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| Mortgages
Mortgage interest rates are at an all time low! They are (really and actually) changing daily. Start getting educated now so you can make a good decision when the time is right.
I work very closely with a number of highly reputable mortgage brokers in the Oregon and Washington markets. Get a quote from anywhere that tickles your interest. This is called a "Good Faith Estimate". All mortgage brokers and bankers are required by Federal law to print and have you sign a copy. Let me review it for you to see if it is in the ball park. I will give you names of brokers that can review it and probably get you something better.
Note: Most buyers who decide to investigate homeownership don't have the mysterious 20% down. Not everyone has 20% down! (In fact, if you have 20% down it may bepossible to buy more than one property!
Some loan programs don't even "credit score". Want to know more? Please contact me for a personal evaluation. Brokers do compete for your business and we'll show you how.
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Current Market Conditions (and Opinions) in the Portland Area
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Be sure and check back each month for the latest statistics. Current as soon as as they are posted by the RMLS.
Residential Highlights
From RMLS (our local MLS) for the year ending 2007, the average home appreciated for the year at 8.3%. February 07 to February 08 the average appreciation is up 5.8%. What is my take on this phenomenum? It is a prime time for move up buyers. This would be someone who has owned a home for a number of years and for whatever reason would like a different house.
There a 2 X's as many listings on the market this summer than there were in the summer of 06 which was HOT HOT HOT!
Portland had its second highest total volume in real estate sales in 2006 with $10.4 billion .
For the 2007 sales year, Portland had it's third highest sales volume, even with the market slowdown and the media hype.
RMLS INVENTORY
You may read in the paper about the amount of inventory on the market and wondered what does it mean. If you see in print that there are, as in our present market, 10.4 months of inventory, that means that next month 1 out of 10 1/2 houses on the market will sell! There are currently over 14,000 active listings on the market in Portland Metro which includes all areas and prices. There is no exact price that has house should be, especially older homes in desirable close-in areas that have been restored or remodeled. A typical Portland house would sell in this market for $325,000 to $350,000. This house would have at least 3 bedrooms, at least 1.1 bathrooms and typically be 1800+ square feet. It would be beautifully remodeled usually with emphasis onthe kitchen and bathrooms with the most up to date surfaces (granite or marble) newly refinished hard or softwoods, and new appliances in the kitchen. The home would have a newer roof and the outside would have been painted recently. What if the home doesn't have all of these amenities? Any home will sell if it is marketed well and priced inthe correct possition for the market.
What Does This Mean for ME?
The previous few years have been a little crazy with multiple offers on properties that have been on the market a few hours. Real estate agents started using "Escalator Clauses" and submitting them with the sales offer. A typical escalator clause would read something like: "Buyer offers $1,000 more that the highest offer received". A monetary cap would be stated, for instance, on a listed price of $300,000 the cap could be set at a price comfortable to the buyer(s) such as "Not to Exceed $335,000".
Sellers got spoiled hearing about some properties getting bid upwards with the downturn of the market in July of 06. We are actually in a really great, and in my mind, perfect market. Will prices go down? In my opinion, not in Portland Metro. During the past frantic activity of 05-06, it was actually difficult for agents and clients to find property after acceptable property and make bid after bid.
Great properties are on the market and the competition isn't as fierce. Buyers can actually look at 10 homes and select the best one that fits their needs, rather than bidding on the brand new listing, hoping and hoping that they would get "this one". The interest rates are still very good, barely up over what they were a few months ago.
What about sellers? Sellers need to be more realistic and price the property similarly to comparable properties in their neighborhood. Homes need to be ready to go condition and staged to show off the best attributes. When a home is priced fairly and is clean and presentable, the home will sell right away. Overpriced homes just make fairly priced homes sell better. According to National Association of Realtors, the average buyer spends at least 6 weeks looking at listings on the Internet before they actually start looking. That means that buyers are better educated and have a better feel for the market when they actually go out looking for homes.
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In the last 9 years that I have been a Real Estate Broker, homes have appreciated EVERY year. It used to be that homes in Portland Metro would appreciate 6-7%. In the 2006 year, the final stats come in at 14.9%. When you hear on the media that real estate is down and the market is down, ask yourself if you could be satisfied to only realize a 6-8% appreciation. AND, you can live in your home and deduct the mortgage interest on your tax returns. What a great country we live in!!!
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