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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.

December Market Update

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The market stats for December 2020 were recently released. It is time to dig into them and see what they mean. Almost every stat dropped last month, in some areas that is good news, in some it is bad news. The only number that rose last month is the number of sold listings. This lines up with what we know about the Portland market. There are tons of buyers out looking for homes.

December market update
Stat Breakdown

The average sale price dipped a bit, this almost always happens at the end of the year, a lot of people take a break for the holidays, so with less offers driving prices up, we saw the number drop down a bit. The days a home sits on the market are still continuing to drop along with the inventory levels. If we remove the outliers, the average days on market is actually just 7 days. So houses are flying off the market. In general we will see them listed mid week, open all weekend, and pending by early the next week. Because of this, Inventory has dropped all the way down to .8 months. As a reminder, this means if we don’t list any new homes, everything on the market will be sold before the end of the month. It’s lower than it has ever been, so if you have any thoughts of selling, now is the time!

For the whole Portland metro, homes are selling at an average of 6.7% over asking price. For a $500,000 house, that is $30,000 over asking price. As a buyer it is more important than ever that you pay close attention to your budget. If you only want to spend $500,000 we need to be shopping in the $450,000 range.

It is tough out there right now for buyers, but with a savvy agent, and a little luck, people are finding homes that are a great fit. We are helping our clients get into homes that they love right now, so if you want help with your home search, fill out the form below and we can’t wait to talk with you! If you want to see our other market updates, you can head HERE.

Why Use a Realtor

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So now that you are ready to buy a house why on earth should you use a realtor? Well, watch the video below to find out! Or skip ahead and read about it!

I get it, realtors have a bad reputation and tons of people think we are under qualified and over-paid.  So why would you hire one when you can just do it yourself online?  Well, here are our top 5 reasons that you will want to hire us. 

#1 – It’s Free

That’s right, as a buyer, you don’t have to pay me. If you could get 10 years of sales experience for free wouldn’t you want to use it? I only get paid when we successfully find and close on a house and the seller pays that fee so there is literally no cost to you for using me. 

#2 – Home Tours

You need a realtor to get access to most houses.  You can’t just knock on doors and expect to get a  tour, you could try, but people will think you are crazy and that is not what you want when you are trying to convince someone to let you buy their home.  Of course you can go to open houses, but not everyone hosts them, and some houses sell before they have had a chance to be open on the weekend.  Hiring me means we can go see that house anytime that suits your schedule so you can e one of the first people in the door. 

#3- Pocket Listings

Not all houses get listed on the market.  We see houses all the time that are offered as office exclusives that sell before they hit the market.  If I know what you are looking for I am going to be searching within my network to see what they have coming up.  This can give you the upper edge if we are able to get into these homes before the reset of the public sees them. Zillow can’t offer you that. 

#4- Paperwork and Contracts

I can help you understand and write a way stronger contract.  Real Estate contracts are no joke, it’s a 13 page document that outlines all the important timelines, who pays for what, who gets to keep what, and when you get to move into the house.  There are also over 30 addendums that could apply to your transaction.  We know the paperwork and how to write things so you are getting as much as you possibly can, even in a seller’s market.  

#5 – Gifts!

Lastly, you’ll get a cool present. I love giving gifts, so you’ll get something nice when you close on the house, plus a home-anniversary gift, plus a holiday gift or party, plus some random thing  at some point during the year.  We love our clients and believe in taking care of them before, during, and after the transaction.  We won’t pick up a paycheck and then disappear on you, we like you too much! 

Now you might be thinking, this all sounds great, but I don’t want to buy a house right now. Even if you aren’t quite ready, we can start narrowing down neighborhoods and keeping our eyes on good deals for you, you never know when they will come up or when you will be ready to jump in.  The more we know about you, the better we can help you!  If you want to set up a zoom call to just going over basic questions and criteria, we would love to chat, just send a message over! 

I appreciate your time today, be sure to follow us on facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with what we are doing!  You can also search for homes with the button below, or fill out the contact form and we will get in touch with you!

Home Search

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!

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