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PGE ASSISTANCE (Portland General Electric)
Now that Christmas and the holiday season are almost over, perhaps your financial picture has become magnified. If you need help, are out of a job, our
local PGE might help. PGE offers payment options during these difficult times here in Oregon:
- PGE’s Equal Pay plan evens out your monthly bill so it’s the same very month. Its predictability makes budgeting easier. Go to http://www.PortlandGeneral.com/EqualPay to find out more.
- Energy Efficiency is talked about all the time and you can tame your energy bills. Simple habits coupled with low-cost or no-cost energy efficiency improvements can result in energy savings. Visit http://PortlandGeneral.com/SaveEnergy for helpful ideas and tips or call the Energy Experts at (800-722-9287) for some answers.
- There’s also some financial situations that make it difficult to pay your energy bill. If you qualify, PGE will refer you to organizations and programs that can help you during this difficult time. Go to http://PortlandGeneral.com/BillHelp for additional assistance.
For more information visit http://www.PortlandGeneral.com or call PGE Customer Service at 503-228-6322 in Portland, 503-399-7717 in Salem or 1-800-542-8818.
TIGARD – PRESCRIPTION DRUG CARD
Tigard has a program for its City’s residents in the form of a prescription discount card. The City of Tigard has partnered with the National League of Cities and CVS Caremark to make a prescription discount card available to all City of Tigard residents. The discount cards offer City residents an average savings of 20% off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs. There is no enrollment form required to get a card, no membership fee for the City’s residents/family are not covered by insurance. The discount card is only for residents of Tigard and has no restrictions based on the resident’s age, income level, or existing health coverage. The card can be usedi when purchasing prescription drugs at approximately 100 pharmacies around the City. The card is available at the Tigard Public Library, City Hall and the Permit Center or log on at http://www.caremark.com/nlc and use the print-a-card feature. City of Tigard residents can also call toll free at 1-888-620-1749 for assistance.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative 
Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Copyright Betty Jung 2009
It’s the day after Christmas and you find yourself with lots of used gift wrap from all those presents that were under the tree. Most recyclers won’t accept it curb-side. Now what to do with it all? Here are some tips from KGW’s blog and Metro.
I found these tips on the Real Simple magazine’s blog. Here are 15 tips to recycle your Christmas gift wrap:
15 Ways To Recycle Wrapping Paper
- Shred it and use as pretty packing material for future gifts or to pack those eBay sales you plan to make during the new year.
- Use it for paper crafts with the kids, children can do wonders with left over paper.
- Create book covers for ones that you may want to disguise… I’m not referring to Rudolph-themed papers, but the non-holiday themed papers you may have used like these Indian papers which can look so beautiful around a few select books in your office adding pattern and color.
- Cover craft boxes using a thin coat of polyvinyl acetate glue to secure the paper to the box. Paper Source makes a PVA glue that I swear by. While you’re at it, cover shoe boxes too!
- You can also cover paper magazine holders…
- Or a pencil holder!
- Create sewing patterns by drawing your design on the white side and cut.
- Line the cat’s litter box! Really!
- Use it for shelf paper in your pantry or closet.
- Line your dresser drawers.
- Decoupage a chair seat, top of a stool, or the front of a dresser for instance.
- Use a craft punch in either a square or round shape and stick the shape to a piece of card stock in the same shape for firmness, then stick another to the opposite side. Use a hole punch to add a hole towards the top of your shape and put ribbon or string through the hole and tie it onto future gifts or to label foods or craft supplies in your home.
- Frame your favorite pieces as works of art.
- Decoupage a flower pot.
- Lay your favorite pattern beneath a sheet of glass on your desk or coffee table to add color and/or pattern to your room.
If you want to recycle the wrinkled papers left over from presents but feel like all hope is lost — it’s not. Remove all tape and on a flat surface, use your hands to smooth out the paper. Then cut the torn edges off so that you have a rectangular or square piece. You can then set your iron on a very low heat setting and iron the paper on the white side. Of course, please exercise caution — recycling wrapping paper is the goal, not burning down your home!
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Copyright Betty Jung 2009. Washington Sq. Mall
Merry Christmas to all of you! I appreciate you “following me”, tweeting me, being “friends”, “connections”, “peeps” and readers of this blog. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
- MERRY CHRISTMAS From Betty Jung 2009
Most of my life I celebrated Christmas on Christmas eve. Therefore, I am posting my Christmas wish for you today.
