It’s July, and therefore we’re technically in the "hot selling season" for real estate in Portland, OR.  People ask me all the time about market conditions and whether the national housing bust has hit Portland as hard.  So here’s my take. 

Real estate is slow right now for sellers.  This is partly because of the mortgage crisis that the entire nation is suffering from and partly because of the large amount of inventory on the market. 

The latest statistics from RMLS (June 2008) show the Portland Metro area with an inventory rate of 9.5.  This means that if no other house went on the market in June, it would take 9 1/2 months to sell off everything that was available.  For Portland, that’s a pretty large figure.  Especially when you compare it to 2005-2006 inventory levels of 1 1/2 - 4 months. 

Despite the high inventory, we are still seeing lots of new houses hit the market.  In fact each day I sort through about 5-10 new listings that other agents email me in hopes that I might have a buyer for their listing.  And within the next 2 weeks, I’ll be adding 4 new listings to my personal repertoire. 

With all of this competition, for-sale-by-owner listings are easier for realtors to ignore when planning showings for their buyers.  There are just so many homes to choose from off the MLS that it doesn’t make much sense for agents to search on the FSBO web sites and then have to work out commission agreements with each seller.

One of the primary advantages of my fee-for-service packages is that they allow sellers to have their listing on the MLS, and therefore make their homes readily accessible to the 5,000+ realtors and their buyers in the Portland Metro area, while paying a minimal real estate commission on the listing end.

Full details about all of my packages can be found on my web site, www.PointClickandPack.com.  Click on the Fee for Service link on the Home page. 

I understand the desire FSBO sellers have to save money on real estate commissions.  But in this market, not having an MLS listing could really hurt you.  I’d love to assist you with your sale.  Please let me know how I can earn your business.  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or via email, phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.

Open House June 1st - 1:00—5:00 pm
0205 SW Montgomery St. #402

Sale price applies only to                                
offers submitted between
May 31st - June 2nd, 2008

• Built in 1986
• 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath
• 783 Square Feet
• 1 Car assigned parking in covered garage
• Wood fireplace
• Open kitchen with slab granite countertops, all new appliances
and eat bar
• Spacious bedroom with double closets
• Private balcony with river view
• Brand new flooring and light fixtures throughout
• Separate storage space included
• Easy access to shops, restaurants, freeway and downtown
• All appliances included
• HOA includes: cable TV, water, sewer, garbage, ext maintenance
and insurance, and the common areas

Mortgage lender on site at open house for providing financing options!
Greg Mitzel & Rick Valdez
Lending Solutions
503-646-2600

Phyllis Ghazi, ABR, CFS
RE/MAX Signature Properties
Ph: (503) 282-4000 X 119
Cell: (503) 421-2407
Phyllis@pointclickandpack.com
www.PointClickandPack.com

Everywhere I go people keep asking me about the real estate market.  They want to know if things are really as bad in Portland as they’ve been hearing about on a national level.  Well, the answer is no!

The April 2008 edition of Market Action, which is published by RMLS, just came out.  Although it shows that the market is still somewhat slow, there was one key area of growth and that was in year-to-date pending sales.  This is good news for sellers because the more homes that are pending, the less competition there is for available homes and the closer the market gets to a more reasonable level of inventory. 

Overall, the Metro Portland area is still showing positive appreciation.  In fact, the only cities in negative appreciation are Milwaukie, Clackamas and Happy Valley. 

So Portland is still in a buyer’s market.  And if you can afford to buy right now, you should seriously consider doing so.  I’d love to assist with your purchase.  Please call (503-421-2407) or email me at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com so we can get started!

The FHA just increased their loan limits.  This means that buyers will be able to qualify for higher-priced homes with as little as 3% down payment.  The new loan limit for the Portland Metro area, including Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties is $418,750.

Please let me know if I can assist you with your purchase!  I look forward to working with you soon.  You can reach me at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com or 503-421-2407.

