only about one in seven houses that sold went for the number on the price tag. It would be an odd way to shop if you walked into Target…

Stop the Insanity!

Posted inReal Estate
I work a lot of open houses, which means I get plenty of face time with potential buyers. Visitors to open houses come in all shapes and sizes- those that have just started looking, neighbors who want to check out the new house for sale, and the battle-hardened who have already been putting in offers for a while, with no success. One question that seems to come up no matter who is asking is the Big Question of the Day: when…
What YOU Need to KNOW Right NOW Before GOING to an Open HOUSE (You Won’t Believe #4!)

What YOU Need to KNOW Right NOW Before GOING to an Open HOUSE (You Won’t Believe #4!)

Posted inReal Estate
If you really stop to dwell on it, there's something quite strange about open houses. You leave your home- with all your memories and your toys and that open Gatorade bottle in the back of the fridge- in the care of a real estate agent that you may not have ever met or seen or whose name you know, so strangers can walk through your house for a few hours and judge how you live. If you're fortunate enough to not…
I (Don’t) Like to Move It Move It

I (Don’t) Like to Move It Move It

Posted inMoving to Portland
Somewhere out there is a human who enjoys moving. I don't mean enjoys having moved, that's a different thing. Generally people are good with that. I mean a person who enjoys the process of moving, which might make that person an energy vampire. The cleaning, the packing, the boxes, the boxes, the boxes. At its best it's a hassle, and at worst it's a layer of hell Dante chose not to write about. Naturally, I've moved twice in the past year…
What the F*** is a “Zestimate,” Anyway?

What the F*** is a “Zestimate,” Anyway?

Posted inReal Estate
(Update: this whole post is now moot, glad I took the time) Folks in my business tend to see Zillow and other techy real estate companies as anywhere from benign presence to the Anti-Christ. I land somewhere in the middle, as I have a healthy distrust of any giant company but can see how when they offer real value, it's best to figure out how to work with them or they'll eat your lunch. I have seen firsthand what kind of…
What the Hell Are You Talking About

What the Hell Are You Talking About

Posted inReal Estate
There's an old saying in marketing that half of all marketing works, but nobody knows which half. That's likely an outdated metric, what with the new army of data scientists and algorithms that didn't used to exist, but there are still plenty of places where art is called for more than science. Take for example movie advertising, my old bailiwick. When deciding what tagline to put on a poster, or which review quotes to include in an ad, it's mostly hunch.…
There’s No Baseball in Portland, Which Sucks

There’s No Baseball in Portland, Which Sucks

Posted inMoving to Portland
With apologies (not really) to the barely-in-the-minors Hillsboro Hops, there's no baseball in Portland. I'm sure one of these days I'll take in a game at Ron Tonkin Field to see the Hops take on the Tri-City Dust Devils or the Everett AquaSox, and I might even enjoy myself, but it isn't the real thing. Once you've flown first class it's tough going back to coach. So how did we get here, with Portland- the 25th-largest metropolitan area in the US-…