I hope you and your loved ones have enjoyed a wonderful summer!
For me, these have been busy and exciting times. Over the past 16 months I have helped twenty five clients buy or sell their homes, protecting their interests during the process, and skillfully negotiating to ensure they received fair market value. My sales volume of over $5 million puts me in the top 7% of Eugene and Springfield area Realtors.
Providing the best possible service for my clients is very important to me. Because of this I have moved my business to Windermere Real Estate/Lane County. With the backing of this great locally owned company, and a wealth of support and resources at my disposal, I am now able to focus my efforts directly on the needs of my clients.
I hope you will consider me when you or your friends and family need expert assistance buying or selling real estate. It is my pleasure to serve you!
After posting record high levels of housing inventory in January, the estimated monthly supply of available homes in Lane County has dropped to 8.1 months in May. One year ago this month the number was 8.6
The average home sale price in May 2009 was $224,200 (down 15.5% from May 2008), and there were 247 closed sales compared to 274 closed sales in May 2008.
The biggest losers - sale prices down more than 14% from last year:
Properties in the rural areas of South Lane County including Cottage Grove and Creswell
West Lane County properties including Veneta and Elmira
Junction City
Bucking the trend:
West Eugene, which includes Whiteaker, West Jefferson, and Downtown neighborhoods is up 2% from last year.
Please email me and request "May Market Action" to receive the full report and follow the numbers for your area.
What does all this mean if you need to buy or sell in our current market?
Price continues to be the dominant factor in determining how quickly properties will sell, or if they will sell at all.
Sellers must ensure that the condition of their property is superior, that their price is competitive, and that their Realtor is a master at marketing and negotiation if they wish to sell in a reasonable time frame.
Buyers still have access to a vast number of housing options, and the opportunity to purchase at value prices, if they can obtain financing, and especially if they can pay cash.
Agents must work with a high level of dedication and focus to serve the interests of their clients, and to ensure the future of their careers through the current downturn and into economic recovery.
If you have questions about our market or the current data please call or email. And if you need to buy or sell in the Eugene/Springfield area and want top-notch representation, I'm here to help.
The owner of this charming East Eugene home has made extensive updates to increase the comfort, value, and income potential.
Located in the desirable Laurel Hill Valley with access to Edison Elementary, Roosevelt Middle and South Eugene High School
Easy biking distance to the University of Oregon, and just a short bus ride to Lane Community College.
Private dead-end road ensures a peaceful setting and the one-fifth acre lot has ample room for gardening or potential future outbuildings. Inside, the home has been extensively updated, with living room and kitchen on the main level, two bedrooms and full bathroom upstairs.
The lower level features a self-contained living space with separate entry, full kitchen and private bath. Current owner has kept the space rented at $500 per month.
More photos and information, including a virtual tour, can be found at 2765E18th.com, or on my website: bobbystevens.com. Please call me at 541 225-8081 if you have specific questions or to schedule a private showing.
I have deep experience in our community and a wealth of resources directed for my clients success in real estate. I’d love to talk with you and find out if we can work together to achieve your goals.
The owner of this cute home within walking distance to Churchill High School has made a number of investments over the last two years to increase it's value to the next owner.
New roof
New Exterior Paint
New Concrete drive & patio
Improved Landscaping
New Carpet
New Plantation blinds.
Furnace maintenance
In addition, for a reasonable yearly fee of less that $600, residents of the community have access to a heated pool, clubhouse/party room, large private park and gated RV storage.
As a graduate of Churchill myself, I spent time in this neighborhood growing up, and I've been impressed with how well the community has been maintained since it was developed in the early 1970's. More photos and information, including a virtual tour, can be found at 3709Kevington.com, or on my website: bobbystevens.com.
Please call me at 541 225-8081 if you have specific questions or to schedule a private showing.
I have deep experience in our community and a wealth of resources directed for my clients success in real estate. I’d love to talk with you and find out if we can work together to achieve your goals.
The biggest problem that most first time home buyers have is coming up with the down payment. I have posted several times in the past various ways to get the down payment together, but it has still been out of the reach of some people. Now, that could change. The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit is going to be available for the down payment on FHA loans in the near future, according the the Secretary of HUD.
Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment. According to Secretary Donovan, the FHA's approved lenders will be permitted to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. For the first time, eligible home buyers will be able to access the funds immediately at the closing table.
Needless to say, there are no procedures in place at this moment to take care of the “bridge” loan, but this should be done in a fairly short fashion since HUD wants this to be the new way of doing things. My suggestion is that those that qualify for the First Time Home BuyerTax Credit on an FHA loan start looking for a home now. The procedures should be in effect by the time the purchase is ready to close…..at least I hope that is the case. This should be a boon to the Real Estate purchase market and start using up some of the excess inventory. That may also mean rising home prices in a short period of time.
When I worked up the market analysis for this classic craftsman, I found only one comparable sale in the previous 9 months!
The pace of sales in this charming, historic town about eighteen miles south of Eugene is positively glacial. I knew it would take a combination of optimal condition, aggressive pricing, and dynamic marketing to get it sold in a reasonable time frame so the owners could move forward with their life plans. Even with all these factors aligned, I anticpated a market time above my average of forty one days between listing and sale.
Condition Fortunately, the home showed great pride of ownership. Improvements consisted largely of de-cluttering - minimizing small items on flat surfaces, taking down personal family photos, and moving infrequently used items into storage. The owners paid for their own home inspection in advance, and promptly made repairs to the few items that would be required as a condition of funding for prospective buyers.
Marketing My philosophy on marketing my listings can be summed up in one word: overkill. Since more than 80% of buyers find their homes online, a heavy focus on popular national and local real estate websites is essential. Quality and quantity are both important. As with all my listings I used a professional photographer, virtual tour to capture buyer leads, extensive feature lists and descriptions of the home and community, and an additional slideshow of the home and surrounding amenities. Color flyers, directional signage, and frequent postings on craigslist are a part of the campaign to attract attention and communicate value.
Pricing Getting this element right is far and away the most critical factor in getting a home sold in a reasonable time frame. Or getting it sold period. Often, sellers try to base their initial asking price on the idea that they need bargaining room. "I need to get X amount of money for my home, so let's price it five, ten, or twenty percent above that figure and negotiate downward if necessary." While that may seem logical, it's important to remember that you can't negotiate if you don't have an offer from a buyer, and if your home is priced above market value, you probably won't get one! In this case the sellers had good equity in the home and were able to price at market value.
Results After seven days and three showings, we had an offer within five percent of list price. I helped the seller negotiate up to 97% of list price, inspections are complete and accepted, and we are proceeding to close. The sellers have been able to proceed with the purchase of their next home and are highly satisfied with my service, and I have a new perspective on selling homes in outlying areas!
If you are considering buying or selling a home, and want expert assistance in getting results like this, please get in touch for a no-obligation discussion of your options
Bobby Stevens, Broker 541 225-8081 Eugene’s Alternative - REALTORS® 1553 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401 office: 541 302-5999 | office fax: 541 349-9616
We're still in a strong "buyers market", but home sales are up nearly 35% since February.
The current available inventory of 1,919 residential properties would last 9.7 months, down 52.9% from a record high of 20.6 months in January 2009.
Comparing March 2009 with March 2008, closed sales dropped 19.9% and pending sales fell 11.6%.
The average sale price is down by 13.2% since this time last year. The Median price fared better, down 5.9%.
Please email me and request "March Market Action" to receive the full report and accompanying charts.
What does all this mean if you need to buy or sell in our current market?
Price continues to be the dominant factor in determining how quickly properties will sell, or if they will sell at all.
Sellers must ensure that the condition of their property is superior, that their price is competitive, and that their Realtor is a master at marketing and negotiation if they wish to sell in a reasonable time frame.
Buyers still have access to a vast number of housing options, and the opportunity to purchase at value prices, if they can obtain financing, and especially if they can pay cash.
Agents must work with a high level of dedication and focus to serve the interests of their clients, and to ensure the future of their careers through the current downturn and into economic recovery. If you have questions about our market or the current data please call or email. And if you need to buy or sell in the Eugene/Springfield area and want top-notch representation, I'm here to help.
