Gorge Real Estate News

Welcome 2011

2011-02-21T04:55:00.000-08:00

Two months into the new year and so far it's looking very good. Prices are better than ever, my way of saying that prices are still coming down a little.

The market of bank owned or foreclosed

properties is very strong, I know this because the agents that get these listings are super swamped with business! And as long as we have a good inventory of these properties home values will stay low.

So if you are looking for a rental investment, your first home, or are locating to this area and looking for a "deal" on a big gorgeous home with views now is a great time to buy.

2010-10-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's was another busy week in Real Estate in the Gorge. Not that houses are flying out the door but there is a steady stream of sales and new listings.

I'm sure you have all heard about the recent foreclosure debacle, it seems that many were not

processed correctly and now they are halting the ones in process to review documents to be sure that they have been done correctly.

This is going to extend the timeframe for getting these properties on the market, sold and out of the inventory so the recovery can commence.

Good news for buyers is that it will keep prices down and give them more time. Interest rates are so low right now too. This is really a great opportunity to buy in The Gorge, there are great deals in Hood River, White Salmon, The Dalles and tremendous opportunities in Cascade Locks and North Bonneville.

2010-10-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know if words can describe the feelings we have enjoying the last few days of late summer. The trees are just turning, the sun is lower in the sky and is lazy getting up in the morning. But she still smiles on us all day long, while we work and play through our day in the Gorge.I feel melancoly, knowing that soon it will be wet and cold. We take solice in the fact that this means SNOW!! and many of us love to play in the snow or just look out at it. So pretty and full of sparkles.But I'm a summer junkie....and though I love winter too I will miss the warmth of the sun and her beautiful rays of gold...
The saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and I certainly have more of an appreciation for summer now than I did growing up in California :)

Real Estate is so interesting these days, it's full of suspense and drama. The latest with the foreclosure situation is that some banks are having to take a second look at properties that they have foreclosed on to be sure the files were propertly processed. Yikes!! Tens of thousands of them.

Some states are holding off on processing any more for the time being, checking their processes and procedures to be sure it's all up to snuff.

What does this mean for us trying to sell real estate and make a living? Well it takes approximately 400 plus days to process a foreclosure. And figure there are hundred of thousands to be processed so best case sceniro is to process them asap and get them sold and off the books and inventory lists so the the market will get back to a more balanced place.

But this sceniro delays that, and keeps us in the declining market longer.

Which is not so bad if you are a buyer. But if you are a seller it means your home could be on the market for another year.

2010-09-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

September update:

Fall always makes for beautiful sunsets.

And we are getting some really spectacular ones.

It's harvest time and the pears are coming in, juicy and sweet :) For people on low carb diets this must be a tough time of year. I have a hard time resisting tree ripened fruit of most any kind. It's just too good. Plus it's good for you too.

The economy in Hood River looks to be chugging right along. Town is busy , lots of traffic, resturants are full of people, the merchants downtown say they are doing better than last year

As for the Real Estate Market it is making a slow but steady recovery. We are still down in sales

close to 50% from 2007. That's dollars in. So if in 2007 real estate sales were $10,000,000

today they are $5,000,000. (Thoses are not accurate figures) And 2010 is up from 2009 just a little, but up.

There are deals to be had and I think that if you are thinking about getting into Real Estate, buying a rental or a first or second home now is really a good time.

Market Update August 2010

2010-08-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

With the summer moving on, we are moving into the busier season for Real Estate. Visitors that are considering buying are now winding down their vacations and focusing more on Real Estate. This is why we have seen more showings and offers in the past two weeks than in all of July. This has been a typical pattern for many years now.
Sellers are lowering prices in an effort attract those buyers and get an offer. With interest rates so lows and seller motivation high we are seeing a nice third quarter rally.
There is still a lot of inventory which will continue to keep prices down for at least another 6 to 10 months. At least.
The market is seeing a steady stream of Short Sale Properties and Foreclosed Homes coming into the maket place. I predict that this will continue for some time to come in our market.But that is not really such a bad thing. The market is great for the investor and first time home buyer. If you are looking for deals on rentals or that first home you never thought you could afford now might just be the time and USDA 100% loans are available to low income families whose household incomes (1 to 4 people) do not total more that $78,000 dollars. . HUD also has a Home Buying program for those who qualify.
So it’s not all bad news. After all, every cloud has a silver lining..
More soon...Ruth

Last day of July 2010

2010-07-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

It was a very beautiful and windy day. I went to the Hood River County Fair for a little while this morning to check in on some friends whose kids are 4 H rock stars!

Hood River is such a wonderful place for kids and big kids too :0)

Though it has been a fairly slow month the last week picked up and we ( the office) have

finished the month pretty well with new deals in escrow.

This is typical for July. The next two months will

tell the real story for the summer selling season.

I'm sticking to my story though, it's better than last year!

Gorge Real Estate News: State of the Market July 2010

2010-07-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Gorge Real Estate News: State of the Market July 2010

State of the Market July 2010

2010-07-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Ahhh ,summer in The Gorge. I believe this to be the best place on the planet in the summer.
Summers here are pretty short and maybe that is why we treasure them so.

