Our SW quadrant includes the area west of highway 99W, south of Monroe Avenue out to 53rd St to the west. Similar to SE, this area includes part of our city center with shopping, library and meandering tree lined parks. South of the Mary's River is a narrow vestige of land predominantly zoned for high density housing and light industry. Being relatively close to OSU, this area also has affordable condos in the sub $150,000 catagory that have proved to be a comfortable option for parents housing their Beaver students while attending class. Avery Park with its rose garden, picnic areas, and ball fields provides a quick short and bicycle safe shot cut to campus.

Oregon State University is located in the heart of SW Corvallis. On both the west and east ends of campus there are the historical districts that offer those rare opportunities to live in these stately neighborhoods. Naturally, these homes are highly sought after by OSU faculty seeking to live among peers just blocks from work. To the immediate south and north of campus it becomes quite apparent due to the signature couches on porch's and yards that these neighborhoods predominantly house the future of America. Due to the cyclical need for student housing, investment opportunities abound in these neighborhoods. A word of caution: in order to maximize the utility of these properties, former owners may have neglected to comply with  city codes when remodeling these properties. Today's investor needs to do their "due diligence" to insure the property in question in compliant with various levels of city code.

Out along highway 34 SW is zoned for commercial use providing shopping and amenities making this area a very convenient place in which to live. South of highway 34 are neighborhoods providing respectable apartment complexes, older, dignified housing lining the Corvallis Country Club to million dollar homes on the golf course. South of this are quiet country roads tracking through scenic bucolic rolling hills.

South East Corvallis is the area south of Monroe Avenue, and east of highway 99 W which is also 3rd. St. This quadrant includes some of our downtown area. Unlike so many other towns that have sapped the vitality from  their urban center by locating malls and shopping on the edge of town this has not not happened here in Corvallis. We yet have grocery shopping, iconic hardware stores, and many local business's offering local residents a city hub bustling with year round activity. With the recently developed riverfront park with bike paths linking our downtown attractions to the numerous parks along the Willamette and Mary's rivers that provide venues for outdoor concerts and fairs, SE Corvallis is a buzz of activity that will remind you of the charm of yesteryear.

As you travel south of the Mary's River you drive through a stretch of mixed zoning for commercial and light industry. Adjacent to this emerges an older, charming neighborhood with towering oaks and elms adorning the quiet neighborhood with most homes having been built in the 1940's to 70's era. Once earning the reputation as our investment or rental neighborhood, this community in latter years has attracted many home buyers who have seized the opportunity to purchase affordable housing in Corvallis and have graced this neighborhood with wide scale upgrades and remodels making it an attractive, affordable option to more expensive neighborhoods. 

During our housing boom of the 1990's to the 2,000ths, a large tract of land south of this neighborhood has been annexed into the city. There we have well maintained apartment complexes, town homes, and single family residences that price out between the low $200,000's to low $400,000 in today's housing market. Generous planning allowed for large green spaces and parks with unabated views of Mary's Peak. 

Along the Willamette River SE Corvallis offers two of our most beautiful parks- the Crystal Lake Sports Complex and Willamatte Park. These two parks are joined by trails through the riparian woodland along the river and provide year round activity- especially for dog lovers.  I believe it is the equivalent of the "happiest place on earth" for our tail wagging friends. In between these two parks I've caught and released no less that a thousand trout over the years and while there I've seen numerous deer, raccoons, possums, nutria, bald eagles, water foul galore and am frequently visited by curious beaver who say "see you later" by giving a mighty "twack" on the water with their flat tail until next time.

NE Corvallis spreads out east from highway 99W up several miles to a former Army base once known as "Camp Adair", now "Adair Village" that retains a bit of the feel of base living yet with quite a bit of newer construction to choose  from as well. NE Corvallis also extends all the way down to highway 34 that crosses Benton County from east to west. If you are looking for a rural setting close to town a little known cluster of homes on Colorado Lake Dr. to the north of highway 34 may be a neighborhood to keep your eye on.

This entire area is a real mix of high density housing of apartments, smaller investment properties, quaint "hobby farrms",  and up in the hills there are the high end multiacre residences that sell for over $1,000,000. This area is loaded with expansive parks, wetlands teaming with wildlife and boardwalks making it accessable to all. One of our three "anchor employers" (Oregon State University, Good Samaritan Hospital, and Hewlett Packard), HP is located here as well. If one is considering purchasing a home in this area, the western edge borders the area of NW Corvallis that provides nearly every business service you need making travel time a non-factor.

 For many who choose to live in Corvallis but work elsewhere in the Willamette Valley, this area is a attractive option. Running through the quadrant is highway 99W that within 40+ minutes can take you to our state's capital, Salem. To the north, highway 20 is a 10+ minute drive to Albany, and to destinations up and down the Willamette Valley highway 34 provides easy access.  All this being said, along with a couple of heavily used rail lines, this quadrant definately sees its share of traffic- especially when Cheldelin Middle School is in session.

