Real Estate Talk Blog for the Willamette Valley

(1) “SOLD” statistics include both SOLD and PENDING

(2) Months of Inventory Calculation based on the rate of sales in the previous 90 days.

Albany

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 179
•    Average price – $213,413
•    Median Sale Price – $205,016
•    Average Days on the Market – 152
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $132.97
• Current Active Listings – 435
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $266,008
•     Months of Inventory – 7.29

Corvallis

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 114
•    Average price – $285,461
•    Median Sale Price – $266,800
•    Average Days on the Market – 116
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $164.94
• Current Active Listings – 220
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $352,630
•    Months of Inventory – 5.79

Lebanon

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 39
•    Average price – $158,842
•    Median Sale Price – $152,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 135
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot – $113.81
• Current Active Listings – 180
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $204,902
•    Months of Inventory – 13.85

  01 May – Kate Porsche, City of Albany – CARA (Central Albany Revitalization Area) will be here to talk about development and pending projects.  Encore presentation on 5/3/08.

Upcoming Guests Scheduled:

May

      10 May – Ultimate Open House Kickoff; Willamette Valley Home Builder Association’s Ultimate Open House is this weekend;  Guests include Mike Goodrich (Legend Homes), President of the WVHBA and Bill Higby (Willamette Community Bank), Board Member of the WVHBA.

   15 May – Real Estate Luncheon – Monthly roundtable of current events in real estate.  This weeks guests include:  Kelly Gardner of Pinnacle Mortgage and Steve Parrott from AmeriTitle

   24 May – TBD

   31 May – TBD

June

    05 June/07 June – Tom Powell, Powell Construction – Remodeling

    14 June – Steve Willems, Parr Lumber and Glen Rea (EKOS Northwest www.ekosnw.com) – Green Building

     19 June/21 June – Real Estate Luncheon – Carisa Ramey (Central Willamette Community Credit Union), Other guests TBD

     28 June – TBD

Albany

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 181
•    Average price – $216,106
•    Median Sale Price – $206,150
•    Average Days on the Market – 157
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $133.10
• Current Active Listings – 439
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $264,870
•     Months of Inventory – 7.28

Corvallis

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 120
•    Average price – $289,883
•    Median Sale Price – $267,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 120
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $165.68
• Current Active Listings – 218
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $352,874
•    Months of Inventory – 5.45

Lebanon

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 46
•    Average price – $155,655
•    Median Sale Price – $150,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 120
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot – $113.91
• Current Active Listings – 172
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $204,437
•    Months of Inventory – 11.22

Last – 26 April – Scott Wehrman, Corvallis Moving and Storage will be talking with us about selecting a moving company, tips for preparing for your move, and some hints for DIY movers.

Upcoming Guests Scheduled:

May

    01 May – Kate Porsche, City of Albany – CARA (Central Albany Revitalization Area) will be here to talk about development and pending projects.  Encore presentation on 5/3/08.

   10 May – Ultimate Open House; Willamette Valley Home Builder Association’s Ultimate Open House is this weekend;  Guests include Mike Goodrich (Legend Homes), President of the WVHBA and Bill Higby (Willamette Community Bank), Board Member of the WVHBA.

   15 May – Real Estate Luncheon – Monthly roundtable of current events in real estate.  This weeks guests include:  Kelly Gardner of Pinnacle Mortgage and Steve Parrott from AmeriTitle

   24 May – TBD

   31 May – TBD

Modern technology is supposed to make our lives easier, right?  Hmmm...s'posed to maybe, but doesn't always!

I practically live with my laptop someone attached to me.  If I'm not actively engaged in preparing market analysis for a client, keeping up with e-mail, researching the local market statistics, writing the outlines for the radio show, or keeping my website updated...I'm goofing off on the web or playing one of the numerous card games I have (I love Free Cell!)

I have a wireless network at my house so that I can sit and watch TV and multi-task.  I AM a 21st Century Guy! (It drives my wife nuts I think).  However the problems started the other day when I began intermittently losing my wireless signal.  I'd have to get up and reset my router and then everything was fine...but these were just the clouds gathering.

4 days of router resets and then...finally I couldn't get online at home.  My profile "disappeared" and while it could see my router, it would NOT connect.  I was meeting a client and couldn't get ready for the meeting because I couldn't get the information I needed!

I scrambled to the office and plugged in to the network there...NO CONNECTION!  AAaaahhh!  I rescheduled with my seller and began pulling out every piece of computer information I knew to fix this problem, but no luck.  I finally dialed Dell's Customer Service (thank goodness for 3 year warranties)...and after 1 and 1/2 hours online with Scott (not his real name - I actually didn't quite get his real name -sorry!), 12 re-boots, 5 diagnostic tests, and lots of head scratching - during which time I missed 3 calls from other clients (who are closing in 2 days!) I still didn't have it fixed.  I had to get back to work - even if it was on Manual.

I can imagine no greater hell.

