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December Events

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It’s December which means the holidays are fully upon us! Most of the events happening this month are holiday or light related. We hope you are able to get in the spirit and enjoy many of these events!

Holiday Brew Fest

The Portland Holiday Brew Fest will feature 25+ holiday/winter beers and ciders from around the Northwest

Fremont Holiday Fest

Shop, dine and explore NE Fremont!

  • NE Fremont from 42nd to 50th
  • Free
  • MORE INFO
  • December 1st, 4-7 pm

Scan Fair

ScanFair brings Scandinavia to Portland through traditional food and drink vendors, an entertainment program focused on cultural heritage, games, activities, and crafts

  • Oregon Convention Center
  • pricing varies – TICKETS
  • MORE INFO
  • December 9th and 10th

Holiday Activities

  1. Zoo Lights – Oregon Zoo
  2. Gingerbread Display – Benson Hotel
  3. Festival of Trees – Convention Center
  4. Pittock Mansion Christmas – Pittock Mansion
  5. Holiday Express – Oregon Rail Heritage Center
  6. Winter Wonderland – Portland International Raceway
  7. Christmas Festival of Lights – The Grotto
  8. Silverton Christmas Market – The Oregon Garden
  9. Christmas Ships Parade – Willamette and Columbia Rivers

Holiday Shopping

  1. PDX pop up shops – Downtown
  2. Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar – Laurelhurst School
  3. Crafty Wonderland – Oregon Convention Center
  4. Portland Holiday Market – Veteran Memorial Coliseum
  5. NAYA Native Made Winter Market – Lloyd Center
  6. Portland Bazaar – 1715 NW 17th Ave

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

Looking for something else to do? Check out our best of lists!

September Events

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The weather is changing, nights are getting cooler, and the summer festivals are coming to an end. We are still holding on to the last bits of summer and we have some fun things for you to do while you take in the last of the warm sunny days.

Grand Prix of Portland

Every fall since 2018, Portland International Raceway has hosted the celebrated open-wheel racing with the Grand Prix of Portland.Held from 1984–2007 under various names, the race is back at Portland International Raceway as the only Verizon IndyCar Series race in the Pacific Northwest.

Portland International Raceway

From $40 – TICKETS

September 1st-3rd

Montavilla Jazz Festival

This year, the festival highlights some of Portland’s jazz scene-makers, with internationally-acclaimed drummer Alan Jones headlining the festival Sunday evening with his quartet featuring Grammy Award-winners Tivon Pennicott and Kevin Hays, joined by NYC bassist Joe Martin.

Various Locations

Pricing Varies by Event – TICKETS

September 1st – 3rd

Dahlia Festival

Celebrate the season of DAHLIAS. A Rainbow of Color. Stroll through almost 40 acres and a beautiful display garden of stunning dahlias featuring over 370 varieties. The beautiful fields are open from August to September each year, closed on Wednesdays. 

Swan Island Dahlias

Free

August 2nd – Sept 30th, 9am – 5:30pm

Chapman Swift Watch

To catch all the avian action, plan to arrive at least half an hour before sunset — that’s about 8 p.m. near the start of September and 7 p.m. by the month’s end. Bring your binoculars, snacks, jackets and something comfy to sit on, and settle in for one of the city’s best free spectator events.

Chapman Elementary

Free

All Month at Sunset

Art in the Pearl

Portland’s Art In The Pearl Fine Arts and Craft Festival celebrates 26 years of bringing art to the community. The distinctly artist-run event has long been a favorite in Portland, and it’s the perfect Labor Day destination to gather and celebrate the end of summer.

North Park Blocks

Free

September 2nd – 4th, 10am – 5pm

First Thursday

Stroll through the art galleries in the pearl for an evening of art, music, and wine! Parking is difficult so public transit is recommended

The Pearl District

Free

September 7th, 5pm – 10pm

Belmont Street Fair

The Belmont Street Fair is one of the largest-attended street fairs in Portland. With food and retail vendors of all kinds, show-stopping performances, and activities for all ages, the Belmont Street Fair is fun for everyone.

SE Belmont st from 31st -39th

Free

September 9th, 10am – 5pm

Dragon Boat Festival

Enjoy Portland’s annual Dragon Boat Festival, featuring dragon boat racing along with food vendors, a beer garden and more. DragonSports USA Portland Dragon Boat Festival features over 40 Oregon, Washington, and California teams.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Free

September 9th-10th, starting at 9am

Mt Angel Oktoberfest

Go and enjoy the largest folk festival in the NW and wander the streets of Mt Angel which are filled with celebration! Join in our German/Swiss festival and see why Mt Angel Oktoberfest is a Touch of Bavaria.