RMLS just issued the November publication of the Market Action report.  Inventory levels are still incredibly high in the Metro Portland area.  At November’s rate of sales, the 14,435 active residential listings at month’s end would last about 8.3 months.  This is down slightly from October 2007’s 8.4 months of inventory.  What does this mean for local real estate?  That it’s still a buyer’s market since buyer’s have so many homes to choose from.  If you are selling a home, you need to remain very realistic about your list price.  Homes priced evenly slightly higher than market value are not generating buyer traffic or offers. 

You can lower your list price by reducing the amount of real estate commission you pay out.  Check out my Fee for Service packages on my web site, www.PointClickandPack.com, for more details about how you can save money on commissions and still get optimum exposure for your home on RMLS and the public Internet sites.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and assisting with your sale!

If you’ve been considering making your home more energy efficient now is the time to act. Not only will “greening” your home help you save on heating bills this winter and reduce your environmental imprint but it can also cut your tax bill.

In an effort to combat growing energy problems, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act in August 2005. The law offers a tax credit to consumers making specific energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. These upgrades include everything from installing insulation to weatherproofing your doors and windows and investing in approved energy-efficient appliances.

The catch? The tax credits are set to expire in December, so those interested in taking advantage of them will need to act fast.

The Alliance to Save Energy offers a list of home improvements that will help you save on taxes:

Furnace and boiler: credit up to $150

Homeowners are entitled to a rebate of up to $150 of the purchase price, including the cost of installation. To qualify, the furnace must meet exacting efficiency requirements. For detailed criteria, visit the Alliance to Save Energy Web site.

Exterior windows, skylights and storm windows: credit up to $200

Homeowners are entitled to 10% of total cost, not to exceed $200. All windows must meet the standards of the 2001 or 2004 International Energy Conservation Code and must be expected to last for at least five years.

Central air conditioner, heat pump or water heater: credit up to $300

Homeowners are entitled to up to $300 of purchase price. This includes the cost of installation. All products must meet stringent energy-efficiency standards.

Insulation, exterior doors: credit up to $500

Homeowners are entitled to 10% of the cost of the product up to $500, not including installation. Qualified improvements include storm doors, seals and weather-stripping designed to limit air infiltration. Insulation and doors are required to meet the 2001 or 2004 International Energy Conservation Code standards for your region and must be expected to last for at least five years.

Pigmented roofs: credit up to $500

Homeowners are entitled to 10% of the cost of the product up to $500, not including installation. Pigmented roofs must be expected to last at least five years and must meet Energy Star requirements.

To ensure that you receive all the money you have coming to you after you’ve completed the improvements, Ronnie Kweller of the Alliance to Save Energy advises printing out IRS form 5695 and bringing it with you when you visit your tax preparer.

Remember: In order to receive the credit, energy-efficient home upgrades must be done at your principal residence and must be in place by Dec. 31.

For other information on energy credits and energy saving tips, please visit http://oregon.gov/ENERGY/ .

Information above is courtesy of:

Bob Milano
Branch Manager/Sr. Mortgage Banker
Directors Mortgage Inc.
4550 SW Kruse Way, Suite 340
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Phone:  503.636.6000  Ext. 165
Fax:  971.327.2898   Cell: 503.970.9714      
E-mail:  bmilano@directorsmortgage.net
Website:  www.homeloansbybob.com

The recent report of market activity shows that the Metro Portland market is still fairly slow for sellers.  At the end of September 2007, there were 16,054 active residential listings, with nearly 5,000 of those newly listed in September.  There were only 1,866 closed sales in September.  At that rate of closed sales, it would take approximately 8.6 months to sell off all available inventory.  This is the highest inventory rate since January 2000, when inventory reached 10.1 months.   

In September 2005, when interest rates were extremely low and Portland was experiencing a seller’s market, the inventory rate was 1.9 months.  2005 was the golden year for sellers.

