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November Market Update

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It’s time for the November market update and 2020 continues to surprise us with the stats. Largely due to the lack of sales we experienced in the early spring, our market is still stronger than ever. In short, homes are selling quickly, inventory is at it’s lowest in history, and prices are rising every month. Here is a snapshot of the numbers from the past month and if you want a more detailed description, read on below!

November Portland Market Update

The most important things to mention is that this month we saw the inventory drop from 1.1 months to 1 month, which is the lowest it has been in the entire history of the RMLS. This is caused by the decrease in new listings from 3,500 in October down to 2,238 in November. Historically less people list their homes with the holidays coming up, but with the number of buyers currently in the market, the lack of listings is really driving demand and with it, increasing prices.

Secondly, the average sales price has risen 12.7% since November of last year. With December being as busy as it has been I’m sure we will see an increase through the end of the year. This is great news if you are a seller. We didn’t expect to continue seeing appreciation with double digits this year, but there it is. Because of the tight inventory, we do expect 2021 to look much the same as this past year. If you aren’t quite ready to sell, you likely have a bit of time to still get in on this hot market.

The most surprising statistic is that the number of days a listing is on the market actually increased this month. Our best guess is that many sellers are seeing what homes are selling for and listing too high. When a home is priced too high, it forces price reductions and longer days on market. But as always, a well-priced home is selling in a matter of days, usually with stiff competition.

If you have questions about how this affects you as a buyer or a seller, please reach out to us! We are happy to make a personalized plan for you. You can also see what your home is worth by clicking HERE

Happy Holidays!

Ecliptic Brewing

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This week we are featuring one of our favorite breweries and restaurants. With space themed decor and beer Ecliptic Brewing is just a fun place to visit for the whole family. They are currently only offering patio dining, but they have converted the entire parking lot into space for tables so there is plenty of space (pun intended).

Ecliptic also offers a wide variety of beverages, there is a full bar and some local wines to choose from. The real star, though, is of course, the beer. John Harris has been an important NW brewer since his early days at McMenamins. He then moved to Deschutes and Full Sail before finally opening his own brewery.

He doesn’t play it safe with his beer either, depending on the time of year that you visit, you can get almost every style of beer available. I love a fruity sour, there were multiple choices on the menu so I tried the the Carina Peach Sour. With the hot weather we also wanted to try a crisp and refreshing beer so we opted for the Ecliptic-Ruse Collab Pilsner. Both beers were refreshing, delicious, and exactly what we were expecting of the style.

Ecliptic Beers

Ecliptic has by far the best food menu of all the breweries. They focus on fresh and seasonal ingredients and switch up the menu often. This summer they are offering little gem salad, street corn and seared albacore tuna. You can also order one of their many burgers or sandwiches. They always have a great burger, but they are currently also offering a beet melt with goat cheese and granny smith apples and a salmon burger with avocado and jalapeño aioli. Head over to the website to see the full menu.

If you aren’t quite ready to head out to a restaurant you can order the food to go or have some beer delivered! You can order your beer HERE. Have you tried the beer/food yet? What did you enjoy most?

Want to check out our other hotspots? You can find those HERE

What can I buy in Portland?

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We had an absolute blast filming our latest series, ‘What Can I Buy?’! We decided it would be fun to take you around Portland and show you different styles of homes at different price points to get you an idea of what you can buy in this great city! While the homes here aren’t as inexpensive as say, Ohio, we are still the most affordable metropolitan area on the West Coast!

The first season of our new series is 6 episodes and we visited each of the 6 quadrants of Portland. We know 6 isn’t called a quadrant, but Portland likes to keep things weird, so let’s just go with it. You can click on any of the photos below to be taken to the page with our series video and full details on the home!

series episode 1
The Royal, SW Portland
Chown Pella, NW Portland
series episode 3
Alberta Arts, NE Portland
The Strand
The Strand, S Portland
series episode 5
Hawthorne, SE Portland
Arbor Lodge, N Portland

Jessica’s favorite property that we toured was the New York style condo in the Chown Pella building. She loved the exposed brick, open floor plan, Pearl District living, and private roof top deck! For under 1 million, that condo is truly a great deal!

Tekela’s favorite was the Royal, the stunning contemporary home in SW Portland. She loved the floor-to-ceiling pocket windows, the gorgeous open kitchen, and the location that felt like living in the treetops! At 2.25 million, it’s a bit aspirational, but a girl can dream!

