Que Vision. Does your store have it?

I often shop at the Hawthorne Fred Meyer, and noticed several  months ago a large monitor at the front of the store named Que Vision.  If has a graphic of three yellow circles, labeled;  Open, Action Now and 30 Minutes.  Or some such.  The first checker I asked about the screen said , "Oh that.  Ignore it.  It is useless".  Still curious, on a subsequent trip I asked a different cashier and got a bit more thorough of an answer.  Apparently the system has sensors that measure how many people enter and exit the store and may even measure where we are in the store.  It then uses historic data to predict when we'll check out.  In theory, this system helps managers anticipate rushes and slow times, and allocate cashiers accordingly.  I think this is pretty cool, and an interesting use of crowd data for a practical use.  I also love the idea that I might screw up their predictors.  Ha!  The system thought I was headed toward checkout, but instead I veered a quick right to ethnic foods.

I did a bit of googling and happened on the Kroger employee bulletin board and a discussion of the system.  It sounds as though Kroger has an initiative to only have one person in line, in addition to the person checking out.  This seems to be a departure from their previous two people in line in addition to the person checking out.  To meet this goal, without having a bunch of cashiers standing around on the payroll, the employee discussion board says all departments are being cross trained to serve as cashiers.  So in a heavy period, folks from other departments help check out, and in slower times they work in their assigned departments.  I haven't noticed this at the Hawthorne Fred Meyer, in general usual cashiers are at their stations.  The employee bulletin board made it sounds as though Kroger designed this system themselves, rather than buying any of the already on the market products.

Does your grocery store have Que Vision, or a similar substitute?  Do you think your wait times at the checkout line have been reduced?

How's the Market? December's multiple listing stats are in!

Wow!  December's numbers are better than I expected.  The comparisons to last year continue to show lots of improvement in activity, while prices continue to decline.  I have seen a few forecasts showing rising prices, and we do see some tiny evidence of that below.

So, when comparing last year,December 2010 to December 2011,  the number of closed sales increased 10.3% and pending sales increased 11.7%.  Even month to month, closed sales rose 6% from November 2011 to December 2011.  Pending sales did fall, 14.4%, which we expect as fewer folks are looking at real estate and making offers in December (though I did get an offer on a listing on December 26th!).

In looking at prices, the average sale price was down 6.2% from December 2010 to December 2011, with an average sale price of $260,800.  Make note though, this is a 0.5% increase in the average sale price from November 2011 to December 2011.

Also of note, there are fewer houses on the market than there have been for a long time.  At the current rate of sales, it would only take 5.3 months to sell off what is currently listed.  Compare that to January 2009, when it would have taken 19.2 months to sell of the inventory at the then current rate of sales. 

While this makes me feel very optimistic, at least some part of the low inventory is due to the slow rate at which banks are foreclosing on loans in default.  Banks, in general, are slowly streamlining their processes for both short sales and foreclosures.  This has got to help get things moving.

As always, give me a call or shoot me an email if you'd like information about buying or selling in today's market.

Read the full Portland Area RMLS report for December 2011.

How Is Your Technology Confidence?

There are those of us who embrace new technology more easily than others.  It isn't that they already know how to use said new technology item.  But it seems they are predisposed to be enthusiastic about what the new thing might be able to do, AND they aren't afraid to give it a try; to play around with it. 

I'm pretty good with new technology; better with software than hardware it seems.  There is a ton I don't understand, believe me.  But I seem to have the propensity to give it a try; a baseline confidence that I won't screw it up and that there is probably some intrinsic value in the new technology.  How about you?  Do you get sweaty palms when encountering a new program or "device"?

A friend and I were talking the other day about how it seems you need a certain level of tech confidence and understanding to be willing to call into a tech support line.  Without the confidence, fears of not understanding their instructions or questions, along with the fear of seeming stupid, are overwhelming.  So the folks who need tech support the most, often avoid it. 

She also said something like, " People with low tech confidence need to get an iPhone".  That is, that the iPhone (and I think Droids also) help you to do so many techie things at the touch of a finger, you feel like a master, leading to that "bring it on" attitude we all need.