For the past 34 years selling real estate, I have been mailing my Jung’s Journal real estate newsletter to my clients. Within the last two years, I’ve discontinued sending out 3,000 pieces of mail monthly and my newsletter because I started blogging instead (maybe that’s why the post office is in the red?). At Christmas time in my yearly calendar mailing, I would always include something of inspiration. One year I included Mother Teresa with other sentiments of hope, peace or joy to follow along with the season throughout all those years.
Inasmuch as many of those on my past mailing lists are now reading my blog, I thought I would continue the tradition on-line instead. This Christmas, I am including a story from a fellow Realtor® colleague who is no longer selling real estate. He had included it in one of his writings on his blog and I’d like to repost it here. I had mentioned to him that I’d like to use it and he said it was ok.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
THE OLD PHONE
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was “Information Please” and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone’s number and the correct time.
My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver and held it to my ear. “Information, Please” I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
“Information.”
“I hurt my finger…” I wailed into the phone; the tears came readily now that I had an audience.
“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.
“Nobody’s home but me,” I blubbered.
“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.
“No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.”
“Can you open the icebox?” she asked. I said I could.
“Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,” said the voice.
After that, I called “Information Please” for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me that my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before would eat fruit and nuts.
Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called “Information Please” and told her the sad story. She listened and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?”
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, “Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow, I felt better.
Another day I picked up the receiver and heard the familiar “Information Please.”
“How do I spell ‘fix’?” I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. “Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, “Information Please.” Miraculously, I heard the lovely clear voice I knew so well: “Information.”
I heard myself saying, “Could you please tell me how to spell ‘fix’?”
There was a long pause, then came the soft-spoken answer: “I guess your finger must have healed by now.”
I laughed, “So, it’s really you!” I said, “I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?”
“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.”
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
“Please do,” she said. “Just ask for Sally.”
Three months later I was back in Seattle. This time, a different voice answered, “Information.” I asked for Sally.
“Are you a friend?” she said.
“Yes, a very old friend,” I answered.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago.” Then, before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.”
The note said, “Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.”
I thanked her and hung up. Yes, I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today? Merry Christmas.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
I saw this post the other day. It is actually entitled “13 Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving”. However, I am sure it would apply to Christmas as well. I’ve read it over and over and think I probably will need to read it again:
1. Forget previous holidays, discussions, disagreements and conversations. Go in with a clean slate and an open mind that you will have a fabulous and relaxing day.
2. Have a drink. I didn’t say get drunk, because things could turn ugly. One drink can help you relax and take the edge off.
3. Remember, not every comment or statement requires an answer. Silence and a smile can be very powerful. In other words, bite your tongue.
4. If Uncle Grouch starts in at the table with off-color remarks, use the phrase “Isn’t that interesting?” These three magical words neutralize virtually every situation and can’t be answered. This phrase leads to a verbal dead-end. Then smile politely.
5. Mingle with the kids. This can bring levity to the day.
6. Take a walk. Invite someone special, or the entire group, to take a walk around the corner. The dynamics will shift, the conversations will lighten up and the fresh air will be rejuvenating.
7. Keep a few friendly and neutral small-talk starters or stories in mind. Be ready to drop one in if things get awkward or tense.
8. Pass on being a “topper.” If Uncle Fred is bragging how he was in Florida for a week, let him have his moment. Don’t chime in that you just returned from a free month in Bermuda because you were the #1 sales rep.
9. Be nice. As much as gossip often rules at family gatherings, steer clear of pettiness. Don’t say anything behind someone’s back that you wouldn’t say to their face.
10. Avoid touchy subjects. There’s a lot of angst out there with unemployment, money and everyday life. You don’t know everything that goes on in other homes, marriages or relationships. Focus on positive topics and stay away from turning your feast into a “pity party.”
11. Cite three good qualities of someone who is with you that you dislike. Think of these qualities before you join the crowd so you can get rid of “old baggage.” Plan to relax and have a good day!
12. Offer to help. Some of the best conversations I’ve had with my family and friends are while we were clearing dishes, taking out the garbage or loading the dishwasher.
13. Communicate your gratitude. Regardless of how happy or unhappy you were during your visit, tell your host that you appreciate their efforts and invitation.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Guest Author:
Merry Christmas to all!!
