The new layout will allow me to do some micro-blogging on the right-hand sidebar in a section called Quick Hits, where I’ll touch on real estate news and interesting (hopefully) tidbits with some higher frequency. The main blog content will be devoted to the longer posts I typically write.

The property search application is next on the agenda, and, coming soon, a page devoted to Portland’s market statistics.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the new design.

Only 1,015 homes sold in the month. That is the fewest sold in any given month going back to February 1993. This isn’t just a seasonal pattern. By comparison, for the Novembers in 2005-2007, home sales averaged 2,173.

The median price will come in around $266,000, the lowest median price going back to March 2006. The average should end up around $309,000. These numbers are 12-13% off the peak pricing of July – August 2007.

I will explain next week why (and for whom) this is good news.

RMLS will publish final numbers late next week or around the 15th, so come back to hear about pending sales, active inventory, and more.

Photo by Liquid Paper, used under Creative Commons license.

Expected attendees: tech-centric real estate agents, mortgage and title professionals, some bubble bloggers and who knows?

Location is at Touche on NW 14th & Glisan (map and details)

Sign up here and let Joel Burslem know you’re coming.

[tags] Portland, real estate, blogger, meetup, meeting, blogs [/tags]

[tags] Portland, Oregon, real estate, sold, customers, homes, houses [/tags]

So, that’s good news, right?

In theory, consumers get more views of each home and hopefully, better image quality. But this new flexibility should come with a warning:

Should we use all 16 images to market each listing?

I say it depends on the house. Some homes just won’t benefit from having additional images, due to size, disrepair, or owner’s unwillingness to clean up or de-clutter. For my money, the mandatory photos should capture the front of the home, the family and/or living room, the kitchen (from a couple angles), dining area, the master bedroom, plus the rear of the house and backyard. Beyond that, it would depend on other material or visual features of interest.

When the photo limit was 8, I always augmented my listings with photo tours like this one. Now, even with 16 available images, I expect to continue this practice because it allows for unlimited photos with larger formats and some marketing flexibility for me.

Many homes have features and visual interest that can easily take advantage of the extra allowance. Sizeable master baths, media rooms, garden sheds, territorial views, a shot of the neighborhood, or nice guest quarters can all be shown in the picture set now.

But what we should strive to avoid are toilet-dominated bathroom shots, overflowing laundry areas, garages bulging with flea market goods, enormous bedroom sets in postage-stamp bedrooms, and pictures of the front-drive with the Gremlin on cinder blocks. You think I’m kidding, but even when there were just 8 pictures, we’d see this sort of thing frequently.

Below are a couple examples I’m talking about. They are real photos found in other MLS sites:

and

Thankfully, these weren’t found in the Portland MLS. Thanks to Athol Kay of reagentinct.com, for use of his Bad MLS Photos of the Day. There’s lots more where that came from.

I challenge my local broker-brethren to stay off his list! Remember, quality over quantity.

[tags] Portland, Oregon, homes, RMLS, MLS, pictures, photos [/tags]

Surely, it is easier than ever before to research properties without the aid of an agent–there is no lack of Internet sites devoted to home valuations, classifieds, real estate search, and limited MLS access. But, getting inside each home for hands-on due diligence is a chore if you plan on only visiting open houses or calling the listing agent for an appointment.

It isn’t just lower priced, first-time homes or investment properties. I have shown properties in the $275,000 to $700,000 range to ‘unrepresented’ buyers, apparently content to talk with the listing agent. Even today, I showed a listing to a couple relocating back to Portland, and with only a few days to find a home, were apparently calling each listing agent for an appointment. I wondered how productive their time could be, waiting for listing agents’ availability to provide a showing.

I can understand first-time buyers that might not yet understand the value of having an agent that can provide advice, market information and exclusive representation–and gain them access to any property in the multiple listing service.

But, why do seemingly sophisticated buyers choose to go independent? At some point, they will have to decide how to enter into an agreement, either:

1. with an agent brought in just to represent them during the sale agreement process;
2. with the listing agent, now operating as a dual agent and representing both parties; or
3. representing themselves solely, with the listing agent serving as a go-between in negotiation, but offering no counsel to the buyers.

So, I pose this question to readers….why not use an agent during your investigation period?

Some theories:

• Patent distrust of agents in general
• Buyers hope to negotiate a better deal on their own
• Listing agents know more about the property anyway
• Undue pressure from agents to buy a property quickly
• Buyers aren’t serious enough to ‘employ’ a buyers agent, but want to see properties anyway
• Do have have a buyer’s agent, but aren’t getting value from the relationship or don’t want to bother them, or are too embarrassed to admit it.

I’m just curious. Buyers, which is it for you? And other agents, what has been your experience?

[tags] real estate, buyers, agents, MLS, realtor, purchase, homes, houses [/tags]
Photo courtesy of giveawayboy, used under Creative Commons license.

Search “portland oregon real estate” and there it is: re:PDX, bottom of Page 1, Number 10.

“Big whoop,” you say. Well, I think so.