We hope that you enjoyed going on this tour with us! If you want to stay up to date on everything we are doing, follow us on social media, subscribe to our Youtube channel, and/or sign up for our newsletter!

The Open House

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Today we are taking you behind the scenes of everything we do to prep for an open house! We made this great video for you to enjoy! If you prefer to read about it, we have that included below for you!

The first and most important thing that we do to prepare for an open house is to research the current trends in the neighborhood. We are constantly watching overall trends, but we want to be able to answer neighborhood specific questions to prospective buyers as well. We pull together a list of comparable properties, every other open house in the neighborhood, and our buyer book and head off to the house.

The Big Set Up

All of our open houses are marketed on multiple websites and through facebook ads, but you never know who might be driving by, so we also place many signs around the neighborhood to make it easy to find us.

Once we are at the house we want everyone to feel like they are already home. We have both sweet and savory snacks available, white or rose wine, sparkling water, and plenty of napkins. We also want to turn all the lights on so the home shows the best it can no matter the weather. This also gives a chance to get even more familiar with the property. We look for the furnace, water heater, and any quirks that people may have questions about.

Open houses are one of the most fun things you can do as a realtor. You get to meet quite a few people and usually spend a couple hours inside a gorgeous house. If you are starting to think about getting into the market, we are happy to send you weekly open house lists. Just fill out the form below! You can also search for homes by clicking HERE

The Listing

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Today we are taking you behind the scenes of everything we do to prep and win a listing appointment! We made this great video for you to enjoy! If you prefer to read about it, we have that included below for you!

The first and most important thing that we do to prepare for an upcoming listing appointment is to research the current trends in the neighborhood. We are constantly watching overall trends, but pricing a home and creating a personalized market plan requires specific data about which homes have just sold, how long they were on the market, and many other factors. We pull together all the market data, put together a personalized marketing guide, print the contract and head over to the potential new listing!

The Interview

A listing appointment is when we are truly being interviewed. We put our best foot forward and show everything that we have to offer. Typically we are going to be competing against 2 or 3 other agents so it is critical that we set ourselves apart. One big thing we do is send our ‘7 tips for Selling your Home’ booklet to the potential client before we even meet them. You can download it HERE if you want to check it out.

Some other big differences you can expect to get from us are the scope of our marketing knowledge and the brand power we bring. We are well-versed in running social media ads so we can guarantee the listing will get many more views than any neighbor’s listing. We also have the power of the Sotheby’s brand behind us. That gives us access to all of their marketing partners. We get to see our listings on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Mansion Global and many, many more websites around the world. The home is also marketed directly to our global Sotheby’s network. It may just be the perfect fit for an investor or someone relocating here to Portland.

Marketing

In the video above, our listing proposal stood out and we won the listing over at least one other agent. It always feels good to win, but now that we have the contract signed, it is truly time to get to work. Here is quick list of everything we have to coordinate in the week before the listing goes on the market.

Professional photos are the most important step at this stage. NEVER hire an agent that tells you they can take the photos on their phone. They won’t look good and you only get 1 chance to make a first impression. We also do a stunning walkthrough video, 3D tour, and drone pictures. Your home will be the best looking one on the block when we are finished.

The home in our video went pending for full price after only 4 days on the market. If you need some guidance about what to do to sell your home, we would love to come and interview with you! If you want a quick snapshot of your home’s value, you can find that HERE. Or if you prefer to check in on your neighbors homes, you can search for everything on the market HERE. You can also fill out the form below and we will be in touch soon!

Why you don’t want the nicest home in the neighborhood

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Today, we’re talking all about buying the right house at the right price point in
the neighborhood that you love. 

https://youtu.be/-oNRttpv9-s

We all love looking at houses, that’s why we are all so hooked on HGTV.  My personal favorite show is Million Dollar Listing, I love looking at those LA modern mansions, they are basically what dreams are made of. 

If you’re anything like most of my buyers, you’ve likely had your eye on your ideal neighborhood for some time now. Maybe you’ve taken drives through it or walked down its streets. Maybe you’ve even toured a few open houses and are still waiting on your dream home…
But sometimes that dream house might not be the best investment. I’ll explain why.