Bob Chiodo, CFP
Equity Home Mortgage, LLC
(CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER VIEW)
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Today is my “just fun” day. The day I write about nonsense, off the wall things, or anything and everything other than real estate that strikes me.
Art has always been an interest of mine. However, inasmuch as I can’t draw a straight line, I am envious of those who not only can paint masterpieces but frankly can paint at all. People have told me you don’t need to be able to draw a straight line and that anyone can draw. I’ve never even tried so I don’t know if there is an “artist” in me or not.
Van Gogh
Technology has helped us discover new things. On a PBS TV show I saw they have been x-raying the Sistine Chapel now for years and have found other works of art and secrets from Michelangelo underneath the existing frescoes hidden for centuries. I also read on the Internet that Van Gogh did the same thing. They have been finding, via new technologies and x-ray vision, different works of art that exist underneath Van Gogh canvases. And, they’re finding DaVinci paintings behind other paintings that museum curators didn’t know were there.
These artists that were geniuses have works hidden that would never have been enjoyed except for technology. It’s like writing a musical composition that no one can hear, or a poem that no one will read. It is a pity that these amazing works would never have been viewed by the naked eye.
When I was in high school, the boys looking cool with sunglasses used to tease us girls saying they could see through our clothing. We’d giggle and run away believing them.
Holiday travel season is in full swing and airports now have that type of technology that can do exactly that – see through our clothing! I saw on the local news where airports using that imaging will disguise your face so they can’t see who it is they are looking at. Gee, that makes me feel better….! And if that isn’t enough, they now have technology that can read our minds…..
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Our November 2009 RMLS™ report was issued the other day and I posted the full report on my blog. At the very end of that report are the condo charts for November 2009. Below are the numbers as to what sold comparing November 2008 vs. 2009. 
There are new changes coming for condo projects and FHA approvals that I’ve written about. Many developers who had projects in various stages of development are now pulling back and won’t be building or continuing with them, others are rethinking future projects. Regardless, the new FHA guidelines will have an affect on the condo market.
In getting the numbers prepared for this post, I was surprised at how many condos/townhouses/attached properties were listed in West Portland. That’s always been the problem with condos. When the economy is good, condos flood the market for sale and when there’s a recession, there are too many on the market and don’t sell. This will change when the market picks up and you will see more condos built once again and condo conversions taking place. Perhaps this time however, like builders of new residential construction, they will think long and hard in the future whether that’s a good business move or not and time will tell what the new normal will be.
| November Condo Stats | #147Lake Oswego | #147West Linn | #148West Portland | #151Tigard |
| November 1-30, 2008 | ||||
| # Sold | 11 | 5 | 62 | 15 |
| Average Days On Market | 125 | 110 | 92 | 69 |
| Average $/sq. ft. Sold | $202 | $123 | $328 | $159 |
| Average Sold Price | $300,562 | $193,850 | $375,546 | $195,037 |
| % of Sale Price vs. List Price | 94.78% | 95.79% | 95.65% | 101.42% |
| Average Sq. Ft. | 1484 | 1568 | 1146 | 1229 |
| November 1-30 2009 | ||||
| # Currently For Sale | 170 | 53 | 814 | 92 |
| # Sold | 21 | 6 | 82 | 21 |
| Months of Inventory | 8 | 8.8 | 9.9 | 4.3 |
| Average Days On Market | 82 | 139 | 104 | 82 |
| Average $/sq. ft. Sold | $176 | $139 | $104 | $137 |
| Average Sold Price | $164,450 | $193,850 | $325,701 | $177,457 |
| % of Sale Price vs. List Price | 99.73% | 99.89% | 99.1% | 95.13% |
| Average Sq. Ft. | 1112 | 1465 | 1100 | 1295 |
| Source: RMLS |
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. are all about family and spending time at home. According to a recent report, most Americans would 
rather be at home at this time of year.
Last week I was out trying to take Christmas pictures for my new photo blog - Lake Oswego Living.A Photo Blog. I took 18 pictures and not one turned out. I’m still practicing and trying to figure out this whole photography thing.
Edenberry Drive, one of the streets directly behind my house in Westlake always has great lights. Our own little Peacock Lane right here in Lake Oswego, if you will. On that photo disaster night, there was a tour bus in front of me with folks from an Assisted Living Residence driving around with seniors and people also walking the neighborhood looking at the lights on Edenberry Drive. All this leads me to believe that people are staying home for the holidays and that due to the economy they are taking part in all the festivities right here in town. It’s free and can be a family event.