Bobby Stevens, Broker 541 225-8081 Eugene's Alternative - REALTORS® 1553 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401 office: 541 302-5999 | office fax: 541 349-9616
As anticipated, sales activity in the Greater Lane County area showed gains compared to January 2009, but continued to slide when compared to February 2008.
Comparing February 2009 with February 2008, closed sales dropped 31.8% and pending sales fell 16.4%.
Perhaps the best news is that our average local sale price is only down 3.2% since this time last year. This is remarkable considering the massive devaluation that has occured in other parts of the country. Click to view the full report and accompanying charts.
What does all this mean if you need to buy or sell in our current market?
Sellers must ensure that the condition of their property is superior, that their price is competitive, and that their Realtor is a master at marketing and negotiation if they wish to sell in a reasonable time frame.
Buyers still have access to a vast number of housing options, and the opportunity to purchase at value prices, if they can obtain financing, and especially if they can pay cash.
Agents must work with a high level of dedication and focus to serve the interests of their clients, and to ensure the future of their careers through the current downturn and into economic recovery.
If you have questions about our market or the current data please call or email. And if you need to buy or sell in the Eugene/Springfield area and want top-notch representation, I'm here to help.
Bobby Stevens, Broker 541 225-8081 Eugene's Alternative - REALTORS® 1553 Oak Street, Eugene, OR 97401 office: 541 302-5999 | office fax: 541 349-9616
I've used palm, and windows mobile pretty extensively, and I thought my next phone would be a blackberry - I wanted connectivity with Top Producer. After borrowing a first gen iPhone for the weekend I was hooked. I found that I could log in to my top producer account on safari, and while it may not move as quickly as the mobile version (only for palm, WM, and blackberry), I can access all my contacts and calendar. I was also able to export contacts from TP, import into gmail, and synch with iPhone.
One of the main benefits of the iPhone OS is the ease of use - I find I'm actually using features that were avaliable in my previus smartphones, yet too cumbersome to be practical. I've been using my new phone for a week now and so far so good!
Inventory, listings, sales, and sale prices decline for the October 2008 reporting period.
Each month the RMLS (Regional Multiple Listing Service) publishes market statistics for it's service area. As a Eugene area Realtor I focus on the data for Lane County. Being intimately familiar with these numbers helps me to better serve my clients, both buyers and sellers, in a changing market.
For the month of October, total inventory stood at 9.2 months, down from 10.2 in September and up from 7.2 one year ago. This means at the current rate of sales, with no new listings entering the market, it would take over 9 months to sell all of the approximately 2,307 residential properties currently listed.
New property listings have decreased 18.5% and closed sales are down 17.2% compared to October 2007.
The average home sale price is down 5.3%, and the median sale price has dropped 4.5% when comparing the 12 month period ending October 2008 with the same period ending October 2007.
There were 251 homes sold in October 2008, and 2,626 sold since the first of this year, compared to 303 homes sold in October 2007, and 3,647 sold since the first of last year.
Once again, these numbers suggest that:
Sellers must ensure that the condition of their property is superior, that their price is competitive, and that their Realtor is a master at marketing and negotiation if they wish to sell in a reasonable time frame.
Buyers still have access to a vast number of housing options, and the opportunity to purchase at value prices, if they can obtain financing, and especially if they can pay cash.
Agents must work with a high level of dedication and focus to serve the interests of their clients, and to ensure the future of their careers through the current downturn and into economic recovery.
If you have questions about our market or the current data please call or email. And if you need to buy or sell in the Eugene/Springfield area and want top-notch representation, I'm here to help.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
After posting record high levels of housing inventory in January, the estimated monthly supply of available homes in Lane County has dropped to 8.1 months in May. One year ago this month the number was 8.6
The owner of this charming East Eugene home has made extensive updates to increase the comfort, value, and income potential.
When I worked up the market analysis for this classic craftsman, I found only one comparable sale in the previous 9 months!
We're still in a strong "buyers market", but home sales are up nearly 35% since February.
;)
;)