I am writing these next four blog entries for anyone not yet familiar with the Corvallis area but are in the "fact finding stage" of deciding on what what area of town is most suitable for their needs.

NW Corvallis is the area west of highway 99, north of Monroe Ave. that runs adjacent to OSU and east of the next door community of Philomath.

Most would agree that this is the prefered area of town. From down near campus we have the charming historic district with an eclectic mix of stately, peaceful neighborhoods to the student appropriate housing for college students that extends north several blocks up to Grant Ave. Shopping, eateries of all sorts, and services including Good Samaritan Hospitol and the Corvallis Clinic are in this area. Home values climb from humble properties in the level area blocks from campus in the $200,000 range to the high end newer construction of Timberhill that sports many impressive homes in upper $800,000 range with views that look out over our attractive city.

For most of us who have the benifit of living in this quadrant, our work, services and recreation are merely a handful of minutes from where we live. Traffic is wonderfully directed so that "rush hour" is a humorous term, put on your blinker and other curteous drivers let you merge and before you know it you are at your destination.

As is true throughout Corvallis, we are a very "bike friendly" town with bike lanes making it both efficient and safe to get from one place to another. High up in the forested hills above town are found tranquil and scenic walking/riding/running paths that allow views (given the weather) of the Cascade Mt. range to the east where a comfortable 30 minute drive begins to provide all kinds of boating, fishing, hunting and skiing opportunities and the Coast Range to the west. Rising from this range is the beautiful landmark of Mary's Peak, the highest point in the coast range. During an average winter, it is dusted with snow, though here in town snow is not so common. Home value and resale potential rise if you can purchase a home with any view of this state landmark. The actual beach is a pleasurable 50+ minute drive to the Central Oregon Coast. In the evening you can see the twinkling lights of  Eugene 40+ miles to the south.

For any of you accustomed to reading my posts I'm sure you've noticed a long lapse in my postings. Well, I think John Lennon said it well "life is what happens when you're busy making plans". On February 23rd I was diagnosed with Leukemia (AML) which mandates a stem cell transplant which I will recieve on Thursday. I have been breezing through this whole ordeal with the incredible support of so many people.

Thanks to a wonderful co-worker in the office who has proficiently taken over my business while I am attending to other matters my business is still cruzing along.

Home prices in Corvallis are now just about where they were in late 2005 to early 2006 when the surge hit. Like I've stated previoulsy here in Corvallis we have experenced a "soft correction" of the market.

I look forward to getting back out in the fray with all the rest of you soon!

Best wishes,

Mark

When one takes a look at ALL residential properties, with or without acreage that have sold in Corvallis over the past three years this is what they'll find: in 2008  when the Great Recession's impact became a local phenomenon, throughout the entire year (to date) 490 properties sold, in 2009 this number dipped to 447, and this year 457 have sold. With a few more days left of the year for recorded transactions to occur the number should be even higher. As I have stated previously, what we have experienced here in Corvallis is what is known as a "soft correction" of the housing market with some limp indicators that activity is increasing.

Numbers don't lie, as you see looking at the various price points the average months of inventory for homes for sale under $349,999 is 4.92 months- a SELLER'S market.  Sales are seasonally dragging right now, but in our office of 25 agents, so far this month we have twelve deals in escrow with a even spread of price points beginning at 162k all the way up to 764k.

Fall is now officially upon us. I like this time of year, money in the bank, start up of collegiate and professional football and more time to get reacquainted with past clients. I find that the money spent taking them out for coffee or lunch proves to be the most effective marketing approach for me- bang for your buck you might say.

Anyway, looking at the figures for August below shows that yes, we still have a Seller's market in three price ranges. Unemployment in Corvallis is quite low, about 5.2% (half of Oregon's level) so we do not have many homeowners having to sell. Of our three anchor employers (Hewlett Packard, Oregon State University, and Good Samaritan hospital) two of them, Good Sam and OSU are actually expanding. Enrollment at OSU is at an all time high of approximately 24,000 and across campus are numerous construction projects happening. Good Sam is expanding to a satellite location in town and are building a huge medical facility there to accommodate the demand. So, we are not getting a lot of listings hitting the market. That being said, neither are we seeing a lot of buyers out there either, so, the price points in a technically "Sellers Market" are still pretty sluggish.  

As I have posted previously, there are presently 120 million home owners in America. Of these, 40 million own their home free and clear. Of the remaining 80 million with either their first or last mortgage payment, technically 79 million are performing. According to Barclays Capitol and Realty Trac the actual number of homes in foreclosure is closer to 600 thousand.

This does not take into consideration the home owners not yet in foreclosure (i.e. three months late in payment, attempting short sales, etc.) nor the former home owners who since 2008 have already lost their home and they are now bank owned or REO's. The hard, confirm-able number is hard to nail down since many of the REO's have not been dumped into the housing market. All these homes combined are considered "shadow" properties, that is those in distress. Though 600 thousand are presently in foreclosure, the estimates range from 7-11 million in the shadow.