Portland Market Update - busy busy

With the recently released stats for March 2014, we see the Portland market continues to suffer from low inventory, with only 3.1 months of houses on the market.  At our current rate of sales, it will take 3.1 months to sell all the properties on the market. We haven't seen lower inventory since July of 2013.  And this, with a 31.3% increase in new listings from the month before. 

Activity, that is the number of pending and closed sales, is down a bit.  Pending sales were up 37.1% from February, but down 3.6 % from March of 2013.  Similarly, closed sales rose 26.6% from February, but were down 4.0% from March 2013.  Remember, February had that snow storm, which slowed our business.

Our market time got a tad shorter in March; 85 days vs. 100 days in February.  March 2013 had a market time of 112 days.  But, looking at pending and closed sales in the Cleveland and Grant High School areas, I see median days on market of seven days for days for houses with pending sales and 12 days for houses with closed sales. Wow.

The median year to date sales price is $271,600, up 9.9% from the median year to date sales price in March 2013 of  $247,100.

Good houses are still in short supply, and potential buyers are out in force.  We are in, what is usually, the peak of our active market time.   By mid-June, we can start to see some summer slowing; school is out and vacations start.  Give me a call if you are planning to sell this year and we can map a plan.  Thinking of buying?  Better get started on that loan pre-approval.

Read the full report for the Portland Metro Area

A peek inside the mystery of multiple offers

I listed a house recently that drew five offers in as many days.  It was a nice, three bedroom two bath ranch, built in 1974 in a good close in neighborhood.  The systems were all reasonably new and were high quality, when installed in 2009.  It was listed at $307,500.  This was at the upper end of where comparable houses had sold.

This house did not have wood floors, a fireplace, built-in, granite etc.  A nice, but perhaps slightly humble house.  I predicted it would be a classic first time buyer house; drawing buyers with low down payments using first time buyer loans (FHA insured, or even 0% down).

I put the listing live in our multiple listing service at 10:00pm on a Thursday.  By Friday at 5:00pm we had one very nice offer, with conventional financing and over $100,000 down payment.  Wow.

Now, think about this from the seller's perspective for a moment.  The house has been on the market for less than 24 hours. There have been no open houses, the Craig's list ad isn't in yet, no advertising placed.  Do we really expect a seller to accept the first offer, that quickly?  Some do.  But most often, the house is the seller's biggest asset, and a seller would like to at least know the property has been on the open market and had full exposure.  The seller and I agreed that we'd wait to review offers until Tuesday afternoon. That would give us time for a Sunday open house, and a few days for buyers to have a chance to look at the house.

My phone and email were barraged by buyer's agents asking if it was still available.  I communicated to the agent who wrote that first offer, when we'd be reviewing offers.  I told anyone who called, texted or emailed, that we had an offer, and that we'd be reviewing offers Tuesday afternoon.  Over the next few days, four more offers came in. All of them had conventional loans, all of them were subject to the buyers approval of professional inspections and all of them had down payments over $65,000.

As the subsequent offers knew there was an offer on the table, I contacted the agent who wrote the first offer and let him know we had others. This gave his client a chance to re-write his offer knowing there was competition.  Remember, when that first offer was written, there were no competing offers.  Indeed, buyer #1 came back with a higher offer.

Did I create a "bidding war"?  I don't think so.  My intent was to level the playing field for all potential buyers.  The agent for buyer #1 seemed to appreciate the opportunity for his client.  I did not, play offers off each other.  I did not make a series of phone calls telling agents if they raised their offer a tad,it might be the one.  That, is what I think a bidding war looks like.  And that behavior is why many agents won't submit an offer until just before the time offers are being presented.  They don't want their client's offer to be "shopped", or used to get better offers.  By contacting the agent of buyer #1, I did use the existence of other offers to get a higher offer. 

Some would say I didn't do a full job for my seller client if I didn't shop the offers. Maybe so. But in my experience, it is rarely a good idea to push buyers to the tip top when they are in an emotional state.  They'll often regret going that high, and are sure to feel entitled to "make it up" in the home inspection negotiations.

An aside, a risk with these high offers is a seller feeling invincible since they had all those offers, and a buyer feeling like they paid too much. Should any issues need to be negotiated on the inspection, buyer and seller enter those negotiations miles apart. 

In preparation to sit down with my client, I prepared a cover sheet for each offer, focusing on the essentials of each offer.  I printed each offer and all the accompany documents; pre-approval letter, any agent cover letter, any letter written by the buyer to the seller, signed property disclosures etc.  Though I had asked for offers an hour in advance of my appointment with the seller, the last one came in 1/2 an hour before the appointment.  I was racing to get those packets together.

