In April of this year I sent out a newsletter covering this topic. The article I wrote about received a lot of feedback so I thought it was worth repeating here on my blog. Some of you may have read the Time magazine cover story questioning the value of homeownership, or you may have found yourself out with friends where people were talking about how buying a home is a stupid thing to do. It’s not.
Why Buying a Home is Not a Stupid Thing to Do.
December 1st, 2011 
admin Supportland uses reward points card system and applies it to local businesses!
November 30th, 2011 admin 
So let’s see. I have a Fred Meyer card, a Safeway card, and a Walgreen’s card. At one point I believe I had a handful more but I never really used them or saw any benefit from them. But wouldn’t it be cool to have a rewards card for local businesses? I just stumbled upon Supportland, an awesome local startup who took the reward points idea and are applying it to local businesses to encourage shopping locally. And it gets better because you don’t need a separate card for each place, it’s one card for all of them. Brilliant! Here’s an article (it’s old but whatever) that talks more about it. If you want to sign up or just learn more, check out the Supportland website! Happy shopping!
10 most expensive College Real Estate Markets and 10 Cheapest Markets!
November 29th, 2011 admin 
In the past I was surprised by a few clients that I had gotten who wanted to purchase a home for their child to live in while attending college. It’s a pretty good idea when you consider the low prices and interest rates because even after the student graduates, that home that is located near a college will always be a desirable rental. And the amount of rent a student would pay is just money down the drain whereas if the home is owned by the parents, that’s money towards a mortgage and a real investment. So here’s a list of the 10 most expensive college towns and the 10 cheapest college towns. And guess what? Portland falls under neither of them!
Death of a Strip Mall
November 26th, 2011 admin 
You’ve all seen the empty stores in strip malls. More and more these have become common place since the real estate crisis and mortgage collapse. Here’s an interesting article that talks about how the push for the future will be back towards city living and walkability. They even mention Portland as a city with, “great pent-up demand for walkable, centrally located neighborhoods.” Check out the article here.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24th, 2011 admin 
Every year Danielle Spencer hosts a “Turkey-shaped Jell-O® mold competition” in New York City. And the entries are awesome! Cassandra C. Jones was this year’s First Place Grand Prize Tropy Winner with her “Homemade Hostess Holiday.” My personal favorite was the “Turkey Madoff.” To see the rest of the entries, go here!
Need your house to be more energy efficient? Here’s a coupon!
November 22nd, 2011 admin 
How would your home score?
Small Business Saturday November 26, 2011!
November 21st, 2011 admin 
This coming Saturday November, 26th is Small Business Saturday. We’ve already got Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now for the second year Small Business Saturday! So pledge to shop “small” and support your local small business. To see which businesses near you are participating, go here.
Top 10 Portland Home Styles
November 18th, 2011 admin 
Bungalo– In my experience, this type of home is the most liked and desired among buyers. Bungalos often have low-pitched, side-gabled roofs, widely extended and supported by brackets, banks of casement windows, and huge covered porches that extend across the entire front of the house. These homes are generally 1.5-2 stories high, and usually come with fireplaces and craftsman touches like built-in shelving and cabinetry. Smaller versions of this home found throughout Portland are also called cottages.
Banks Make Mistakes and Homeowners Pay For It!
November 17th, 2011 admin 
This was in the news a tiny tiny bit a few days ago but I wanted to bring more attention to it. There were many mistakes made on the banks part when people were requesting loan modifications. Apparently many were denied the modifications even when they fit the qualifications that were laid out. The example given of one particular family in this article is disheartening. Thankfully with NPR’s involvement, Bank of America agreed to right their wrong. Here’s to hoping that they keep their word! Read the article here.
Home Prices Continue to fall in Portland!
November 16th, 2011 admin 
Yikes. According to the most recent Market Action Report, the average sale price in October 2011 fell 6.5% when compared to the same time last year. Although activity is rising! Closed sales went up 14.1% in October 2011 compared to October 2010 and pending sales saw a rise of 15.1%. With low prices that continue to get lower and insanely low interest rates we have a great time to buy! See the full Report here.