I think I've found a temporary solution, reloading a driver for the internet wireless card...as of this writing it seems to be working, but I think I'm just back to where I started at the beginning of this blog...4 days away from it giving up the ghost again. 

Yep, these computers are such time savers!

Do you REMEMBER the seller's market?  Houses were spending just days on the market in some cases...many were going for MORE than full price...buyer's were WAIVING their right to an inspection in order to make their offer more competitive!

I remember specifically working with a couple in search of a new home.  They wanted a little bit of acreage, maybe a creek...and in a location within a reasonable drive to their work.  Nothing was on the market for the first few weeks and then...exactly what they described popped onto my "market monitor."

After a couple of quick phone calls to my clients I called the owner to make an appointment and was told that there was ALREADY an offer (although not yet accepted).  We said we'd like to see it anyway and left the showing to head to my office to write up an offer of $10,000 MORE than full price, and we STILL didn't get it.

Today, its a lot different and that is better for buyers in ways that have little or NOTHING to do with price.

1. In a hot seller's market buyers were giving up the inspection contingency as a way to make their offer more competitive than others.  TODAY - inspections are once again the rule and not the exception and trouble spots open the door for even more negotiation.
2. Buyers were writing offers that should have been contingent on a sale of an existing home...but weren't because they didn't want to risk losing the house...and they were confident that their house would sell quickly.  TODAY - Contingent Offers are more the norm - and many sellers are happy to have them.  While previously one traded off time for money with a contingent offer, that is less the case in a buyer's market.
3. Lenders and appraisers, confident in a rising tide of the market may have been willing to push the numbers just a little higher.  TODAY - caution rules the day.  No more 100% financing (let alone 125%) and there is a rise in appraisers coming in at LESS than value.  All parties need to crunch the numbers before just arbitrarily rolling in the closing costs!
4. Equity rich cash buyers from other markets were buying homes without the benefit of "sticker shock" and allowed those "Comparables" to continue to rise.  TODAY - those buyers are fewer and farther between and those that are still moving to more affordable (a relative term) markets are doing so with greater leverage...and they are USING it.

A traditional Buyer's Market offers lots of good things...including less RISK for the buyer. 

• Price stabilization (and letting a little air out of SOME of these markets will bring them back to a more affordable - and sustainable level) is a net positive for everyone. 
• Buyers should ALWAYS get inspections; caveat emptor rules (again!)
• Contingencies in contracts are there to PROTECT you, use them wisely.
• Tighter standards for lenders and appraisers ultimately helps people make better decisions and reduce the risk to their financial health.  It may not be what they WANT, but sometimes, its what they NEED! (Mick Jagger said it best!)

In my mind, it's ALWAYS a good market for someone.  Just now - it happens to be the buyer's turn.  Get your financing lined up, shop hard, negotiate from a position of strength...and enjoy your new home!

Real Estate Talk Market Update for April 17, 2008

(1) “SOLD” statistics include both SOLD and PENDING

(2) Months of Inventory Calculation based on the rate of sales in the previous 90 days.

 Albany

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 179
•    Average price – $214,598
•    Median Sale Price – $206,150
•    Average Days on the Market – 159
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $132.39
• Current Active Listings – 430
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $266,142
•     Months of Inventory – 7.21

Corvallis

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 111
•    Average price – $296,076
•    Median Sale Price – $269,900
•    Average Days on the Market – 118
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $169.13
• Current Active Listings – 214
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $354,889
•    Months of Inventory – 5.78

Lebanon

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 47
•    Average price – $156,358
•    Median Sale Price – $150,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 121
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot – $114.29
• Current Active Listings – 172
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $205,158
•    Months of Inventory – 10.98

Last show–    17 April – Real Estate Luncheon.  Our monthly round table discussion about current events in the mid-valley and national real estate markets.  Guests included: Bill Higby (Willamette Community Bank), and The Broker Duo (Keller Williams).  *Airing on Saturday 4/19 as an encore performance

Upcoming Guests Scheduled:

April

     26 April – Scott Wehrman, Corvallis Moving and Storage will be talking with us about selecting a moving company, tips for preparing for your move, and some hints for DIY movers.

May

    01 May – Kate Porsche, City of Albany – CARA (Central Albany Revitalization Area) will be here to talk about development and pending projects.

Real Estate Talk Market Update for April 12, 2008

(1) “SOLD” statistics include both SOLD and PENDING

(2) Months of Inventory Calculation based on the rate of sales in the previous 90 days.

Albany

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 174
•    Average price – $214,304
•    Median Sale Price – $206,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 158
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $131.81
• Current Active Listings – 424
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $267,138
•     Months of Inventory – 7.31

Corvallis

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 108
•    Average price – $297,733
•    Median Sale Price – $268,450
•    Average Days on the Market – 122
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $168.43
• Current Active Listings – 211
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $351,266
•    Months of Inventory – 5.86

Lebanon

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 46
•    Average price – $152,521
•    Median Sale Price – $150,000
•    Average Days on the Market – 122
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot – $115.32
• Current Active Listings – 154
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $200,555
•    Months of Inventory – 10.04

Last –   12 April – Laura Pyle Gillot, Heritage NW Realty was here to give us some insights into the Lebanon housing market; what’s going on there now and the outlook for the future.

