To stay on the cutting edge of Portland’s urban farming scene, you’ll need to trade in your chicken coop for pygmy goats, according to the latest Willamette Week.

Here are 14 people (including one of my current clients, very cool) and trends to follow in 2010.

(Photo courtesy of Monterey Bay Equestrian Center.)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For a little more on how Portland compares to other U.S. cities for precipitation, read here.

My small post about the auction scheduled for September 21 for the South Waterfront’s Atwater condo project attracted a fair amount of traffic, so I thought I would update it. I visited the property a few weeks ago for some first-hand assessment. Buyer traffic through the units was brisk. I don’t know if that translates to big participation at the auction or not.

Forty units of various size are slated for the auction. If all 40 were to sell, then the building would basically only be 1/2 sold out. Perhaps the marketing company will put together another auction if this auction is successful.

So, a little Q and A:

How does someone participate in the auction?
You must register and get pre-qualified to participate in Sunday’s auction by 7 pm on Friday, September 18. You can visit the condos between 11 am and 7 pm each day through Friday. If you want your own agent representative to guide you through the process, they must accompany you at the first visit to the property and register themselves.

What are the general contract terms?

The sales contract does not offer much in the way of protections for buyers. You cannot use a property inspection as a contingency for purchase. You cannot use a typical financing contingency. In other words, you will likely lose your earnest money deposit if you fail to close the transaction.

All the purchase paperwork and disclosures are available in advance from the marketing company (registration required), so you won’t be surprised at the signing table. You must close your purchase on or before October 19, 2009. They are offering a $2,500 incentive to close the transaction before October 5.

What is the auction format?
It is a live auction. Open bid amounts start at about 1/2 of the original list price, with increments controlled by the auctioneer. There is no published, pre-determined order to how the units that will be auctioned. You should likely have a back-up unit in mind in case your first choice is gone. If you like to see how the auction will be operated, you can go to a ‘mock auction’ at 6 pm on Saturday at the Marriott.

You must bring a cash equivalent (check or money order) for $2,500 to the auction. If you have a winning bid, you will immediately go to a separate room to sign an official contract and deposit 3% of the sale price with Ticor Title as earnest money.

How much are the HOA fees?
The homeowner association fees are equivalent to $0.303 per square foot, or $484.49 per month on a 1,594 sq. ft. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit for example. The HOA fees cover water, sewer, and garbage for utilities, plus management, maintenance of all common areas, insurance, etc.

Is financing available?
If you need a mortgage, you must be pre-qualified through the Atwater’s two preferred lenders, Bank of America or MetLife. These lenders are offering $1,500 credit toward your closing costs. You’ll have 5 days to complete the loan application process after your winning bid. You can arrange your own financing, but I doubt outside conventional lenders will loan on this project. If you’re paying cash you must show proof of funds.

What about the property?
The units are very nice, comparable to the Meriwether and much of what is in the Pearl District–appointed with granite counters, nice appliances, etc. The high-end units (what I saw anyway) were fine, but I felt the Meriwether had better views (at least in the East building). There’s very little in the way common area space (i.e. no workout room), but there is a mid-sized community room in the foyer. Some extra storage in the basement may also be available for an extra fee.

What is the parking situation?
Each unit has a deeded, secure parking spot. Two bedroom units get 2 spots.

KOIN recently did a piece on the auction:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Photo courtesy of Excell Marketing Group.

Metro’s vision of how the Portland area will accommodate a million more people during the next 20 years emerged Tuesday: Pack them in.

How? Through redevelopment of old buildings and once-polluted industrial sites. By infill and increased density within existing city centers. By building up, not out. With a tight hold on the urban growth boundary and less reliance on cars. With smarter spending on the pipes, streets, wires and other public facilities that make life go.

That’s the viewpoint of the Metro’s chief operating officer, according to this article in the Oregonian.

Portland is famous nationally for it’s stand on limiting sprawl through the use of an Urban Growth Boundary. Metro reports that although 20,000 acres have been added to the UGB in recent years, that 95% of housing has been built inside the original UGB defined in 1979.

If the region makes wise land-use, infrastructure and transportation choices, the current UGB holds enough land to handle nearly all of the population and job growth projected by 2030, according to Metro’s projections, he concluded.

Not everyone agrees. What do you think?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Planning an exploratory visit to Portland? Then check out TravelPortland.com for events and things to do, places to see, etc.

Note: I am totally ripping this post off local author, Donald Miller, but his blog put me onto this video.

Willamette Week shares these stories of Room 120 at the Multnomah County Courthouse, where tenants and landlords do battle.

I’m not being a Realtor shill for sharing this. Owning isn’t for everyone or every season, but it does provide you with more stability and control over your home life.

Photo courtesy of sashafatcat, used under Creative Commons license.

Portland has attracted college-educated, single people between the ages of 25 and 39 at a higher rate than most other cities in the country. Between 1995 and 2000, the city added 268 people in that demographic group for every 1,000 of the same group living there in 1995, according to the Census Bureau. Only four other metropolitan areas had a higher ratio.

Small problem. No jobs.

Some new arrivals are burning through their savings as they hunt for jobs that no longer exist. Some are returning home. Others are settling for low-paying jobs they are overqualified for.

Full article here.

Portland Monthly magazine’s annual real estate issue is out, offering tips on buying, renting, selling, remodeling, refinancing — in short, a treatise on how to adapt to a fundamentally volatile housing market.

I’ve highlighted this issue each year on re:PDX, and it continues to generate interest long after the magazine is off the newsstand, particularly with those interested in moving to the state.

Portland Monthly’s coverage also includes Neighborhoods by the Numbers, a breakdown of 95 urban neighborhoods and 25 suburban areas. You’ll find stats on real estate market dynamics, crime, schools, population, and other demographics.

On a personal note, the real estate market data this year was provided by the agency I’m affiliated with, MRealty.

Feature Article: Buy, Sell Rent, Keep?

Comparison Article: Neighborhoods by the Numbers

Get your copy today at local newsstands, or visit online. If you are interested in past issues, I have them on-hand. Just drop me a note.

From the Portland Business Journal:

In 50 years, the population in the Portland area will likely be between 3.61 and 4.38 million people. As of the 2000 Census, the region’s population was about 1.93 million.

The Metro Council on Thursday released updated forecasts that estimate a range of possible population and employment growth for the seven-county metropolitan region by the years 2030 and 2060. Metro’s projections indicate slower rates of growth in the short term due to current economic conditions with sustained population and employment growth over the long term.

In May 2008, Metro projected a 90-percent likelihood that the population of the region would be between 3.46 and 4.25 million in 2060. That forecast also projected the total employment of the region to be between 1.7 and 3.3 million in 2060.

So, the real estate ramifications are clear, but where are all these people going to work?

Today’s forecasts also indicate a 90 percent chance that the total number of jobs in the region will be between 1.25 and 1.7 million in 2030, and a 90 percent chance that there will be between 1.65 and 2.42 million jobs in 2060.

Here’s the link to Metro’s report.