In year’s past, driving from the office to home I would always make a stop through Edenberry to check out the lights. I’ve even included that area in my walks and did that one year in snow just to see the lights shining and reflecting back on the white stuff. Our local news stations had a story about Edenberry’s lights one year. Surfing the net the other evening, I found where one of the local walkers’ groups has a route to lead you on a walk and a 10K through the neighborhood to view the lights too. You can check out the walk’s route to view the lights here or contact the group to see when they’ll be walking. They have the streets listed with the light displays. If you don’t want to walk the route, stay in your car and drive the neighborhood.
I really wanted to get Edenberry’s pictures on here or on my photo blog. Maybe next year I’ll be a better photographer. Sorry, but you’ll have to get out there and walk the neighborhood. If you live on Edenberry, send me some pictures and I’ll post them here on my blog. Perhaps you’ve had better luck than I have had in taking pictures. Enjoy the lights at Edenberry or in your own neighborhood this weekend, the weather shouldn’t be too bad.
If you’re still thinking about decorating your own home and haven’t put up your lights yet, the Zoo will recycle your old Christmas lights. Read about it here.
P.S. After I had already written this post our local Lake Oswego Review had an article in their Thursday edition about the Edenberry lights. I wanted to link to the story but there is no link that I could find. You can buy the newspaper all across Lake Oswego.
UPDATE: Found the link for our local Lake Oswego Review article mentioned above. Updated: 12/26/09
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER VIEW
Our National Association of Realtors® recently published a report on the state of the real estate market throughout the world. If you think our real estate market here in Oregon is crazy, look at the chart above and see what some of the other countries throughout the world have been going through.
New Zealand’s real estate market has dropped in price by 98% during this past decade. In the United States, we’ve certainly seen our bubble burst in most of the real estate markets across our nation, however certainly not as bad as most of the the rest of the countries either.
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER VIEW
This “great recession” has affected everyone worldwide. Data suggests the run up in housing prices occurred in many countries much later than it did in the U.S. and with declines starting sometime in 2008. A group of countries, particularly former communist countries, have seen an unprecedented rise in housing prices followed by an even steeper bust. Some countries saw a steady rise in prices while others had bubbles worse than the U.S.
In Estonia, for example, price changes between the low-high points in the last decade reached 600%. Many other countries saw larger price changes than in the U.S. Singapore, Dubai, Latvia, Iceland and the UK, had price declines following considerable bubbles between 19-50% at the end of the first quarter 2009.
There are other countries, however, that have not experienced any bust at all. Housing prices in some parts of western Europe remained steady over the past decade and have not experienced fluctuations such as Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands for example. Those markets already had relatively high home prices.
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR BETTER VIEW
I love this last chart. It really isn’t funny but what better image to show how crazy the times are and our world is. Our market in Oregon is looking pretty good in comparison.
Yesterday, HousingWire had a story where RealtyTrac stated it doesn’t think the “shadow inventory” will do as much harm to our market and the economy as everyone is predicting. You can read it all here.
Source: National Association of Realtors®
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Located in Mercantile Village, right off Kruse Way and Boones Ferry Road in Lake Oswego, is the Booktique. There have been on-going discussions about it moving to another location. However, now due to an agreement with Providence Hospital who owns the premises, the Booktique is staying at its location in Merchantile Village.
The Booktique is a used library book store that profits from people donating books and people who buy them. The monies from those sales are given to the Lake Oswego School Foundation.
This is one of my favorite places and I’ve been going to this book store probably for as long as it has been open – 17 years. Over those years, I have purchased many books from this store for myself and donated books from my collection to them as well. Other people I know have done the same thing. Not always will you find the book you might be looking for, but you will always find a treasure. Books start at $.50 and can be purchased for considerably more than that if they are a collectible.
It’s a fun place to hang out on a rainy day and there’s the Blue Moon Coffee Shop plus a deli all in the same location. They are closed on Monday’s but go there and buy a book or two on one of the other days. They have a children’s nook loaded with books for the kids too. You might just find that perfect Christmas gift there for Uncle Charlie while you’re at it.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Our November 2009 RMLS™ Stats were published yesterday. Here’s the full report. Prices are still down by 11.4% from even last year although closed sales increased by 72.4%. I think that’s still residue from the first-time home buyer’s tax credit that everyone had assumed would end at the end of November and rushing to get their homes closed. Our inventory, surprisingly, also crept up slightly to 7.1 months from 6.5 the previous month although in many neighborhoods it is a balanced market favoring both buyers and sellers. I’ll break down some stats and dig deeper in the coming days. There are some stats that aren’t as obvious in our RMLS™ report above. Here is also the analysis of the November 2009 stats from the RMLS™ blog.