Despite the heavy amount of inventory, appreciation is still favorable.  When comparing average sales prices from end of September 2006 to end of September 2007, RMLS shows that the average sales price appreciated by 6.9% ($337,700 vs $315,800).  These figures indicate that sellers are still profiting from their sales, but it’s taking a longer market time to realize those profits.

If you are looking to buy a home, this is the best market for you since sellers are competing against so many others and are typically willing to negotiate more in sales price and terms in order to sell.  If you are a seller, it may be best to wait a month or so before listing your house for sale to see if the market turns more in your favor.

Like the stock market, real estate is cyclical and is very difficult to time.  Please let me know if I can assist you with making the best decision regarding your sale or purchase.  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or at phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.  I look forward to working with you.

All my best!

Phyllis     

First, let’s start with some specific definitions of the rates that were lowered by .50% this week:

Federal Funds Rate

The interest rate at which a depository institution lends immediately available funds (balances at the Federal Reserve) to another depository institution overnight.

This is what news reports are referring to when they talk about the Fed changing interest rates. In fact, the FOMC sets a target for this rate, but not the actual rate itself (because it is determined by the open market).

Discount Rate

The interest rate that an eligible depository institution is charged to borrow short-term funds directly from a Federal Reserve Bank.
.

This type of borrowing from the Fed is fairly limited. Institutions will often seek other means of meeting short-term liquidity needs. The Federal funds discount rate is one of two interest rates the Fed sets, the other being the overnight lending rate, or the Fed funds rate.

As you can see by these definitions, neither the Federal Fund Rate nor the Discount Rate has any direct reflection on mortgage rates and no one should believe fixed mortgage rates will go down as a direct result of the Federal Reserve’s actions.  A “ripple” effect will be that the Prime Rate will go down by .50% to 7.75%.  Again we need a specific definition -

Prime Rate

The interest rate that commercial banks charge their most credit-worthy customers. Generally a bank’s best customers consist of large corporations.

Default risk is the main determiner of the interest rate a bank will charge a borrower. Because a bank’s best customers have little chance of defaulting, the bank can charge them a rate that is lower than the rate that would be charged to a customer who has a higher likelihood of defaulting on a loan.

Many banks tie their Home Equity Loan products to the Prime Rate.  If that is the case with your home equity loan, you could get a pleasant surprise when your next monthly statement arrives at your house.  Additionally, many revolving credit cards are tied to the Prime Rate and they, too, will benefit from the Federal Reserve’s action.  In the end, almost all mortgage banking firms price their long term (15-30 year) fixed rate products based on the activity in the Treasury Bond Market, but that lesson will have to follow on another day!.

Bottom Line – Don’t expect any reduction to 30-yr fixed rates as a result of this week’s Federal Reserve activity.  In reality there’s been a slight rate increase since Tuesday, but when 30-yr fixed rates are in the low 6% range, how can anyone be unhappy??

I’ll be available all weekend so don’t hesitate to call – 503/970-9714

Bob Milano
Branch Manager/Sr. Mortgage Banker
Directors Mortgage Inc.
4550 SW Kruse Way, Suite 340
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
Phone:  503.636.6000  Ext. 165
Fax:  971.327.2898   Cell: 503.970.9714      
E-mail:  bmilano@directorsmortgage.net
Website:  www.homeloansbybob.com

WOW! What an absolutely unbelievable summer this is shaping up to be.  The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry has created a domino effect in most other mortgage segments, making borrowing money extremely difficult to do for any buyer who doesn’t have a good-to-perfect credit score.

New listings are still coming on the market daily.  In fact, I have 11 listings right now (with only two that are sale pending) and three more that will go online this week.  Yet, there are very few buyers.  If you are selling your home now, be prepared for longer market times and to price your house at or below market value from the beginning in order to attract the most buyer traffic.  If you are a buyer, I would LOVE to hear from you!!!  Call me today at 503-421-2407 or send me an email, phyllis@pointclickandpack.com.