In the eighteen months since I started this site, my intent was to create a real estate commentary about Portland that would both provide a creative outlet for me and reflect my values of transparency and consultation. I was inspired by the thorough and prodigious efforts of another local agent, Susan Marthens, whose movingtoportland.net site was (and still is) the definitive resource for Portland-area real estate information.

My blog has generated press interviews and other promotional opportunities. And importantly for my family, it has generated business like the first-time homeowners/schoolteachers from the Bay Area, a retired couple from Sacramento, and most recently, a pediatrician and social worker relocating from remote NE Arizona, who are among the countless delightful relationships developed from the notes and calls I’ve responded to.

I haven’t paid for any online advertising, I haven’t hired a search engine consultant, or engaged in any real link-baiting or contentious arguments that tend to drive traffic. So, getting to Google Page One results by sharing real estate news, thoughts, market activity, and occasionally some humor, is gratifying. Especially when you’re ranked ahead of large agencies that spend huge amounts on their online presence.

Granted, I have some work to do. Try “portland home search” or “portland real estate agent” and the results slip a bit. And it also inspires me to improve my content quality and increase my writing frequency.

So, thank you, my frequent readers, linkers, and traffic contributors (you know who you are) for doing whatever it is that Google believes is important when it comes to providing useful search results.

Enough bragging. Other real estate bloggers drive more traffic and are far more interesting. But today, I feel validated, just like Navin Johnson.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The HBA and the Oregonian also sponsor the summertime Street of Dreams, but this tour sprawls across the metro area instead of just one development site.

Scheduled for April 20-22 and April 27-29, the home tour includes open houses for 77 condos, townhomes, and custom homes built by the area’s leading local builders including Beacon Homes, Buena Vista, Arbor, Legend, Renaissance, JC Reeves, Morrissette, Taurus, and Wilshire. A couple national production builders, Centex and D.R. Horton are also featured.

Frankly, I think it is a better opportunity to see some of the smaller custom builders (like Intex and J.T. Roth), since the larger companies have open models every weekend at their sales sites.

The tour predominantly features the west side (Beaverton, Tualatin, Tigard, Hillsboro, Sherwood), but there are some east side sites in Happy Valley, Clackamas, and Beavercreek.

You can get more information at the tour’s website, or grab a guidebook from local Fred Meyer locations. The website has a link to an interactive map, but alas, it takes you to the virtually unusable OregonLive site to plot your tour stops. The tour planner is a little clunky, but it does provide stop-by-stop directions.

By the way, the price is right….it’s FREE.

[tags] Portland, Oregon, homes, houses, new, homebuilders, open house, tour, Oregonian, association [/tags]

Group predicts median home prices will drop — MSNBC
Decline this year will be first since values began being tracked in late ’60s
(Will it happen in Portland? We’ll see . . . )

Portland’s Leading Alternative Paper Puts Out Its Cheeky Real Estate Viewpoint – Willamette Week

HABITAT: The Plunge
Buy a house? Here’s why you should stop worrying and become your own landlord.

HABITAT: I’m Buying a What?
A field guide to Portland’s vintage architecture.

HABITAT: Armed & Dangerous
Once you have your piece of the rock, you’ll want to get to work on it.

HABITAT: Sweat Equity?
Fixing up your broken home can pay off—sort of.

HABITAT: The Final Frontier
Three local living spaces that redefine “home.”

HABITAT: What the Hell Does $250K Buy, Anyway?
Maybe more than you’d think.

HABITAT: Cracking the Code
What real-estate ads really mean.

HABITAT: Guns for Hire
How to find a kick-ass Realtor.

HABITAT: Way of the Ninja
Secret tactics for stealthy househunters

HABITAT: Become Donald Trump in One Day!
Or, just know what your real-estate agent is talking about.

And just for fun…..
Real Estate Roller Coaster – A depiction of housing prices from 1890 to the present, as charted on a roller coaster ride. (A little long, but is interesting to see what awaits us around the next bend after such a long run-up.)

[tags] Portland, Oregon, real estate, news, media, reporting [/tags]

Or maybe its about pride in being on one of those lists. It sorta reminds me of high school when everyone grouped around the bulletin board to see if they made the cheerleading or football squad.

Nevertheless, lists are fun and in past posts, I’ve touched on home price appreciation, inbound migration, PDX as a leading travel destination, and our dog-friendliness. To get caught up, here are the recent lists in which Portlandia racks up additional plaudits for livability and other factors.

• #4 Best City in America to have a Baby — Fit Pregnancy
• #2 City to eat smart, be fit, and live well — Cooking Light (Seattle takes the top spot)
• #6 Most Energetic City (Best Active Lifestyle) — Sperling’s Best Places
• #1 Sustainability Ranking — SustainLane.org. Here’s a link to the city study.
• #10 Most Literate City — AMLC and Connecticut State University.
• #9 Most Fit City — Men’s Fitness

Alas, all is not good news.

• #3 Highest Price Gasoline in U.S. — The Portland Business Journal

[tags] Top, 10, lists, livability, health, lifestyle, Portland, Oregon, gasoline prices [/tags]