With the holidays, and depending on the weather this month (after our Arctic Chill), the market has slowed. However, there have been many December months that I’ve been extremely busy and now is the time that serious and transfer buyers are in our marketplace. I’ve written a past post on “Buying A House In The Winter” and why it’s a good idea to buy a house in inclement weather. Hopefully we will see a robust 2010 and that the New Year will start on an upswing.
Frankly I love this time of year as far as real estate goes. It’s that time where everyone has something to say about the housing market,
the economy, etc. and I enjoy reading all about it. I’ve been cleaning out some of my old real estate trade magazines and I have had to laugh on several occasions on some of what has been said over the last several years. Some of it now looking back is shocking – what were they thinking? None of the predictions have come true and all called the recovery far sooner than it had occurred, if in fact it has occurred.
So, here we are again with more people voicing their opinions about where we are heading in 2010 and beyond.
Interest rates are still low and according to this report, Bernanke has no intention of raising them. I’ve also been listening to commentators on whether Bernanke should be replaced or not. What do you think? I have a new poll below for you to vote on whether he should stay or go.
Although unemployment numbers are still high, the job market seems to be improving, at least for the temporary – part-time jobs. Job recovery is supposed to occur by Spring next year says the government. Unemployment, however, here in Oregon is at 11.1% – the most recent numbers that were just released. There’s also a prediction that foreclosures will increase to 4 million in 2010.
According to Forbes magazine, Portland still has overpriced housing inventory and we rank #31 in their latest survey based on stats from Altos Research.
Moody’s just released a series of statistics and predictions on housing through 2012. There are five charts showing the housing industry’s boom and bust during this decade and forecasts the possible course of its recovery the next three years, as reflected in home sales, home prices, housing starts, the supply of homes available for sale and mortgage defaults. All data is quarterly.
So, let us know what you think about Bernanke – all votes are anonymous.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Lake Oswego Website
Today I typically write something off the wall, different, of personal interest or whatever isn’t related to real estate. Recently at a local Starbucks®, a Lake Oswego Police Officer and a Clackamas County Sheriff were joking back and forth about what was going on in Lake Oswego, at least as far as crime, breaking of the law, etc. Both indicated there isn’t much that goes on in our small town - Lake Oswego. That reminded me that I’ve been wanting to write this post for a long time. I want to personally thank our Lake Oswego Police Department because I’ve had many embarrassing moments and have needed someone in uniform to come to my rescue. The LO Police always have.
Our Lake Oswego Police Department has helped me in countless ways:
- In a past post I wrote I had another agent’s buyer arrested and put in jail the morning of a closing. It was the Lake Oswego Police Department that came to my rescue. The Portland Police Department would have thought I was crazy, but Lake Oswego took the time to not only listen but act on my intuition…based only on a gut feeling I had.
- One late night I drove home and opened the wrong side of the garage door with the opener. I immediately pressed the remote to close it and opened the side I drive in. I went upstairs and went to bed. Next thing I knew, I had a flashlight shining on my face. Apparently, the neighbors across the street had seen the garage door open and never close. It hit a box coming down and reopened and stayed open. They knew I never opened that side so they came to the house and rang the doorbell to let me know the door was still open late that night. They didn’t know my doorbell wasn’t working and when I didn’t answer they called me on the phone. I didn’t hear it ring. They proceeded to call the police who came in the house to see if everything was ok and were shining their flashlight on me to my embarrassment.
- A large truck delivered brick to a neighbor and coming around the corner, ran over and knocked down my brick mail box. After many repeated calls to the contractor to repair my mailbox and never responding, it was the LO Police that finally got the contractor to return and rebuild my mailbox.
- Last year during our Arctic Blast, I got stuck at the Lake Oswego Post Office. Just as I was getting frantic, a LO Police Officer drove by, saw me and helped by pushing me back out into the street.
