Portland Market Update: What do the Recent Price Increases Mean for You?

There are many great Portland area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (503) 427-9233 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Before I started on today’s topic, I wanted to ask for a favor. If there is anything you would like me to discuss in a future video, please email us or better yet, comment on this post. We really appreciate and remain true to providing you with the best information.

We’ve been receiving many questions about the recently-realized price increases. However, they have tapered off in the past few weeks and remain unchanged. Currently, the median list price is sitting at $325,000 and the Market Action Index shows that we are still in a seller’s market. However it does suggest that we are creeping down to a more neutral market. Also, Portland’s average days on market is sitting at 131.

In mortgage news, last week’s job report was better than expected. However, mortgage bonds still remain unchanged. This is a pretty boring week in finance as we all wait to see what the Fed’s next move will be after their meeting on March 18th. They are expected to keep short-term rates at the same levels.

Mortgage rates are hovering at about 4.5% which makes it increasingly important to consult a mortgage advisor. Rates have the tendency to change multiple times over the course of a day and also every circumstance might not meet your individual goals. We thank Shelby Spencer over at Guild Mortgage, who is our preferred lender, for this information!

If this information interested you and you would like a report that is tailored to your specific situation, don’t hesitate to contact us. If you are also interested in buying or selling, ask us about our 59 day guarantee! Thanks and I look forward to reading your comments.

Sell Your Portland Home Quickly and for Top Dollar: Make Sure it's Priced Accurately!

There are many great Portland area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (503) 427-9233 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

As we move forward into 2014, I wanted to speak with you about accurately pricing your home for sale and why it’s important. Before I get started, I wanted to point out a few of the great features on our blog. If you’re a seller, we have a link for a free, instantaneous home value report. It may not be 100% accurate, but it gives you a wonderful place to start and contains a lot of useful information. As for buyers, we have a home search that utilizes the local MLS which is constantly updated. It also gives you the option to have information sent to you on a daily, bi-weekly or weekly basis.
 
Pricing a home is somewhat of an art form; you don’t want to price it too low (for obvious reasons) but if you price it too high, you can make one of several mistakes that will hurt your bottom dollar. You could end up with no activity, which forces the home to stay on the market for as little as 30 days, and will generate a much lower offer. We have also seen that the first offer you receive is 90-95% of the time is the best.
 
That offer could be lower is you had accurately priced the home correctly in the first place. Pricing your home too low also leaves money on the table. It is extremely important for our clients to maximize your hard-earned equity.
 
Our home evaluation is a great start, but if you would like a more detailed report we would be happy to generate one for you. This will help us see the entire picture before signing off on a recommended value for your property. Thanks and have a great day!

Should You Get Pre-approved Before Shopping for a Home?

Today I wanted to talk about why it’s critically important to be pre-qualified before looking at homes as a buyer. While I know getting a pre-approval on a mortgage is not as fun as shopping around for houses, it’s very important to find out what your financial situation is before we find the home for you. Otherwise, you could end up scrambling at the last minute and with our market’s low inventory, that lapse in preparation could cost you the house.

Sellers also want to specifically see pre-approval letters from buyers up front; they may not even let you view their home without one, especially during the holiday season when time is precious. If you’re thinking about buying a house, be sure to check out our state of the art home search. Thanks and have a great day!