Vintage Real Estate will be at the Street Fair!  We will be giving away $100 gift certificate from one of our local businesses.  Come to 4205 N Mississippi in front of the bright orange house to get current stats on our local market, get property flyers on vintage homes, sign up for daily emails of homes for sale and talk to your local market professional!

The fun starts at 10am, go to mississippiave.com for all the details!

We hope to see you there!

The key to investing in Real estate has always been the same, location location location.  Portland is one of the most unique cities where the inner city is more desirable than the suberbs.  Inner city NE, SE & North Portland homes have held their values pretty well. The suburbs where new construction and communities dependent on large companies are the ones that have suffered.  It sounds biased but I believe Portland has a quality of living that really is different! Our past market has proved that even if there are no jobs people move to Portland. Currently the stats break down like this, (info from Realtors multiple listing service April 09):

There are ½ as many houses for sale in Portland than there were in January

The average sales price in all of Portland Metro area is only down 10% from one year ago

Sales are up 14% from March of this year

Since last year the average sales price has changed in these areas-

North Portland down 5.1%
Northeast Portland down 3%
Southeast Portland down 6.2%

As a Realtor in the Portland area for the last 18 years I have watched all the trends and even though I can’t say I’ve seen a market as drastic as this, I have seen change. It is of my opinion that our market is back to normal. We have been so spoiled to see such high increases in value that now seems bad but really it is normal. Prices are lower and yes there are more foreclosures in the market but for the most part nice neighborhoods in inner city have not decreased that dramatically at all. If you are looking for a great deal they are out there but be prepared to compete. The bank owned properties that have come on the market at what I call ridiculous prices are getting 6 – 12 offers on them and in most cases at least one of those offers was cash with no contingencies. Since the inventory is back to normal and the prices are lower than normal the only problem is the number of buyers. Most people are nervous to buy because no one else is.

Why isn’t everyone else buying?

The reason sales are low is that HUD has put restrictions on qualifications that are so drastic that most people can not get a loan. There are many investors who would love to buy in this market but do not have traditional W-2 jobs or have tax returns that show income due to their write offs. When I bought my first home in 1996 as a self employed Realtor I had to decrease the amount of write offs to qualify for my loan. There was a bubble because anyone could get a loan, every person all of a sudden became a Real Estate investor and demand went through the roof. Well todays market is this, all the investors are out of your way, sellers are motivated, interest rates are below the “all time 40 year low” and prices are down 10%. The only issue we face is that it is harder to get a loan, so your question is: “ if you can get a loan should you buy?” I think you are crazy if you don’t.

Are prices going down?

These market conditions could not get any better. Even with more foreclosures in the market place our inventory is 1/2 of what it was at the beginning of the year. The statistics are proving that the our inner city market is already in a pattern of increase so…. To me it looks like the longer you wait the more you will pay. 

The Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment.  They just announced the good news this week!  Enabling FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment.  The FHA approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans.  Buyers will be able to access these funds immediately at the closing table.  In order to use this credit origianlly the buyer had to borrow the money from family, get a gift letter stating that they did not have to repay it and they file the $8,000 credit on their tax return.  This is much easier!  Especially since the govermnet intended for these funds to be used to offer an incentive for people to buy a home.  If you have not owned a home in the last 3 years you may be eligible for this down payment assistance.  Call us to discuss your situation today!  In my 18 years of Real Estate experience I have never seen a downpayment assistance program that did not need to be repaid!

Another reason to come to the Spring Greening on Mississippi Ave: we are giving away packets of fancy all native wildflower mix. Do you have a patch of your garden that you don’t want to deal with anymore? Just disturb the soil, toss this stuff in and keep it wet for 2 weeks. This weekend will be a great time to plant as the soil temperature should get up past 60 degrees in a sunny spot.

We will be outside our office at 4205 N Mississippi giving the seeds away and talking to people about old homes and old home gardens. Ok, to be honest we will probably be talking about a lot more. The Blazers. Food. Plumbing horror stories. Whatever strikes our fancy.

Here are some detailed planting instructions straight from the source.

Check out what seeds are inside:

Achillea millefolium var California- California Yarrow
Clarkia amoena- Godetia
Clarkia unguiculata- Farewell to Spring
Collinsia heterophylla- Chinese Houses
Coreopsis tinctoria- Plains Coreopsis
Eschscholzia californica- California Poppy
Gilia capitata- Globe Gilia
Gilia tricolor- Bird’s Eyes
Layia platyglossa- Tidy Tips
Linanthus grandiflorus- Mountain Phlox
Linum perenne lewisii- Blue Flax
Lupinus albicaulis- Sickle-keeled Lupine
Lupinus polyphyllus- Russell Lupine
Mertzelia lindleyi- Blazing Star
Nemophila maculata- Five Spot
Nemophila menziesii- Baby Blue Eyes
Oenothera hookeri- Evening Primrose
Phacelia campanularia- California Bluebell

The sun is shining (for the moment) and spring is in the air.  Let’s all join the businesses and neighbors of Mississippi Ave for the Spring Greening event, this Saturday April 18 from 11am till 7pm.

Stores will be hosting blow out sales along with activities such as clothing swaps, demonstrations on reusing recyclable products, sustainable food systems, live music and more.  There will be designated sites for recycling cell phones and electronics helping to keep our earth Green.

The Vintage Real Estate Kiosk will be open from 11 -7 pm giving away free packets of native wild flower seeds and we will have a “green-homes for sale tour sheet”.

Pick up a Spring Greening postcard, receive 5 stamps showing you have purchased something on the street and you will be entered to win one of several shopping and dining sprees! Pistils Nursery will donate one plant to Boise elementry school for every post card turned in.

A very important week is in store, with two important announcements due toward the end of the week.  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is set to announce their ruling on whether to modify mark-to-market, and perhaps allow cash flow analysis to determine valuation of financial assets. Not a coincidence, the strength we have seen in Stocks over the past couple of weeks has been fueled by speculation that mark-to-market will be modified, thereby helping reinvigorate the financial system of our country. I will be watching very closely to see what happens and how the markets respond.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release their Jobs Report for March. Last month’s report showed that 651,000 US jobs were lost in February, while revisions for the prior two months showed that an additional 161,000 jobs were lost between December and January. Given that last week’s Initial Jobless Claims report showed that the number of people collecting state unemployment benefits has reached a record high - jumping to a seasonally adjusted 5.56 Million - it will be important to see what Friday’s report reveals.

Bonds are currently trading between key technical levels, with a ceiling of resistance overhead, and a floor of support underfoot. But remember: Strong economic news - such as a positive change in the “mark-to-market” situation - will likely cause Stocks to rally, and Bonds and home loan rates may worsen in response.

Please call me to discuss how the current Real Estate Market can benefit your investment portfolio.

Just in time for spring, Pastaworks on Mississippi is open for business. To celebrate we are having a grand opening party on Saturday March 21, from 11am to 6pm.

Come taste wines from Italy, France and Spain as well as newly released Oregon wines from J. Christopher! Nibble on cheeses from around the world! Taste sweet concoctions from Fran’s Chocolates and Ruby Jewel!

Pastaworks will also be giving away special gifts every hour during the party. Free pasta for a year! Baskets of extraordinary cheeses! Gift certificates! Simply come by the Mississippi store on Saturday, March 21 and enter your name for a chance to win.

Pastaworks Mississippi is open 7 days a week.
Monday through Saturday 9:30am to 7pm
Sundays 10am to 7pm