- And lastly recently, apparently the 911 dispatcher in LO received a call from my cell phone with no response from me. They thought they had heard a baby crying in the background and attempted to reach me a couple of times on my cell to no avail. They left a message and I returned their call. By that time, the officer was on his way over to my house to see if I was ok…there was no baby in the house and I don’t know how my cell phone wound up calling 911. However, they were concerned and wanted to make sure I was ok.
Now, I’m from Los Angeles, and trust me, none of the above would have ever happened in LaLaLand. There’s a real advantage to living in a small town which I consider Lake Oswego to be. Thank you, Lake Oswego Police Department, for going above and beyond…I really appreciate it. In the whole scheme of things, I know there’s lots going on that’s much more important but I thank you, you’re the best.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Guest Author:
Bob Chiodo, CFP
Equity Home Mortgage
Forbes magazine just came out with their “Costliest Cities To Live” list and Portland ranks at #13. Seattle ranks #9 out of their top 10.
They looked at cost of living expenses in six categories: grocery items, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services New York was #1 as the most expensive city in which to live.
You can click on this link to see the entire list.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
From our RMLS™ comes this information regarding FHA:
We all know that FHA Loans have increased in the past few years with the changing market, but how much? I recently ran some numbers on financial terms, a required field in RMLSweb, that may shed some light. These numbers are for the Portland metro area (Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties).
As you can see, sold listings with the financial terms “FHA” have increased in the RMLS™ Portland market area from just 1.2% in 2007 to 28.1% of sales through October 2009. These numbers are closely in line with national levels; a recent report stated that FHA loans are up to 30% this year from 3% in 2006.
Although buyers utilizing FHA financing has increased dramatically, the preferred method of financing (by 49.3% of sales) in the Portland metro area is still conventional financing. HUD is considering increasing the downpayment for FHA from the minimum of 3.5% to 5% for buyers. By the first of the year 2010, we should know whether this will take effect or not. I feel this is bad timing for this increase. The housing market hasn’t begun to improve or rebound sufficiently as yet, and to make it more difficult for buyers to purchase isn’t something the real estate industry, or buyers and sellers of houses, need at this point.
The home buyer tax credit extension for first-time home buyers and for move-up buyers couldn’t come at a worse time. With winter storms throughout the U.S. and the holiday season, the time to purchase is dwindling away rapidly for anyone wishing to utilize that credit. Personally, I don’t see where that will help with an uptick in sales at this time of the year.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Oregon Map
OUR LOCAL ECONOMY
The other day I indicated there was a meeting that was going to be held at our Home Builders Association about our local economy. Here’s the report from OregonLive on what the economists said at that meeting:
“Real estate consultant Jerry Johnson predicts that Portland-area home prices will hit bottom in January at about $230,000, down 24 percent from the 2007 peak of $302,000.Johnson, whose firm Johnson Reid was behind a recent housing report I’ve been posting about, has put in as much time as anyone studying the Portland market. His prediction is based on a model built on the Case-Shiller index that shows the region’s average home is still priced 6 percent above the historical trend line.Portland housing market, Crowe on the national housing market and Potiowsky on the general Oregon economy.Last year at the same meeting, Johnson forecasted home prices would strike bottom in September 2009 at about $261,000, down 12 percent from the peak. The reality has been twice as bad thanks largely to the declining economy and double-digit unemployment.
David Crowe, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, and Tom Potiowsky, the state government’s chief economist, also spoke at the breakfast.
All three speakers seemed to be in agreement about the general direction of the economy in general and the housing market specifically: The bottom is either here or near and the recovery will, in Crowe’s words, be slow and tedious. For example, Crowe said he expects national unemployment to peak in early 2010 at something under 10.5 percent. But in 2011, he expects that rate to hover at a plump rate of 9 percent.
Crowe said housing typically helps pull the economy out of a recession by accounting for one-third of the recovery. But this time, he expects housing will lag because of the credit market ills and an inventory overhang.
On interest rates, Crowe said mortgage rates should rise slightly in early 2010 after the Federal Reserve stops buying Fannie and Freddie loans.
He also cautioned that foreclosures and distressed homes are “the reason you can’t be sure home prices have bottomed.”
One of the other big takes is that the trouble is just beginning for the commercial real estate market. That will continue to put pressure on banks and will prolong the credit crisis for all real estate sectors. This was a group of single-family builders and Johnson gave a blunt and brief overview of the condo market (the all caps are his): CONDO MARKET DEAD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.”
Meanwhile, our NAR (National Association of Realtors®) issued their latest 2010 predictions as well. You can read that here.