Upcoming Guests Scheduled:

April

     17 April – Real Estate Luncheon.  Our monthly round table discussion about current events in the mid-valley and national real estate markets.  Tentative scheduled guests include: Bill Higby (Willamette Community Bank), and The Broker Duo (Keller Williams).

     26 April – TBD

May

    01 May – Kate Porsche, City of Albany – CARA (Central Albany Revitalization Area) will be here to talk about development and pending projects.

When I started in real estate a few years ago, I recognized that "self promotion" was an important part of starting a successful career in this crazy profession.  I was living in a town where I hadn't grown up...and virtually EVERYONE I met already knew another Realtor (my Aunt Jenny is a Realtor...A guy I went to High School with is a Realtor...).  How to make an impression?  Hmmm...then I caught a lucky break and ended up with my own weekly radio show on KGAL...Real Estate Talk.  That'll do it, huh?

Ok, it's now over a year later and I have not yet had a single phone call or e-mail from someone saying "Dave...I love your show and I think you're great...will you help ME sell my house?"  A little discouraging, but I'm very proud of the show and feel like I'm offering something of value to the consumers in Oregon's mid-Willamette Valley...

And then...it happens!  I get a wonderful e-mail from a woman who listens with regularity and has learned a lot about real estate from the radio show...she's thinking about selling her home this spring or summer and....

and....

She has interviewed a couple of Realtors who did CMA's for her and she had a question about something one of them said about real estate commissions and did I think that was normal?

AAAAAAaaaaahhhh!  So I responded to her question with my thoughts and worldly opinion.  Then, I asked a question of my own "Could I have the opportunity to do a market analysis for her...and perhaps she might hire ME to help her."  Upon our meeting for me to see her lovely home I had to ask why she didn't think to contact me first?  I mean she loves the show, right?  She must think I know what I'm doing, right? 

You could have knocked me over with a feather after her answer to me.  I guess I'm doing TOO GOOD a job on the radio!  She was under the impression that I only did "high end homes" and that I probably wouldn't available to help her sell her modest home.

After a good laugh, I explained that I am a full time real estate profesional first and foremost!  I LOVE helping people buy and sell real estate and achieve their goals.  The radio show, while a lot of fun, and something that I hope everyone who listens enjoys...is well behind my priorities to my family and to my career.  I have an almost 12 year old daughter (in the blue jacket to the left...its an old picture) who is going to need braces soon and helping her sell her home, though modest, would be an absolute PLEASURE for me.

We are getting together on Monday to discuss it further.  I hope she chooses me.  She seems like a very nice person - and THAT is the only characteristic I use to determine whether or not I'd like to work with someone in this crazy business!

Have a great day and enjoy the Spring weather...its finally here!

Dave

Real Estate Talk Market Update for April 03, 2008

(1) “SOLD” statistics include both SOLD and PENDING

(2) Months of Inventory Calculation based on the rate of sales in the previous 90 days.

Albany

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 156
•    Average price – $217,863
•    Median Sale Price – $205,033
•    Average Days on the Market – 170
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $132.17
• Current Active Listings – 405
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $264,050
•     Months of Inventory – 7.79

Corvallis

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 113
•    Average price – $303,588
•    Median Sale Price – $266,800
•    Average Days on the Market – 125
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot - $169,62
• Current Active Listings – 207
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $350,289
•    Months of Inventory – 5.50

Lebanon

• SOLD/Pending (past 90 days) – 38
•    Average price – $154,868
•    Median Sale Price – $142,500
•    Average Days on the Market – 119
•    Average Dollar per Square Foot – $117.55
• Current Active Listings – 154
•    Average Price of Active Listings - $199,254
•    Months of Inventory – 12.16

Guests

Last –   03 April – Nancy Weber, Construction Contractor’s Board (CCB).  Issues surrounding hiring a licensed contractor.  How to check the license status?  What to check for?  Oregon’s law with regard to flipping houses and the requirement to hold a contractor’s license. This show will air as an Encore Performance on Saturday, 05 April in the regular Real Estate Talk time slot (10-11am)

Upcoming Guests Scheduled:

April

     12 April – Laura Pyle Gillot, Heritage NW Realty will be here to give us some insights into the Lebanon housing market; what’s going on now and the outlook for the future.

     17 April – Real Estate Luncheon.  Our monthly round table discussion about current events in the mid-valley and national real estate markets.  Tentatively scheduled guests include: Bill Higby (Willamette Community Bank), and The Broker Duo (Keller Williams).

     26 April – TBD

May

    01 May – Kate Porsche, City of Albany – CARA (Central Albany Revitalization Area) will be here to talk about development and pending projects.