Mt. Angel Oregon

Free to attend

September 14th – 17th

NW Clothing Swap

The BIGGEST Clothing Swap in the Northwest. Two full floors of swapping fun. The Ballroom on the 3rd Floor: The main swap area with tons of clothing sorted into non-binary categories as well as a plethora of shoes and accessories.Plus, a bar. $10 and a bag of clothes get you a WHOLE NEW WARDROBE. 

Crystal Ballroom

$10 – TICKETS

September 17th, 12pm – 3pm

Oaks Park Oktoberfest

Head to Oaks Amusement Park for their annual Oktoberfest, where you can expect several beers on tap, delicious German food, live bands and performances by dance groups.

Oaks Park

Starting at $22 – TICKETS

September 22nd – 24th

The Wedge

The Wedge is a Farmers Market-style festival celebrating cheese and everything with it. Sample and purchase local artisan cheese, specialty foods, beer, wine, and cider. This is a family-friendly event that’s open to all cheese lovers.

Alder Block

Starting at $25 – Tickets on sale soon

September 30th

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

Looking for something else to do? Check out our best of lists!

July Events

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The heat is here to stay and we have some great musical festivals for you this month! You’ll find a mix of paid events and free events. We hope to see you there!

First Thursday

Stroll through the art galleries in the pearl for an evening of art, music, and wine! Parking is difficult so public transit is recommended

The Pearl District

Free

July 6th, 5pm – 10pm

Blues Festival

the festival is the perfect way to celebrate the Fourth of July Weekend. With family-friendly activities, sunny skies, the world-famous Zydeco dance floor and fireworks over the Willamette River, The Waterfront Blues Festival is not to be missed.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

$50+ per day – Tickets

July 1st – July4th

Comedy in the Park

The blankets drop at 6 p.m.; the show starts at 6:30. stand-up shows featuring Portland’s fave local and national comics every Friday in Laurelhurst Park. 

Laurelhurst Park

FREE

MORE INFO

Fridays nights in July

Rose Cup Races

Fans from across the country will gather to enjoy high-speed racing by seven different race groups, special salutes to the cars, exhibits, displays, vendors and more.

Portland International Raceway

$10+ – TICKETS

July 8th and 9th 8pm

Cathedral Park Jazz Fest

Billed as the longest-running jazz-and-blues festival west of the Mississippi, this annual summer favorite is a prime showcase of Portland’s homegrown talent, natural beauty and neighborly charm. 

Cathedral Park

Free

July 14th-16th starting at 4:30 pm Friday and 1pm Saturday and Sunday

Portland Pride

Known far and wide as a gay-friendly destination, the Rose City is open and accepting to visitors of all stripes. Portland gets friendlier than ever with the annual Portland Pride Festival and Parade, which accompanies LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus) community celebrations all over town.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

FREE

July 15th – 16th

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

Looking for something else to do? Check out our best of lists!

September Events

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Can you believe we have made it to the final stretch of summer? Us Either! We do hope that September stays warm, especially for these great events! There are quite a few fun and free things to choose from this month. Here are our top picks!

First Thursday

Stroll through the art galleries in the pearl for an evening of art, music, and wine! Parking is difficult so public transit is recommended

The Pearl District

Free

  • September 1st
  • 5pm – 10pm though gallery hours vary.

Art in the Pearl

  • Fine Arts and Craft Festival celebrates 26 years of bringing art to the community. The distinctly artist-run event has long been a favorite in Portland, and it’s the perfect Labor Day destination to gather and celebrate the end of summer.
  • Northwest Park Blocks

Free

MORE INFO

September 3rd-5th, 10am – 6pm

Rose City Comic Con

  • While its primary focus is on comics, comic creators and the creative process, Rose City Comic Con also provides its attendees access to gaming, sci-fi, cosplay, anime, fantasy and everything in between. Its goal is to provide you with a rewarding, fun, family-friendly event experience.
  • Oregon Convention Center

starting at $45 – TICKETS

MORE INFO

  • September 9th: 1pm – 8pm
  • September 10th: 10am – 7pm
  • September 11th: 10am – 5pm

Chapman Swift Watch

Join the community for one of Portland’s favorite events. Every year as many as 16,000 birds swarm the old smoke stack at chapman elementary as the migrate from Canada to South America.