First we heard economists say they didn’t know the recession was coming, and now the economists are saying they didn’t think it would get as bad as it did. Further, from the meeting mentioned above comes word that Portland’s housing prices haven’t hit bottom as yet. For once I happen to agree with the economists. I also agree with the comment made above about our condo market in general. As always, it’s about local stats and neighborhood by neighborhood.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Willamette Shore Trolley Website
All Aboard! The Willamette Shore Trolley is about to commence their Christmas schedule. Ride the rails from Lake Oswego to Portland, along the banks of the Willamette River, with a stop in Johns Landing to view the Christmas ships parading up and down the river. Call to make reservations (503) 697-7436.
‘The Willamette Shore Trolley has been providing scenic trolley rides on a 6-mile section of historic rail line between Lake Oswego and Portland, Oregon since 1987 and is operated by volunteer members of the Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society (a not-for-profit Oregon Corporation. 501c3).
Ride our authentic antique trolley car along the shore of the Willamette River. During your journey you’ll ride through parks, by stately mansions, over several bridges, including the 686 foot Riverwood Trestle, and through the 1400′ Elk Rock Tunnel.
The line was opened for service from Oswego (now Lake Oswego) to Portland on July 4th, 1887 as a narrow gauge steam railroad known as the Portland and Willamette Valley Railroad.
It was later purchased by the Southern Pacific and standard-gauged around the turn of the century.”
I’ve taken this trip and it is a fun way to celebrate the holidays with the entire family, out-of-towners and the children. It also runs during the summer months and I’ve never done that. Next summer I’ll take that trip to take some pictures along the way.
Source: Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
NEW CONSTRUCTION – Nationwide & West Coast
The National Association of Home Builders reports that in October, nationwide housing production fell 10.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 units in October as builders awaited word on whether an important home buyer incentive would be extended. Single-family housing starts declined 6.8 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000 units, the slowest pace since May of this year with the West declining by 8.5 percent.
Permit issuance, which can be an indicator of future building activity, fell 4 percent overall in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000 units, due primarily to a double-digit drop-off on the multifamily side. While single-family permits held virtually flat at 451,000 units, multifamily permits were down nearly 18 percent to 101,000 units. Regionally, permit activity was mixed, with the West posting a 6.7 percent decline. There was also a recent story indicating that lumber prices have increased although housing construction is still down near World War II levels. 
The U.S. Census Bureau also released their construction spending data for October 2009, revealing that the real estate sector dropped 14.4% from October 2008. The residential real estate sector was up 4% which had speculators rallying but spending dropped a staggering 23% from October 2008.
New construction inventory has been falling due to slower than average but consistent salespace coupled with a lag in new spec homes coming on the market. Although sales are trending up, builders are still struggling to close sales. The Census Bureau reports that new U.S. home sales rose to an annual rate of 430,000 in October, up from a revised September rate of 405,000. That’s a 6.2 percent jump, but the increase isn’t statistically significant.
Another report indicates (released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development) that the median sale price of new homes was $212,200 in October with an estimated 229,000 units available at the end of that month, reflecting a 6.7 month inventory.
IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport gives these highlights:
- Inventories fell for the 30th straight month and hit their lowest level since May 1971. That signals that builders at some point will need to boost housing starts again.
- While the October jump wasn’t statistically significant, the trends show that new home sales are improving slowly.
- The tax credit didn’t drive any sales bump because the deals had to close by Nov. 30 and these won’t.
- Selling a new home has never been harder. The median time it takes to sell a new home rose to 13.5 months. The highest reading ever. Builders are still struggling, despite the pickup in sales and the tax credits. Calculated Risk has some nice charts. (See below.)
From Calculated Risk blog
NEW CONSTRUCTION – Oregon
According to a recent housing report from Norris Beggs & Simpson as reported by OregonLive, the unsold inventory of speculative new homes has fallen this year from 1,200 units in January to 679 in September. Washington County has 37 percent of unsold spec homes; Clark County is second with 26 percent, then Clackamas County with 22 percent and Multnomah County with 15 percent. Outlying suburban markets accounted for two-thirds of new spec inventory in the third quarter 2009. New construction sales are down 72% in the Portland area from the peak of the real estate cycle.