Many of these offers were VERY similar.  But there were differences.  Differences in down payment, in asking the seller to pay buyer closing costs.  Only one buyer wrote a letter to the seller, and boy was it a good letter. The letter made the buyer come alive and gave the seller a mental picture of who would be in the house.  Including the dog's name and some verbal images of how  owner and dog would enjoy the house and neighborhood brought tears to the seller's eyes.  Really.  I've seen some letters that include pictures of the buyers, kids, dogs etc.  Corny? Maybe, but it works.  This buyer letter was SO much more powerful than any agent comments about their buyer client.

In the end, my client carefully considered each offer.  The highest offer was the increased offer made by buyer #1.  This was also the only buyer who had written the letter and who's agent had taken the time to have the buyer sign the property disclosures and included them with the offer (most agents wait to submit disclosures until after an offer has been accepted).

Whether you are a buyer or a seller, I'd love to help you navigate this busy market. Give me a call at 503-312-8038 or email at leslievjones@gmail.com

Sunnyside!

Sunnyside might be the epicenter of the people's republic of Portland. Seriously.  Anchored by SE Belmont, Sunnyside boasts a hip K-8 environmentally focused school, a City Repair Project piazza,

oodles of certified backyard habitats and the highest number of vegan coffee shops per capita (just kidding, but it could well be).

The Sunnyside neighborhood is bounded by SE 28th Avenue, SE Stark, SE 49th Avenue and Hawthorne Boulevard.  Not quite as densely populated as its neighbor to the west, Buckman, Sunnyside, nevertheless is a dense urban neighborhood. Blessed with creative, innovative and scrumptious businesses on both SE Belmont and SE Hawthorne, living in Sunnyside is a rich and textured existence.   Breakfast at Suzette, work out at the Green Microgym, pick up some groceries at Zupan's Market and meet friends for a pint at the venerable Horse Brass Pub.

Sunnyside's central location means close proximity to buses, bike ways (including the Hawthorne Bridge, I-5 and I-84.  This neighborhood is home to plenty of folks who chose a carless, or nearly carless lifestyle. Bikes, cargo bikes and recumbent bikes are de rigueur.

Kids in the neighborhood may attend Sunnyside Environmental School; a small K-8 school with curriculum focusing on the environment through an integrated, holistic approach.

I have just listed in  house in Sunnyside.  The sellers, smitten with the neighborhood, bought a larger home to house their busy family, but stayed quite close by.  We are now selling their four bedroom, two and a half bath house located at 3231 SE Alder Street.

This house has a great blend of original charm:

combined with the convenience of an updated kitchen and baths.

The house has four bedrooms and two and one half baths; Three bedrooms and two baths up, with a bedroom and 1/2bath on the main floor (there was a tub in the 1/2 bath, the plumbing remains available).  There is off street parking, a real asset in this urban neighborhood, and a sweet back yard.  It is listed at $525,000.

Open house Sunday afternoon from 1:00 - 3:00. Stop by! 3231 SE Alder St.   Contact me for more information, if you'd like to see the house, or if you'd like information about buying or selling real estate in Portland.

Gotta love South Tabor

I've just listed a sweet little ranch house in South Tabor and was reminded what a great neighborhood it is.  South Tabor is bounded by SE 52nd and SE 82nd, between Division and Powell.    This neighborhood benefits from close proximity to the restaurants and food carts along SE 50th and Division, a long with great access to Mt. Tabor Park. 

The house is at 5827 SE Woodward Street.  Just down the block is Clinton Park, with a great playground and a nice treed area.  Atkinson Elementary School is nearby;  drawing students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The school is seen as having a strong arts programs and a focus on sustainability with  a native plant garden and ecologically friendly outdoor classroom.  Atkinson also houses a Spanish Immersion program.

Franklin High School is also nearby. Franklin has strong programs in Business Technology, Law and Public Service,  and Industrial technology. 

This house (and the neighborhood) are a quick commute to downtown via bus, car or bike.  The upper part of the Clinton Bikeway goes right past the house on SE Woodward.

About the house; three bedroom, two bath ranch, all on one level.

 This house has a wonderful open kitchen with doors leading to the covered back deck.  The living dining and kitchen areas are very open and have great natural light.

 

 

 A master bedroom suite with private bath also has a nice door leading to the backyard. The house had lots done in 2009, including new high efficiency gas furnace, water heater, air conditioning, roof and energy efficient windows.  The fenced yard gets lots of sun, allowing for plenty for plenty of gardening.

This house has an attached double garage and garden shed.  All appliances are included; washer dryer too!  It is listed at $307,500.



The house will be open thius Sunday, 3/16 from 1:00 - 3:00.  Stop by 5827 SE Woodward.

