I'm making a move!

I'm so excited!  I'm moving down the street and affiliating with RE/MAX Equity Group.   Over the years I have gotten to know lots of the folks at Equity Group through RE/MAX meetings and events, and have been impressed with the company.  Always a RE/MAX gal, I'm looking forward to working with Rod Renwick, the managing broker at the Broadway office, doing training, accountability groups and other agent support, in addition to continuing to work with my client base.  I'm glad Rod gets to worry about transaction review and risk management :)

 In addition to the RE/MAX tools and support I have had available at Signature Properties, RE/MAX Equity Group has tons of resources with which I'm looking forward to becoming acquainted. Equity Group is a multi-office company, serving much of Oregon and the Vancouver, Washington area.

 I'll still be on Broadway; 237 NE Broadway, just east of Broadway Toyota.  The building is a cool warehousey thing with huge old exposed beams and the like. For those of you who, over the years, have gotten loans through Julee Felsman, I'll be in the same building. And, I'm glad some of my colleagues from Signature Properties are also making the move.

Look for me at the new office at the beginning of July.  Until then, as always, I can be reached through my cell phone at 503-312-8038 and leslievjones@gmail.com.

How's the Market?

The Portland real estate market continues to show improvement, according to the recently released RMLS statistics.  We've been seeing pretty big increases in activity; the amount of pending and closed sales.  There were 16.4% more accepted offers in May 2012 than in May 2011, and 6.65% more than in April 2012.  Similarly, closed sales were up 20.4% in May 2012 when compared to May 2011, and up 15.1% higher in May 2012 than in April 2012.

Prices are showing slighter and slower gains, but are showing gains, nonetheless.  The median sales price rose 6.6% when comparing May 2012 to May 2011, with the median price in the Portland area being $234,500 as compared to $220,000 in May 2011.

Inventory, the number of homes available on the market, continues to decline such that we now have only 4.2 months of inventory.  That is, at our current rate of sales, it would take 4.2 months to sell all available properties.  This is the lowest our inventory has been since March, 2007.  Slowed foreclosures may in part be responsible for this dearth of houses.  In addition, there are many folks who would like to sell, but can't or don't want to sell short.  They are reluctant landlords, while waiting for the market to recover. Depending on when they bought, there could be a bit of a wait.

In the coming months, I expect we'll see some normal seasonal slowing in August and early September, followed by some healthy sales activity from mid-September to Thanksgiving.  There are often  pretty good deals to be had in the fall; folks who tried to sell in the spring, but somehow missed out.  Getting a sale closed before the holiday can be sort of a last ditch effort.  Many investors make a habit of buying in the fall.  Similarly, buyers who REALLY want to be in their new homes by Christmas can be pretty motivated buyers.  

I'd be glad to talk with you about what is happening in your neighborhood.  Give me a call at 503-312-8038 or email me at leslievjones@gmail.com.

Read the full RMLS Market Action.

My New Energy Friend?

Every since we had Imagine Energy do that energy audit last year I have lusted after a smart thermostat.  Or maybe I have lusted after heating that can be controlled zonally (cooler in the bedroom, warmer in the dining room at night, cooler in the dining room in the morning and so on).  Indeed, there are many products out there that can achieve these goals.  Just bring money.  But I am intrigued by the  Nest.  No, it won't do zonal easily,  but it sure looks like it does a heck of a lot more than my circa 1990 programmable thermostat.

I didn't even know I needed a new energy friend!  I already have Sonny Boy, who tells me all about the solar energy production.  But Sonny has a bit of a one track mind, where as Nest seems to be a bit more worldly.

Nest looks so cool, I wanted to own one before I learned anything about it!  I like how easy it appears to   control Nest both manually and from afar via an iPhone. I like that Nest can learn from previous usage and gives feedback about energy efficiency and savings.  Nest seems to be positioning themselves a bit like their Palo Alto neighbor, Apple.  It appears Nest customers don't just get a thermostat, they get an energy consultant, a monthly energy report; new energy friend.  Even their packaging has that je ne sais pas, understated coolness.  Heck folks might even pay the $249 price just for the look, and the new friend.

How's the market?

This is this market report from RMLS we've been expecting.  Pending sales are up both from April 2012 ( 4.1%) and from April 2011, a whopping 18%!  Closed sales are up 7.6% from March 2012, and 13.1% from March 2011.  Portland area real estate agents have been busy as heck the last several weeks.  It is nice to see the numbers bear out what we've been seeing and thinking.

For the past several years we've been telling our seller clients it might not be the best time to sell.  You listened.   We don't have enough houses to sell!  New listings are down and sales are up, leaving us with only 4.7 months of inventory to sell at our current rate of sales.  This is the lowest # since June 2007.  No wonder most houses new to the market bring several offers in their first week.

