inventory: The end of free money? - 08/10/09 01:53 PM
 This morning on my guest spot as the real estate expert on KXL-AM I spoke about my instinct that there is a coming storm for first time buyers or anyone buying in the under $300,000 price range.
1. I think the first time home buyer tax credit will NOT be extended. Right now you have to be in title by December 1st, 2009 [that's this year folks!]. Considering loans are taking longer to fund you're looking at 45 days on average from acceptance to closing. That math means that you need to find your place by the first week or October … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Oregon off to a rough start in 2009 - 02/17/09 01:54 AM
My facination with numbers and localized inventories began last January when the metro area started off 2008 with 12.8 months of inventory. It was a huge headline, it was the most inventory recorded in almost the last 20 years. Then February and March brought that number down and it averaged 10 months until October when it started climbing again. What happened in October? The stock market crashed and took many investors out of the mix. The winter is when a lot of investors are making moves and that just didn't happen in 2008.
November and December shot up to 15 and … (0 comments)

inventory: How to know where we're going - 01/13/09 05:22 AM
I talk a lot about inventory when I share info about the market. Inventory gives you a great snapshot of the market at any given point in time to know whether it favors sellers or buyers.
Right now what everyone wants to know is not where are we, but where are we going....
There are two ways to get an idea of Where We Are Going.
#1: If you look at the last 6 months of sales and a given area has 10 homes selling every month on average but you have 20 pending you know the inventory will be getting … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Inventory Report by Zipcode – Year End 2008 - 12/22/08 10:32 AM
Here is your Year End 2008 update to inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than 6 months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I'll add it in.
Trend: Detached homes close in are holding at a seller's market level of inventory with many sellers waiting until Spring to list. Condo inventory continues to go up in many areas due to more constrictive … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Inventory Report by Zipcode - Fall 2008 - 11/18/08 04:12 AM
Here is your Fall 2008 update to inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than 6 months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I'll add it in.
Trend: Detached homes close in are trending in favor of sellers with many sellers waiting until Spring to list. Condo inventory continues to go up in many areas due to more constrictive lending rules.
Detached Homes:97214 … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Inventory Report by Zipcode - 10/09/08 12:06 PM
Welcome to the end of Summer 2008 update to the inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than 6 months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I'll add it in. Condos for 97201 have been added to this report. I am also adding neighborhood names to the zipcodes.
Detached Homes:97214 - 3.5 months Ladds / Colonial Heights / Hawthorne97217 - 4.3 months Arbor … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Home Inventory by Zipcode - 07/28/08 05:15 AM
Welcome to the latest update to the inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than six months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I'll add it in.
Detached Homes:97214 - 3.6 months97217 - 4.4 months97202 - 4.5 months97212 - 5 months97203 - 5 months97227 - 6 months - biggest change = down 3.5 months!97213 - 6.2 months97206 - 6.4 months97232 - 6.7 months97210 … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Metro Inventory = 9 months; How to win in this Market - 06/16/08 05:15 AM
I love numbers just as much as the next guy but numbers are empty without context. So today I am going to try and put a feel to the current Metro inventory statistic of 9 months. What does a 9 month inventory mean to you if you are a buyer or seller? How do you win in this market? Here are my tips for Buyers and Sellers for todays' market.
Sellers:Right now there are more sellers than buyers in the metro area. This doesn't mean you have to have your house on the market forever to sell it, in fact you … (0 comments)

inventory: What's really going on in your Neighborhood? - 05/28/08 08:00 AM
Back by popular demand is my second installment of inventories by zipcode. This shows which parts of town and which types of property are selling and which ones are sitting. Inventory is figured in months with 6 months being balanced, less than 6 months favoring sellers and more than six months favoring buyers. If I missed your area just let me know and I'll add it in.
Detached Homes:97214 - 2.9 months97217 - 2.9 months97212 - 5.2 months97203 - 5.2 months97202 - 6.0 months97232 - 6.5 months97210 - 9.2 months97227 - 9.5 months97201 - 18 months
Condos
97232 - 5.0 months97214 … (0 comments)

inventory: Inventory goes back up in April - 05/19/08 07:21 AM

News came out that the April inventory of homes in Portland actually went back up to February levels at 10.3 months. I had predicted, based on the activity levels in my office and among my clients that the inventory would continue to trend down. I will be taking a look at how detached homes close-in are faring because my experience in this arena feels more balanced than the metro inventory would suggest.
For example: I have a client looking in the $300k range. We identified 15 possible properties on Wednesday to look at that weekend and by Friday 5 of … (0 comments)

inventory: Portland Inventory Down, Appreciation Up - 04/21/08 03:17 AM
Last week the monthly Market report was released by the RMLS and the news is good. Portland continues to have a solid market and inventory is actually going down again for the second month in a row. Based on the huge increase in pending sales last month I'm betting that this trend will continue into April. Another factor affecting the market is the long winter we're having, once the weather finally breaks watch for another run up in pending sales. Appreciation is still a solid 5% and with many multiple offer situations this trend will hopefully continue as well.
The Inventory … (0 comments)

inventory: Pending sales of detached homes up 107% in March! - 03/24/08 05:23 AM
There is a definite sense that things are picking up right now in Portland. I took a look at the numbers and, Wow! Pending sales of detached homes are up 107% in March over February. Buyers are coming out of the woodworks and multiple offers are becoming common again.
Here is a Breakdown of Pending sales of Detached homes as of March 24th, 2008.
NE: Feb 79 - Mar 117SE: Feb 102 - Mar 162N: Feb 38 - Mar 61W: Feb 45 - Mar 84
Totals:Feb 264 - Mar 424 // March Projected = 547
Percent increase = 107%
… (3 comments)

inventory: Portland Inventory up + Interest Rates stable = Buyers market? Not so fast.... - 02/18/08 03:16 AM
News broke this past Friday that inventory had skyrocketed to 12.8 month in the Portland Metro area, the highest level since 2000. For the previous 4 months we've been hanging in around 8 months which is just on the buyers side but not too much. The tipping point is considered to be 6 months.
Like many other people this new inventory report was a bit shocking to me. So I ran my own numbers based on detached homes in close in neighborhoods. I looked at inventories based on the last 6 months of sales and here are the results:
Detached homes:97202 … (0 comments)

inventory: Fourth Quarter Market Update - Portland Oregon - 12/06/07 05:03 AM
Hello Portland shoppers, here is your update on all things real estate from right now!
Inventory in the Metro area is 8.4 months with 15,500 active listings. December is historically a slow month but lots of investors are making moves right now and there is healthy showing activity on my listings. Rents continue to climb narrowing the gap between renting and buying. And the really good news is from the lending world...
From James Adair at pdxhomeloan.com: Rates for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped below the 6% barrier and are right about 5.75%!! The FHA mortgage remains a great option … (0 comments)