We continue to buy ever larger homes, now average 2700 SqFt (up 1,000 from 1973).  41% of renters wish they’d bought.  Full details here.

I just learned of a new down payment match offer from Guild Mortgage, the largest local mortgage lender in the NW.  It’s really simple: you put up 1% of the purchase price of a home and Guild makes a grant of 2% so you qualify for a conventional 3% down payment mortgage.  Yes, you just tripled your money.  You can buy a $350,000 home with only $3,500 of your money down (plus closing costs).  You could buy a nice $100,000 condo with $1,000 down.  There’s even more good news in the fine print in the detail flyer my preferred lender, Kelly Parkman at Guild, gave me today

2% Down Payment Grant

And here’s a short video of Kelly himself explaining it.  We’ve worked together for five years and I’ve never seen him so excited.  

Contact Kelly at 503/528-9800  or KParkman@GuildMortgage.net or contact me and I’ll help, too  

If you’re like me and my wife, you have a lot of “stuff” (for lack of a more pleasing word) that will simply not fit in a downsized home.  I frequently help  buyers who want a garage only to store “stuff”.   The time-tested method is, of course a “garage sale”.  But they are subject to the whims of the weather (if it rains the day(s) of your garage sale, you won’t sell much) and while summer in Portland is usually dependable for decent garage sale weather, the other three seasons are a gamble. And if you don’t have a yard or driveway?

Second place is certainly Craigslist.org but I also found an article click here that lists several competing apps as methods to sell that unwanted “stuff”.  Enjoy, and call me when you’re ready for the downsized home or if you’d just like an idea of what your present home would sell for.

Nine good points, from today’s NY Times.  In my 14 years experience staging has two advantages for the seller: 1) higher sale price and 2) quicker sale.  Many times staging can be done with the seller’s own furniture, as with this condo I recently listed which sold for 13% over list in a week.

This may not be a surprise to a lot of Portlanders, but our city has been included in a list of the top ten “next tech havens“

So you ask, “What does that have to do with real estate?”

With new jobs comes new population – people who don’t live here today.  And those people buy things – groceries, cars, insurance, medical, accounting AND homes.  Some will rent, of course, but the gap between the cost of renting and buying in Portland has grown pretty wide, so most will buy a home. 

That adds to the number of home buyers, which already far outstrips the number of homes for sale, and keeps the  upward pressure on home prices. Last month I listed a very nice condo in Tigard and had ten offers (all over list) in the first week.  Maybe not ten, but for nice homes, multiple offers is the rule. 

If you’re one of the nine buyers who didn’t get this one, that’s hard and I feel for you. 

Of course none of us wants to live where jobs are disappearing (and home prices are going down).  If you’re a buyer and your first thought is “Yes I would.”, while that does put you in an easier buying position, you wind up buying a major asset that’s worth less tomorrow than today.  I’ve been in real estate in that kind of market and it’s not easy for buyers, sellers, or Realtors.   

Today’s market in Portland is difficult but not impossible for buyers, and at least you’re buying a major asset that’s likely to be worth more tomorrow than today. 

The Oregon Association of Realtors reports:

If you’re looking for a Christmas Tree Farm, click here for an interactive map of Portland area places, courtesy of our friends at First American Title.

From now until December 16, Windermere offices in Portland are collecting warm blankets and coats.  Drop off at any office listed here OR I’m happy to pick it up.  

Here’s a list from our friends at First American Title (I’m up for the Turkey Trot)