Prices?  When comparing home prices year to date this year and last, there is less than a 1% difference in both median and average sales price.  The Portland area median price , year to date, is $216,200.  The average price for the same time period was $254,600.  Our market time for homes sold in April 2012 was 123 days, compared to 153 days for April 2011.

So, shorter market time, fewer houses to sell, more houses pending and more houses sold.  Minuscule price fluctuation.  Um.  If you have been thinking about selling, this would be a good time. hint hint.

Full RMLS report.

Buying Small?

Often clients ask me what might seem an odd question.  How big, or small, of a house should we buy?  In these days of mindful living, being aware of ones carbon footprint and all, many of us don't want to buy too much house.  Or, sometimes, folks fall love with a house that is really on the small side.  These folks want help thinking through the pitfalls of buying small.

First, buying too big.  The downsides are obvious; more utilities, more cleaning, higher taxes and perhaps a bit of eco-guilt.  Houses that are too big can also rob a home of a "center";  a family may be a bit too spread out and sacrifice some beneficial interaction.  The pluses of buying big are an amount of comfort, room for guests, project space and room for life changes.  As we age, and our kids age, we'll use space differently.  A larger house will give us more options.

Smaller houses.  Three or four years ago I sold some gals a cute as heck, 550 square foot house.  It was perfect for them.  They were used to apartment life and were adept at living small.

Living small also fit with their values.  When asked the downside,  I reminded them that almost any life change for them, short of breaking up, would make the house untenable.  Life changes come in many forms, and often unexpectedly; babies, working from home, taking in a roommate or family member that needs some help and so on.  Earlier this year I was glad to hear from my clients.  They're looking toward having a baby next year and will be needing to buy up.  They don't regret the small house, but had they bought bigger, they might be staying in their first home a bit longer.

In general, my advice is to buy a house that not only works for you now, but will allow for some changes.  Moving costs money, no doubt. Balance buying something small enough that it doesn't cost too much over time, with a house big enough to grow with your lifestyle a bit.
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We bought up in 2003, and had a bit of eco-guilt about buying something too big.  It was important to me that we not have any of those rooms no one really uses. That would feel wasteful.  I thought we should use every room every day. Okay, so nine years later, with lots of entertainment now viewed on our computers, the television/guest room/cat room is not used by humans everyday.  But the cats, they love that room!

How's the Market?

RMLS just released their stats for March 2012, and I like what I see.  We continue to see an increase in both pending and closed sales in relation both to the previous month and the same month a year ago.  Prices are bumping along with nominal increases or decreases depending on exactly where one is looking.

For the Portland metro area, there were 12.8% more accepted offers in March of 2012 than in March 2011, and 7.7% more than February 2012.  And in closed sales, there were 4.9% more than March 2011 and 34.2% more than in February 2012.  Our listing inventory, the number of houses on the market, is LOW. It would take only five months to sell the active listings at our current rate of sale.  This is the lowest inventory since June 2007.

As for pricing, it is useful to look at the most recent quarter, compared with the same quarter of 2011.  The average sales price declined less than one half percent to $251,700, and the median price decreased 1.4%  compared to the first quarter of 2011, to a median price of $212,000.  Commiserate with declining inventory, our average market time has fallen from 165 days in the first quarter of 2011 to 135 days in the first quarter of 2012.

In our office, we have seen a HUGE increase in business.  One of our agents has had three new listings all get pending sales in their first three days on the market.  Holy Cow!  This kind of speed and pressure aren't always my favorite.  I like an active market, but buyers often feel pressed to make quick buying decisions or risk losing out.  If you're curious what your home might be worth, get in touch as I'd be more than glad to update your market analysis.

The Portland area RMLS market report.

Have you seen Car2go?

I'm seeing those cute little smart cars all over town...on the eastside, that is.  Car2go has made quite an entrance considering they just started here YESTERDAY!  While this looks like competition for zipcar, the business model is a bit different.  Car2go is a membership organization that charges based on usage and fees.  But...you pick up and leave cars where you like, within the service area (inner eastside and a bit of the westside).  No need to leave it in a designated spot or return it to where you found it.  Car2go's website says you simply leave it in a legal parking spot.

There is a $35 registration fee, and the basic cost is 35 cents a mile, with a maximum of $65.99 per day.  This fee includes gas, parking, gps, maintenance and cleaning.  The nice thing is no designated return times, you just get in and drive off.  This sounds great, until I've been planning on using car2go and can't find a car.  Not to worry, their mapping function shows where cars are currently located.   There is also a "stopover" function to prevent someone else from getting in and driving off if you are still using the car.

I think this is kind of cool, though I wonder how many different versions of car sharing Portland can support.  And I find it interesting that we now have at least two care sharing options and no major bike sharing options.  hmm.