I think this predisposition to embrace something new isn't just tied to technology.  There are those who embrace new innovations of what ever their "thing" is.  My husband is one notch above a Luddite when it come to computers and such.  But he is way beyond handy when it comes to construction.  He can build, plumb, wire, and weld most anything.  If not, he'll figure it out.  And as you might imagine, he LOVES a new tool.  Is he afraid to try and figure out a new tool?  Not at all.  Put my iPhone in front of him, and all confidence, and logical thinking disappear.

And how far things have come.  So much is "plug and play" and most things have those handy pop ups that ask if you are sure you really want to completely wipe out your hard drive, before letting you do so.  So bring it on, give it a try and play around.  You may discover some cool new things and raise your tech confidence at the same time.

How's the Market?

Our Regional Multiple Listing Service released the market stats for November 2011 this afternoon.  In general, it is a bit more good news.

Both our closed and pending sales are up when compared with November 2010.  Closed sales increased by 18.9% from November 2010 to November 2011.  Pending sales increased 18.1% for the same time period.  In addition, the number of newly listed properties decreased by 18.1%.

When comparing October 2011 to November 2011, closed sales rose, pending sales fell and new listings decreased.  This is consistent with the usual seasonal slowing we see in November and December. 

In looking at average the average sales price, we saw a decrease of 4.6% from November 2010 to November 2011 for an average sales price of $259,400.  It should be noted that this is a slight increase (0.3%) from October 2011.

Read the full report here.http://www.rmlsweb.com/v2/public2/loadfile.asp?id=6392

We are seeing more positive than negative market factors, which could mean we are starting to get a bit of "lift off" after bumping along at the bottom. The inconsistenices in how foreclosed properties are processed and put back on the market cloud efforts to classify the current real estate market.  The market we have today is what we know...

If you'd like to know more about your specific home or neighborhood, give me a call.

Things that make you go hmmm.

I sat down this morning to write a blog referencing an article in yesterday's Oregonian that said Oregon incomes, during the recession, didn't fall as fast and nor as far as incomes in the rest of the country.  I liked this seemingly positive nugget in what can sometimes be a downer of a subject.  As I always do when referencing an article, I went on line to read it again and link to it.

Imagine my surprise when I found the article had been "amended" to say the complete opposite;

"Portland-area incomes fell faster and farther during the recession than national per capita income. And as Oregon takes longer to recover, incomes here continue to lag the national average as well as similar cities such as Seattle, Denver and Minneapolis." 

You can read the full article here.  And if you scroll down from the top, you'll see Tuesday's article below.

Wow.  I know how we interpret data can vary greatly. I can't though, help but be struck by this absolute switcheroo.  Had I not been looking into the article, I'd be walking around a bit more optimistic than usual at the thought that Oregonians haven't faired all that poorly.

hmm.

Mortal enemies, but for when it is cold.

This condominium seems like such a good deal, don't you think?

A client of mine is looking for a condominium for his aging mother.  She is still quite independent and wants to live on her own, but is moving to Portland to be closer to her son and the support he and his family can offer.

We're looking for two bedrooms, over 1000 square feet, close in, one level and under $300,000.  As you might imagine, it is the one level that is the challenge.  So many condominium projects with larger units are on more than one level. 

Last weekend we looked at a condominium in Sellwood that really caught my eye.  The neighborhood wasn't quite right for my client's mother, but I keep thinking about that place.  Hence this blog.

8401 SE 23rd is located deep in the south end of Sellwood, sort of that unincorporatedish part.  It is an easy block and a half south of Umatilla, and about three blocks east of 17th.  The street is very quiet and does not go through to McLaughlin.

What really struck me about this condominium was how pleasant and spacious the 1027 square feet felt.  The spacious rooms really make the place feel like a home.  In addition, this unit has a very generous back yard and patio with room for gardening and entertaining.

The homeowners' association dues are $305, per the listing, which covers water, sewer, garbage, commons and exterior maintenance.  You can see the RMLS listing here.  Portland Maps does show this in a flood zone, so flood insurance would be needed. The grounds are lovely.  You don't see many close-in complexes with this.

All this for $179,900.  If you think of who needs this, please send them my way.  This is not my listing, but I'd be glad to show it.