Chapman Elementary School

Free

MORE INFO

Evenings in September

Dahlia Festival

  • Stroll through almost 40 acres and a beautiful display garden of stunning dahlias featuring over 370 varieties. You can take home a bouquet, order flowers for spring plantings, or just enjoy the food carts and live music.
  • Swan Island Dahlias

MORE INFO

  • Open everyday except Wednesday
  • 9am-5:30pm

Dragon Boat Festival

  • Enjoy Portland’s annual Dragon Boat Festival, featuring dragon boat racing along with food vendors, a beer garden and more. The event features as many as 96 dragon boat teams from all over the world who race in Taiwan-style dragon boats. 
  • Tom McCall Waterfront Park – (riverplace Marina)
  • *Free*
  • MORE INFO
  • September 10th – 11th

Grand Prix of Portland

  • Every fall since 2018, Portland International Raceway has hosted the celebrated open-wheel racing. Held from 1984–2007 under various names, the race is back at Portland International Raceway as the only Verizon IndyCar Series race in the Pacific Northwest
  • Portland International Raceway
  • Starting at $70 – TICKETS
  • MORE INFO
  • September 2nd-4th

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

Looking for something else to do? Check out our best of lists!

August Events

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Can you believe we are already nearing the end of summer? Us Either! We do hope though that this lovely warm weather continues through September. We have some fantastic events for you this month and we hope to see you out there enjoying the city!

Pickathon

  • The three-day festival on 80 acres just outside Portland attracts a range of indie, rock and rap artists as well as the bluegrass troupes that gave the event its name. You can camp with a weekend pass, or just do a day pass!
  • Pendarvis Farm – Happy Valley

Weekend passes from $390 and day passes from $170

TICKETS

MORE INFO

August 4th – 7th

Vanport Jazz Festival

  • The Vanport Jazz Festival honors the city of Vanport and the voices that formed Portland’s jazz community.
  • Colwood Golf Center

starting at $60 – TICKETS

MORE INFO

  • August 5th: 6pm – 9pm
  • August 6th: 12pm – 9pm

First Thursday in The Pearl

Stroll through the art galleries in the pearl for an evening of art, music, and wine! Parking is difficult so public transit is recommended

The Pearl District

Free Event

  • August 4th
  • 5pm – 10pm though gallery hours vary.

Bridge Pedal

Join your friends and neighbors for the one opportunity each year to bike or walk on Portland’s car-free streets and bridges. Bridge Pedal is one of the largest community bike rides in the world!!

Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Starting at $35 – TICKETS

MORE INFO

August 14th

Hip Hop Week

  • Portland Hip Hop Week is a celebration of Hip Hop culture in the city of Portland. Enjoy great performances from Portland artists and performers who have contributed to Portland’s Hip Hop scene.
  • Multiple Locations

Pricing varies per event – TICKETS

MORE INFO

  • August 20th – 26th
  • times vary

Adult Soap Box Derby

  • Put down your video game controllers and step away from your Mario Kart. The best way to race isn’t on a screen, it’s down an extinct cinder cone volcano in Southeast Portland. This event is so much fun, its a Portland MUST!
  • Mt. Tabor Park
  • *Free*
  • MORE INFO
  • August 20th

Hood to Coast

  • Hood to Coast is the world’s largest running relay race, stretching 200 miles from the top of Mount Hood to the Pacific Ocean in Seaside.
  • Timberline – Seaside
  • Tickets sell out months in advance, but you can watch along the way!
  • August 26th

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

Looking for something else to do? Check out our best of lists!

Is this a good HOA?

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Buying a home could mean dealing with a homeowners’ association. This begs the question, how can you tell if the HOA is doing a good job? Watch to find out!

HOA’s manage, maintain, and regulate everything that is outside of the home — Such as the structure of the building, the common areas, the landscaping, and the recreation areas, if they have them. But unlike the membership of other community organizations, you can’t resign if you’re unhappy with the way the organization is run.

If the community you are searching in passes these 4 checks, you are probably in good hands!

#1 – Community looks nice

If the community looks good, it usually means that something positive has impacted the community. Of course, the opposite is also true. If you’re thinking about buying into a community, take an objective look at its appearance. Is the structure of the building in good repair? Are the trees pruned, the beds weeded and the landscaping well maintained? Is the pool clean? Are any of the homes in the community eyesores? Your answers to these questions reflect on whether the HOA is performing its duties properly and requiring homeowners to do the same. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

#2 – Strong Communication

This is your community and you have every right to know what’s going on in it. Do your research. Figure out how the HOA board communicates with homeowners. The options are numerous and include newsletters, websites, annual reports and emails. Check for flyers advertising community meetings. If homeowners are invited to attend committee meetings, it’s a good sign that their input is heard and valued.

