News Headlines for Portland, Oregon : 2012 Quarter 3
9/29/2012
Portland's Home Prices Rise in July
Portland area prices rose 3% compared to 2011. This is the 3rd consecutive month of gains in the Metro area. Prices are now 8.6% higher than their lowest point on average back in March of 2005, but still 25% lower than their high. This means that the market is less volatile. According to RMLS, the median home sale price was $241,000 in August which is 7% higher when compared to August 2011.
The topic was brought up because many new apartment buildings being built have no parking spaces. These types of building can really suit a lifestyle and age group well. See the news headline below called Portland's Plan for Baby Boomers and you'll get an good indicator of just what I mean. Of the 40 apartment building filed last year 25 of them did not have any parking. Opponents say that the side streets will be jammed packed with cars, but planners and developers say that no parking will provide more frequent mass transit and makes neighborhoods walkable.
Portland is well known for integrating biking, walking and skateboarding with public transportation but the Portland Plan is a 164 page document that outlines how Portland should grow by looking ahead 25 years. The Portlanders who are aging and ready to retire in the next decade can feel good knowing that Portland State University's Institute on Aging and the World Health Organization's Age Friendly Cities project will help to understand how environments can support active and healthy aging.
According to Case-Shiller Home Price Indices the report in June 2012 showed that home prices have increased across the country. They have both a 10 city and 20 city index and both of these were positive. Home prices are significant because it has a direct effect on consumer spending and jobs. High debt in a household will keep spending down as these people are focusing on repairing their finances. If home prices are stable or rising it will help people to keep from being upside down on their home mortgages which means less bank owned, less inventory and more economic growth.
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) created the LEED rating system in 2000. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. One could have a LEED certified building or an entire subdivision of LEED certified homes. LEED certification is attained through an independent third party. The LEED rating system is on-going and will continue to lead to the improvement of building practices for years to come. The four different levels of certification are Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
New Real Estate Words in the Merriam Webster Dictionary
Merriam-Webster released some of the new words that were added to their dictionary. I'm embarrassed to repeat a few of them but the real estate related words include "underwater" and "man cave". The new words are in "quotes ".
I'd like to share with you instances on how these words might be used in relation to real estate.
John was hesitant in purchasing his new Street of Dreams home because he was so afraid he was going to be "underwater" before he could enjoy it but the size of the "man cave" in that home was a complete "game changer" for John and he decided to buck up and move in; now whenever he's "gassed" he simply goes to "man cave" grabs an "energy drink" and ads to his current "bucket list". His first "aha moment" came to John in the middle of an "earworm" "mash up".
New South Waterfront Building Under Construction Going To Be An OHSU/OSU Building
The Portland Design Commission approves of the Collarborative Life Science Building and construction is currently under way and is expected to open as early as August 2013 for the Portland State University (PSU) fall term and spring term of 2014 for the academic programs at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU) and Oregon State University (OSU). The building is planning to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Once completed the building will host the new OHSU school of Denistry, space for lectures and labs for PSU, education space for OHSU students who study nursing, physician assistants and radiation technologists, a college of pharmacy, a simulation center and many more specialized fields. The ground floor of the building will be retail space for lease.
The 2012 Street of Dreams takes place in a subdivision called The Vineyard in West Linn, Oregon. The new home showcase runs from July 28th - August 26th. There are a total of 7 new homes, one of which is already sold, that range in price from 1-1.5 million dollars. Each home is on a 10,000-15,000 square foot lot with 4000-5000 square feet of living space, and at least 3 bedrooms and 3 garages. The 7 builders are: Delahunt Homes, Inc., Pahlisch Homes, Inc., Stone Bridge Homes NW, Hutchinson Home Builders, J.T. Smith Companies, BC Custom Homes and Bernard Custom Construction. Adults are $15.00 to get in and kids under 10 are free.
Portland, Oregon is Becoming a Hot Bed for National Retailers
Big retailers are back and excited about Portland. As reported on KGW, Barnes & Noble is setting up shop at Bridgeport Village in a space Borders used to be while focusing more on technology. At Washington Square House of Hoops and Tesla the electric car dealership are in the works, at Pioneer Mall, Ross Dress for Less is moving into another space, and TJ Maxx will launch it's first location in a downtown area. H&M is adding another location at the Lloyd Center and the Yard House Brew Pub will be taking Saks Fifth Avenue's location at Pioneer Place.
What does all this mean? It's yet another indication that Portland's economy has turned and is further stabilizing. Big retailers considered Portland a sub par market just a few years back and now many of the companies are considering Portland again as an ideal location for their business.
North Portland Residential Real Estate Appreciates 17.6% or $43,700 In One Year
North Portland, Oregon homes appreciate 17.6% from June 2011 to June 2012. This is an enormous jump in price appreciation from one year to the next. As would expect with these kind of numbers they also lead the Portland Metropolitan area with the lowest cumulative time on market at 84 days. There is an 11.7% positive change as it relates to the Average Sales Price Percent Change from one year to the next. The Average Sales Price Percent Change is a conservative indicator as to broad market trend. It takes the average sales price over the previous 12 months (7/1/2011-6/30/2012) and compares it to the average sales price over the previous 12 months before that (7/1/2010-6/30/2011). The high demand, low supply and 3.5% 30 year fixed mortgages has caused a bit of a frenzy in North Portland at the moment.
Reverse mortgages were for seniors who wanted to use their homes equity to live off of paying them a monthly amount to cover their regular expenses using an adjustable rate loan. Nowadays the report states 70 percent of reverse mortgage loans are lump sum payment and fixed rate loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is wanting more regulation because they do not feel seniors can handle the loans with foreclosures and missed payments increasing on these loans.