That listing in Cully

I just picked up a new listing in the Cully neighborhood, which has me paying a bit more attention.  Of late, I have heard Cully referred to as" Cully Arts".  Seriously?  We just put "arts" after a neighborhood and it becomes trendy?

Actually, though, Cully has been quietly becoming popular for years. The large lots and strong community feel draw lots of folks interested in an urban farming lifestyle. There are community farm dinners, the Cully Neighborhood Farm CSA, a potential new park in the neighborhood,  and of course the Old Salt Marketplace has been a great addition to the neighborhood. Willamette Week's recent  dining guide happened to have a review of what I thought was a non-descript neighborhood restaurant, just across the street from my new listing.  Apparently a sous-chef from Bluehour is doing some pretty yummy cooking over there.   Who knew?

So the house is a rehab.  The seller has bought and fixed up houses in Portland as long as I've been in real estate...a longtime.  He goes slowly, doing about one house a year.  In this house, he installed all new hardwood floors, a new furnace, hot water heater, and beautifully updated the kitchen and baths; including custom tile work.

 

 

That island in the kitchen is on wheels, so it can move off to the side or stay in the middle of the kitchen.  He's got high end Samsung appliances in there; including washer and dryer.

 

The house has four bedrooms, one and a half baths. It has 1448 square feet, all on one level. The lot, like many on Cully is big, at 150' x 51'.  $245,000.  Oh yeah, and it has a great garage too, with power and an extra storage room.

 

 

The house is located at 5114 NE 60th Avenue. It will be open from 1:00 - 3:00 on Sunday, March 2.  Stop in and check in out.  For more information give me a call at 503-312-8038 or drop me an email at leslievjones@gmail.com.

 



Yellow means stop?!

Did you catch that article by the Oregonian's commuter reporter, Joseph Rose?  The one about how laws around yellow lights in Oregon are more restrictive than yellow lights in other states?  I truly did not know that!  It has been several years since I took the Oregon driver's test, but I don't think I ever knew that.

So here is the thing: " You see, the vast majority of U.S. states, including Washington, have what are called “permissive” rules, allowing drivers to enter an intersection during an entire yellow interval. (A violation occurs only if a driver enters after the onset of red.) Not Oregon. It’s one of only 12 states with a “restrictive” yellow-light rule, which essentially translates into “a solid circular yellow means stop and red means stay stopped.”"

I drive a bunch; most real estate agents do.  I despise being late, and am a busy gal.  This leads to frequent encounters with yellow lights.  Up until now, when I arrive at a yellow light, the question has been, " can I make it through before the light turns red?".  In actuality, the question should be, "can I stop safely?".

In the week or so since the article, I've REALLY been trying to ask the "right" question; can I stop safely?.  I am amazed how hard it is to switch my thinking.  I suppose I'm making progress, in that at least now I feel a bit guilty about making a run through a yellow light.  The yellow light question is posed so quickly, I am challenged to re-write the question?

What question do you ask at a yellow light?  And does it change as you cross state lines?

Read the full article here.

A glimpse of Portland's 2014 housing market

By now, we are a solid year into the housing recovery.  Looking back a year no longer has us looking down into the cavern that was the fall of the housing market.  This time last year, we were busy, slightly shell shocked from the previous five years and a tad bewildered at once again navigating a quick and competitive market.

Today, we are a year wiser. Buyers entering the market know they'll be challenged to get their offer accepted.  Brokers representing buyers are adept at counseling their clients in the strategies of competitive offers. Sellers are starting to understand the importance of a well presented property to realizing top dollar; it must be prepared for the market; in good repair,clean, attractive and well presented. It must be easily viewable, quickly.

With the recently released stats for January 2014 we see the start to the year with 4.1 months of inventory.  At our current rate of sales, it will take 4.1 months to sell all the properties on the market. 2013 started with 4.7 months of inventory.  hmm

As expected, January 2014 saw an increase in pending sales over December 2103; 36.6% higher, and up 6.3% over January 2013.   Correspondingly, January's slight dip in closed sales is a result of December's lower pending sales.

Our market time got a tad longer in January; 96 days vs. 87 days for December 2013.  January 2013's market time was 114 days.

Our median sales price of  $265,000 in January is up 6.9% from $248,000 in January of 2013.

Good houses are still in short supply, and potential buyers are out in force.  Contrary to popular belief, Winter, as in now, is the best time to put your house on the market.  By mid-June, we can start to see some summer slowing; school is out and vacations start.  Give me a call if you are planning to sell this year and we can map a plan.  Thinking of buying?  Better get started on that loan pre-approval.

Read the full report for the Portland Area.