So now that you know how perfect the summer is, how about the Real Estate Market?

Well, far from perfect, but better than last summer. Better, is pretty much it in a nut shell,
if you live here in town you may have noticed that there is building going on out on May Street.
The homes are priced between $225,000 to $245,000. That is the hottest price range right now.

And they are selling. Not like hotcakes, but they are selling.

Under $300,000 is moving too. About 3 to 4 a month.

Prices continue to come down, meaning that buyers are still getting the sellers to come off of their last listed price by 5% to 6%.( before the Boom/Bust the average was 2% to 3%) Sellers are often times coming down anywhere from 10% to 20% from their original listed price. We see this mostly in the higher priced properties.

All in all though, life is good in The Gorge.

As The Real Estate World Turns

2009-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago it seemed that there was no price ceiling in our market and today we are asking is this the bottom? Is there a bottom?

Here are some of my thoughts on the current market.

Our inventory is starting go down and with sales up a little we can see the beginning of a more balanced market taking shape.

When Buyer's and Seller's are on equal footing prices will stablize. When will this happen? Well it is happening right now in some neighborhoods and price ranges. Especially in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.

The higher end $400,000 and up is flooded with inventory and so prices are going to continue to come down for awhile.

A couple of sayings come to mind, "No thing in "time" stays the same"
and " What goes up must come down and visa versa"

I'm sure there are dozens of sayings, but these are the ones of my childhood that remind me to be patient when I get anxious about how things are. Then I settle down and get back to work because as Scarlet O'Hara said " Tomorrow is another day"

What Determines the Value of a Home

2009-10-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

As a Real Estate professional I get asked this question daily. I have my ideas and opinions and quite frankly they change as the "market" changes. But the one constant for me has been this: Any given property is worth what someone is willing to pay.

If you are trying to sell a property in today's market put yourself in the shoes of a buyer. Ask yourself this question:

Would I pay what I'm asking?

Today's buyer studies the market to determine for themselves what a certain property in a certain neighborhood is worth.

Buyer's also ask their agent to give them an opinion of value through a Market Survey.

Today's buyer wants to feel that they are getting their moneys worth and that their purchase will be a good long term investment.

It is important for sellers' to know their bottom line and options if the market is not willing give them what they need.

I would love to help you tune into the ever changing Real Estate market. Please feel free to call or email me your questions or better yet post to this blog with your own take on the market.

State of the Market

2008-11-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

State of the Market

I work and live in the small town of Hood River, Oregon. My selling area is the Mid- Columbia River Gorge, which is a Bi State area. South Mid-Eastern section of Washington State and Northern Mid-East section of Oregon.We are in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, know for it's volcanoes, waterfalls, rivers, ancient forests, fertile valleys and our eastern desert basalt rock landscapes. Oh and did I forget the world famous summer winds that draw windsurfers and kite boarders from around the world.Small town RE markets are somewhat protected from the more dramatic market changes you hear about in the larger areas. Our foreclosure rate has gone up but not like it has in California, Florida or Arizona.Our prices have come down about 30%; more in some price ranges less in others since 2006.I remember the first listing I had that was affected by the coming changes. We listed in the fall of 2005 and by spring 2006 we started to lower the price. We chased the market for months until finally $50,000 less later we had it sold. That was my first sign that the market had peaked and has started to drop. Our drop was slow but consistent. Not the free fall of some markets.Homes coming into the market place priced right are selling well. Others that have been on for awhile, years in some cases, once they are priced right are selling too. But all this being said sales are down in our area and inventory is still high. We have about a years worth of inventory on average. Less in the lower price ranges and more in the high price ranges.Our hottest residential market is $250,000 and under.Land is abundant. There are hundreds of building lots available in every part of our area. Good for buyers not so good for sellers. Prices are apparently still to high for the buyers to bear. Financing has become problematic too. The land must be paid for prior to getting a construction loan. However you could probably get a small bank that portfolios their our loans to underwrite it for you but it won't be cheap.Someone said to me yesterday that they heard on the news that prices are starting to go up again and maybe in some parts of the country that is true. Good news for sure.I think in our area prices are stabilizing. But what needs to happen for prices to go up again, is for inventory to go down. At least that is what makes since to me.My logic runs along this line: If we have more houses on the market than we can sell in 12 months; then there is downward pressure on prices, Once inventory gets to a 6 month or less supply that puts pressure on prices to go up. Our hottest market right now is $250,000 and under. As of today, in the Mid-Columbia we have 281 homes on the market priced at $235,000 or under and in the past 30 days we have had 24 closings ( same criteria)that rounds up to 12 months of inventory.It's better than is has been but it is still a buyer's market. And a great one at that. It is a GREAT time to BUY!! Low interest rates, tax credits, motivated sellers. What more could a buyer ask for?

Welcome to my blog

2008-11-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Greetings and welcome to my blog.

I am looking forward to reading your comments, questions and feedback.

Let's start with a question?

What effect has the market had on you?