Free Home Ownership Preservation Counseling Event
Having trouble keeping your home? Get some help.
An re:PDX reader sends me a notice for an upcoming FREE event at the Rose Quarter that could help folks keep their homes:
Home Ownership Preservation Event
Saturday, May 2, 2009; 10am-7pm
Memorial Coliseum (300 Winning Way Portland OR 97227)
Get answers from government agencies, non-profit counselors, and lenders about:
- Refinancing your loan
- Modifying your loan
- New government housing programs
- Avoiding foreclosure scams
You can register and ask for a one-on-one session to talk with a counselor. You’ll need to bring a photo ID and copies of the following:
- 2008 W-2’s and tax returns
- Most recent 30 days paystubs and information of ALL sources of income including but not limited to rental, SSI, Disability, unemployment
- Two most recent bank statements from all checking/savings accounts
- Two months most recent mortgage statements
- Copies of your Deed of Trust and Note
- Current balances on ALL credit cards and other debts, child support, student loans , Equity loans. You can use as a reference the list available at: www.homesafepmi.com/bif/
- A copy of your credit records from the three credit bureaus. They may be obtained from www.annualcreditreport.com
It’s a FREE event. If you’re struggling with keeping your home, please take advantage. More details here.
Sponsored by:Mortgage Lending Education Board/OAMP, Bureau of Housing and Community Development, Oregon Department of Justice, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Portland Development Commission, NeighborWorks America, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Portland Real Estate Market Results – March 2009
Portland’s real estate market picked up a little momentum, as evidenced by the March 2009 results for home listings and sales. But the activity, while improving with respect to closed and pending sales, is far from normal.
Just 1,184 homes closed escrow in March–roughly half of Portland’s normal volume for March. Pending sales, most of which will close in the next couple months, are trending up, but again, at far from normal volumes.
Home prices are down 16.3% and 18.4% (average and median, respectively) from their peak in August of 2007. Values are now approximately where they were in late 2005. The median price for homes bought in March was $246,400–a year ago, it was $286,500.
The modest increase in sales and a slower-than-normal pace of adding new homes to the market has reduced the available inventory to 12 months (vs. 19 back in January). The month ended with fewer homes on the market in March than it did in February, an interesting statistic.
Market Summary
| March 2009 | February 2009 | March 2008 | |
| Median Sale Price | $246,400 | $259,000 | $286,500 |
| Average Sale Price | $297,400 | $298,500 | $336,700 |
| Closed Sales | 1,184 | 857 | 1,691 |
| Pending Sales | 1,637 | 1,276 | 1,938 |
| New Listings | 3,685 | 3,471 | 5,515 |
| Active Listings | 14,158 | 14,188 | 15,412 |
| Total Market Time * | 156 days | 153 days | n/a |
| Inventory (in months) | 12.0 | 16.6 | 9.1 |
Market Report by Area
| Area | YTD Avg. Sale Price | YTD Median Sale Price | 12-Mo. Appreciation | Total Mkt Time* |
| Lake Oswego / West Linn | $491,500 | $390,000 | -7.9% | 141 |
| West Portland & Downtown | $462,700 | $346,000 | -1.7% | 179 |
| NW Washington County | $383,000 | $368,800 | -4.1% | 163 |
| Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville | $322,300 | $315,000 | -6.9% | 226 |
| Northeast Portland | $296,000 | $260,000 | -2.0% | 130 |
| Milwaukie / Clackamas | $292,500 | $259,000 | -7.3% | 137 |
| Oregon City / Canby | $287,000 | $250,000 | -5.5% | 171 |
| Beaverton / Aloha | $255,000 | $236,100 | -5.0% | 145 |
| Yamhill County | $249,000 | $220,000 | -7.4% | 160 |
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove | $246,700 | $227,500 | -8.2% | 162 |
| Southeast Portland | $239,000 | $210,000 | -5.1% | 149 |
| North Portland | $232,000 | $229,600 | -2.0% | 114 |
| Gresham / Troutdale | $225,000 | $213,000 | -8.0% | 144 |
| Columbia County | $171,000 | $168,500 | -9.1% | 178 |
Data courtesy of RMLS, April 2009.
It’s Enough To Make Your Head Spin
Poor guy. I get woozy too, every time I hear more details about the causes of our economic swoon.

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