#3 – Strong Money Management

The best HOA’s put checks and balances in place to safeguard against the risk of financial mismanagement. They employ a second set of eyes – someone not on the board – to collect the dues, pay the bills, and review checks and invoices to make sure the HOAs financial affairs are in good order. Often the second pair of eyes is a professional property manager, a lawyer, or an accountant on staff. We also want to be sure that they have a clear budget for addressing repairs, whether it is unforeseen circumstances or scheduled maintenance.

#4 – Clear HOA Rules

HOA’s tend to have a set of rules called Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. CC&R’s supercede city, county, and state laws and come with hefty fines if they are violated. So it’s really important to know if you’re moving into a community with a strict HOA. CC&R’s are meant to be applied objectively and fairly throughout the community – but sometimes they’re only enforced if a neighbor complains. The best way to tell if CC&R’s are applied consistently (or not) is to take a tour around the community. If everyone’s landscaping is immaculate, the HOA is probably very strict. But if some homes look run-down, and others don’t, it’s a good sign that the HOA is pretty lax on enforcing their rules.

Now that you know what to look for, let us help guide you into the perfect community! Even if that means avoiding HOAs all together! Contact us below!

Ready to get started? You can chat with us, or our lenders! Learn more about them over on our preferred lenders page

June 2021

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The latest market update is out for June of 2021. Inventory is starting to creep back up and the buying frenzy is starting to calm down. This is really good news for buyers that are still in the market. We are seeing homes get a couple of offers instead of 20 and houses selling for 100K over list price are becoming increasingly rare. If you are a seller, there is still a good market out there and plenty of buyers, it just isn’t the feeding frenzy it was back in March. If you want to get into the details, continue on below!

The first things we notice is the average sales price. We haven’t quite hit 600k as our average to live in Portland proper, but we will by next month. This is over a 20% increase from last year and a 2% increase from just last month. I know we say this a lot, but if you are on the fence about buying, get off of it. Things are going to continue to climb and gain equity, so waiting is only making it harder to buy.

The other big stat that jumps out is the amount that things are selling over the list price. Earlier I mentioned that things were starting to cool off. That is true though this number doesn’t show it. The thing to remember is that 13% average is from homes that went pending in May and closed in June. May was one of our busiest months. Things have settled back down between 8-10% over as of recently.

The other bit of good news for buyers is that listings are finally starting to climb up above the closed sales. Things are still selling quickly, but at least everyone has multiple options when they are deciding what to buy. If you are a seller, make sure you are situating yourself with the right listing agent, the right price, and the right marketing so you can stand out among the crowd.

If you want to chat about specifics whether it is buying or selling, we are happy to do so! Just call or email us and we would love to talk with you about your unique situation! You can also look for homes HERE if you are ready to get started.

Quaintrelle

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This week I went out to Quaintrelle. I had heard great things from friends and was very excited to visit! Dining outside in the winter isn’t always comfortable with the rain that Portland is so well known for, but Quaintrelle makes it feel comfortable and warm. There is a large white tent on the cobblestone patio with multiple tables, bistro lights, and a large heater to keep the space warm. Regardless of weather, at least one side of the tent is left open to allow for proper air flow.

Our Food

Quaintrelle makes Pacific Northwestern food sourced from local farms and purveyors. Seasonality is a huge part of their menu so it changes frequently which allows you to return over and over and always have a new experience. We started with green curry mussels with house made pickles. The mussels were plump and buttery. The broth they were served in was rich, full bodied, and had just a hint of spice. Next was the “Whiteout”. As the name suggests everything on the plate was completely white. Parsnip, egg, celeriac, pear, yuzu, and wasabi snow. The dish was playful and imaginative. This paired perfectly with my sparkling wine. They also have a small cocktail menu with some of the classics.

We moved into our second course by ordering the whole striped bass with miso and nuac cham, brussels sprouts with ginger, hoisin, and puffed rice, and beets with Meyer lemon custard, barley, and Roquefort powder. The bass was perfectly cooked, it was moist and fell away from the bones effortlessly. Quaintrelle took just as much care with their vegetable sides as they did with their main entrees. Each dish had the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and bitter notes.

I would highly recommend Quaintrelle to anyone that hasn’t had the chance to try it. If you’re in the mood for some great local Northwest cuisine, you will not be disappointed.

Have you tried Quaintrelle yet? Let us know in the comments! If you have yet to try it out, you can check out the menu here. To see what else we have featured, you can check out those here!