NEW CONSTRUCTION – Portland
My regular readers know I’ve been writing relentlessly about smaller houses. From everything I read, and there was an article in the Oregonian recently that mirrored everything I’ve been saying, I believe the public does want the smaller sq. ft. and that builders will hopefully start accommodating that segment of the market.
As I was writing this post I remembered something that happened after the mid-80s recession ended. We didn’t have any new houses to sell. There was no new construction anywhere in the marketplace for buyers to purchase. It took a long time before the builders put new construction inventory back into our market. Will that happen again this go around? I personally don’t think so, but that could happen. With inventory of new houses drying up, builders not building, little to no construction money available, we could be looking at zero new construction as in the mid-80s. I’ve also stated that I believe the large subdivisions are on the way out and that more and more builders, as has already been the case, will be building on in-fill lots or on a build-to-suit only basis for a buyer for some time until new construction gets back on its feet. Sounds like we’re going back to the 80s.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
The other day I saw a bird in my yard I’d never seen before. It had white polka dots on its sides, chocolate brown on its head and top body, and black on its underside. I need to find him in my bird book to see what it was and what kind of food to leave out, if any, for him to return, although I think he was feeding on the bugs in my yard. I don’t use chemicals in my yard and am grateful when they eat the insects.
Now that the weather is getting colder…brrr…it’s also time to think of your pets and the wildlife outdoors. The Oregonian’s Home and Garden issue recently said not to forget to feed the birds in their December garden planner.
Did you know that the Audubon Society of Portland has a Christmas Bird Count?
The 110th Christmas Bird Count season is upon us. All over the Americas, Audubon chapters will be conducting one-day bird counts between Dec 14, 2009 and Jan 5, 2010. Audubon Society of Portland held its first Christmas Bird Count in 1926. This year our 84th Count is on Saturday, January 2, 2010. Birders will comb the parks, open spaces, wetlands, rivers and neighborhoods all over Portland looking for birds. At the end of the day we’ll get together and share what we found.
The Christmas Bird Count is a great way for birders of all levels to enjoy a day in the field and sharpen their birding skills. You will also have the opportunity to meet others who share your interest in birds and to discover some good local spots to find birds. And you will contribute to scientific knowledge. In fact, the Christmas Bird Count is one of the best ways for the amateur birder to advance ornithology: the data are sent to the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University, where over the years Christmas Bird Count records have been used to study changes in bird populations and wintering ranges. A recent study of CBC data shows that most birds are wintering farther north now than they did 40 years ago, perhaps the result of global warming.
Each Christmas Bird Count attempts to count all the birds in a 15 mile diameter circle on one given day. In addition to the Portland Count, roughly 50 other Counts will be conducted in Oregon and SW Washington this year during the 3 weeks surrounding the holidays.
Want to participate in the Portland Christmas Bird Count? Check out the map of the Portland CBC (on their website above and pick an area you would like to help cover. It does not need to be where you reside.) Contact the area leader, who will tell you where and what time to meet on January 2. The area leaders will put together teams to balance birding skills and cover as much of their area as possible. Most teams go out for the whole day, 7AM until 4PM, but you can usually make arrangements if you need to stop earlier. Can’t decide which area? Contact Wink Gross, at winkg@hevanet.com or 503-226-3842.
There are also birdwalks co-sponsored by the Audubon Society and Backyard Bird Shop. For information on those bird walks around the Portland area, go to the Backyard Bird Shop for more information.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. © Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland
Betty Jung
Disturbing Comment On My Blog – Graff
December 15, 2009 in Commentary, Oregon, Portland | Tags: All About Portland Oregon Real Estate, Betty Jung, www bettyjung.com | 4 comments
This is the picture the reader refers to below. It is a picture I purchased and is copyrighted.
I’ve written several articles now about graffiti and my dislike for it. Recently, I received a comment on one of those posts that disturbed me. I’d like to know if it is disturbing to you as well?
Here’s what the reader had to say:
Apparently from this reader, I gather that he and other graffiti artists feel it is ok, or they should be allowed to deface public property. My comment to the reader was that it’s not ok to deface property. If a graffiti artist wants to paint on anything they should do so on property they own and not anyone else’s, public or private.
Where do they get this belief? My feeling is that they have no respect for other people’s property let alone their own. It bothers me that they feel this way, but I’m not out to change the world or their view. It starts earlier and elsewhere. What is being taught at home and in our schools? Not only did I not like this comment but it also didn’t “open” my mind as the reader suggests. Did it open yours?
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Portland