Here’s the thing about houses…although they are places where we make our nests, they are also massive investments. Often the biggest investment you’ll ever make. So despite the warm fuzzies that come with the idea of THE HOME, you still want to look at it as an investment, which means resale value should always stay top of mind. So it’s important to consider the following: 

#1 Buyers Want Mid-Range Homes 

A lot of people want that big expensive house, but they know the mortgage that comes with it. So many people compromise with a lower-priced home in their ideal neighborhood. This means that there are more buyers looking for mid-range homes. And when demand goes up, so do the price. This is why mid-range homes often command a higher price per square foot than bigger homes in the same neighborhood. 

#2 Your Home Value is Determined By The Homes Around You 

If you have the least expensive home in the neighborhood, the other homes will actually drive your home value up. But the opposite is also true. If you have the most expensive house, the other homes will drive your home value down. This is another reason why mid-range homes tend to have a higher price per square foot than the fancier homes down the street. 

#3 Your Home Will Be Harder to Sell In Tough Times 

 If the market shifts, and it does about every 7 years, you may be stuck at the top of the market in your area. When times are tough, buyers will opt for a less expensive home in hopes of getting a better deal. 

This is where having a good agent is incredibly important.  it’s imperative that they understand the importance of resale value. and help you to understand resale while we are looking at homes.  We won’t run around pointing out the negatives of a home, but we will help you to understand the potential quirks of the home you just fell in love with. 

If you’re thinking of buying a home, I can show you what characteristics to look for, in order to help you get the maximum resale value if you sell down the road. You can start your search HERE
If you’re thinking of selling, I can help you determine the current value of your home by giving you a complimentary market analysis. You can get an instant one HERE

March 2020 Portland Market Stats

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The statistics for March of 2020 are available, and as we look back, this gives us the best look at how the beginning of the pandemic affected our local market. Kate Brown issued stay at home orders on March 24th, so the housing market had not yet been affected by the pandemic. The quick and dirty breakdown of the numbers indicates that everyone was gearing up for the busy season. We saw a huge push of new listings, newly pending homes, and new closings. We also saw the average home price jump up and the days on market drop down. Keep on reading if you want a more in-depth look!

Portland Metro

Looking at the numbers for Portland, you can see that we were heading into a very strong market. March is always the beginning of our busy season. Many people believe June is the best month to sell a home, but here in Portland, it tends to be March or April. We saw a 25% jump in new listings in March compared to February and a 24% jump in closed sales. That shows that even though we are finally starting to get more inventory, there are plenty of buyers out there.

So far for 2020 we are at a 4.1% appreciation. This is a healthy and normal amount of appreciation. So while you may not be making a ton of money year over year, real estate remains one of the safest investments you can make. Also, a quick note about the market as I am writing this, we are in the heat of our lockdown, and while we did see real estate slow for the first 2 weeks, things seem to be picking up right where they left off. We have seen many new listings come onto the market, and everything close-in at a mid-range price is still selling quite quickly and often with multiple offers. If you are waiting for the market to tank before you jump in to buy, it isn’t going to happen.

Selling

If you are considering selling your home, now is an excellent time to get into the market. People are out looking for homes right now and I fully anticipate that when the stay at home order is lifted, we will see a huge push of new listings. More listings means more competition and less buyers for your home. We don’t have a crystal ball but the way things feel right now, it doesn’t seem like we are going to be as hurt by this as the media is tending to portray. Timing is always a personal choice, but if you are ready to move and thinking of selling, let’s come up with a game plan to ensure that you net as much money as possible. If you want an individual valuation, reach out to us and we can discuss details. You can also get an instant home value by clicking here.

Buying

If you are thinking about buying, these numbers may seem a bit intimidating to you, but know there will be many more homes coming on the market very soon. With interest rates being historically low, even if you do end up competing on a home, chances are you are still getting a great deal. You also never know when the perfect home is going to come on the market, so if you are thinking of looking, it doesn’t hurt to start now to see what is out there. You can search all the homes in the area HERE.

East Portland

Everything on the Eastside performed well last month. Days on market are down by more than a week, which means things are selling really quickly. 51 days seems like quite awhile, but if we remove the outliers, this number is much closer to 9 days. North Portland saw a huge jump in average sales price for March and is almost equal to that of Southeast Portland. With the Vancouver/Williams corridor becoming so popular, and all the new construction going up, prices have been jumping very quickly in North Portland. There are still affordable pockets, you just need to know where to look.

West Portland

Unlike last month, we saw the average sales price climb back up for West Portland. This number is back to where we were at the beginning of the year. We also saw the days on market climb a bit. It is only 1 day longer than last month, so this number is pretty arbitrary. As previously mentioned, the Westside has the majority of the luxury listings and condos, both of which simply take longer to sell. Numbers are staying pretty consistent on this side of the river, so you should be able to plan out into the future if you aren’t ready to make a move yet.

We hope this helps to breakdown the March market in the Portland area. If you have any specific questions about your neighborhood please send us a message! You can fill out the form below or reach out to us on Facebook. We are always happy to discuss how this specifically affects you and your home value!

Paint Palette

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Color is such an important part of personalizing a home. But it’s also key in making your home a space others can see themselves moving into. We know you probably have lots of extra time on your hands, so here are our 4 tips to whip your home into shape!

*Not a fan of videos? Keep scrolling for the written version!*

Today we are going to be talking with you all about the power of paint and how it can make a huge impact in the home selling process for a very small investment.  We are all stuck in our homes for now, so if you have any plans for selling in the future, why not take this extra time to spruce things up?  Or, maybe you are just bored of your house colors in which case, this will provide a nice refresh!

We want our homes to feel like us, so often times we tailor them to suit our own tastes. Things like cozy furniture, bright and textured rugs, wall art and the right light fixtures can really reflect a style and personality. Sometimes we even go a little risky and do accent walls. Things like painting our children’s bedrooms to mimic night sky. or We will add a little DIY wallpaper. While these are all AMAZING ways to customize spaces, when it comes to preparing your home for resale, these colorful wall colors can really start to restrict your buyer pool. If you’ve never tried selling a home with bright orange walls, then you probably don’t even know the power a simple color change can make. We want to do everything we can to sell your home as quickly as possible. 

The good news is that a fresh coat of paint can change everything.  Here are our top 4 tips! 

Tip 1: Your Door

 First things first, let’s consider your front door. It’s a smaller project and might offer you a little more creativity. You have probably seen black, gray and white doors, but this is actually where we want to see a pop of color.  If you have a lighter palette of colors on your home, try a rich navy blue or vibrant red.  If you have a dark color palette, like a grey or navy, try a bright color like sunny yellow or a lively teal.  You want to wow people before they even get inside. 

Tip 2: Keep it Uniform

Secondly, When it comes to interior walls, the trend here is to keep everything flowing with a neutral color. The idea is to create a blank canvas to help people envision themselves living there. You also want to think of it like flooring… We want it to be uniform throughout the home. Choose a neutral that you love.  You don’t have to carry that color through the whole home, just make sure that every room is in the same color family. You can do slightly lighter versions of the color in the bedrooms and hallway, and slightly darker version in your dining room or family room.  Exceptions to this are your smaller, tighter spaces like bathrooms without natural light. Those will benefit from whiter brighter paint that helps bounce light around and make the room appear wider and taller.

Tip 3: Keep it Neutral

Now that we know the look we’re going for, let’s talk color. The biggest trends right now are any and all whites, soft grays, and taupe. These might not seem like exciting choices, but they are all incredible popular. And that’s probably because they are so versatile and suit a variety of house styles from modern to traditional. Here you can see the colors that Sherwin Williams sells the most of, notice a trend?  If you hate the idea of painting everything white and grey, go for a greyed out version of your favorite color. Blue-greys will still look neutral but offer a bit more color and personality. 

Tip 4: Know your finishes

Lastly, another thing about paint is that not all textures are created equal. Usually when you go to Home Depot, Lowes or your favorite local home improvement store, you will be able to select a finish. Keep in mind the location of the room that you’re painting. Since kitchen’s are such a busy part of a home, go with a satin or semi-gloss finish.  Bathrooms should be in a semi-gloss or gloss, and all the other rooms should be in an eggshell finish.  

We have seen it many times, beautiful homes go on the market with crazy colors. Prospective buyers just can’t see past them.  Having a realtor that understands the current trends is more important than ever.  We can’t currently come to you, but, if you need some help picking out colors, we are happy to do a video chat and give you some tips. Just reach out to us!