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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
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
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
The new 2009 school report cards are out and the Lake Oswego School District received the highest marks for each of its 13 schools. The
District has been on a 3-year winning streak and is tops among county districts.
The report cards were first mandated by the state Legislature in 1999 to determine school performance. The evaluations largely used standardized test scores, but attendance, SAT scores, the number of students who took the tests and school improvement are all factors as well.
However, the West Linn-Wilsonville School District isn’t far behind LO and could grab the title, ”best-rated school district in Clackamas County”, away from Lake Oswego soon. West Linn-Wilsonville received the top “outstanding” designation in this year’s report cards with only one school (Inza R. Wood Middle School) receiving a “satisfactory” mark.
Congrats to both school districts, the students and teachers for all their hard work.
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’m loving our Fall weather. If you’ve noticed, I haven’t written much about real estate lately. That hasn’t been on purpose, but I guess I’ve just been enjoying our Fall. I’ll get back to real estate again soon, promise.
However, several months ago, I wrote that Tryon Creek State Park had great hiking and it is also on this list of 5 Fall hikes to enjoy. Below are some hiking spots indicating the level of difficulty for each hike. This week we’re supposed to have nice weather, so take some time to get what may be our last glimpses of Fall here in the Pacific Northwest.
As mentioned in the post referenced above, I’ve hiked in Tryon Creek State Park and at the Hoyt Arboretum. I’ve biked in Champoeg State Park along the Willamette River but have never hiked there. McIver State Park in Estacada is also a great spot. The only place I haven’t been to is Anderson Park in Banks. This time of year would be beautiful at any of these sites. Take some time to enjoy our area before the frenzy for the holidays gets even worse.
Courtesy: Image – Ticor Title
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
Douglas Fir Tree (Image Copyrighted Do Not Copy)
The Christmas Tree, or “Weinachtsbaum,” is a popular tradition that began in Europe but is now found in countries around the world.
In the 7th century, a monk traveled around Germany and nearby countries converting people to Christianity. According to legend, like St. Patrick did with the shamrock, he used the fir tree’s triangular shape to teach the people about the Holy Trinity. The fir tree (“Tannenbaum”) became a symbol of Christianity and was decorated and hung upside down from ceilings at Christmas in central European countries to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Problem is, however, people aren’t buying Christmas trees like they used to. Sales have dropped by 50% in the past 40 years. In fact, the majority of people seem to favor “plastic” over going green. There are just too many Christmas trees this year and the nursery business has a glut of them. I’ve read two different reports about Christmas trees lately - and both weren’t good for the tree industry. However, in an effort to go green, it would be better to purchase a local Christmas tree than going the artificial route this year. There was a story that says “fake” is out and the real thing is in. Nothing smells as good as a real live evergreen tree.
Here’s the link to my Christmas Tree Farm Guide for U-Pick farms from last year.
Quick Christmas Tree Facts:
- there are approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. every year
- there are close to half a billion real Christmas trees currently growing on Christmas Tree farms in the U.S. alone, all planted by farmers
- North American real Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states and Canada. 80% of artificial trees worldwide are manufactured in China, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
- Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource. Artificial trees contain non-biodegradable plastics and possible metal toxins such as lead.
- there are more than 4,000 Christmas tree recycling programs throughout the U.S.
- for every real Christmas tree harvested, up to 3 seedlings are planted in its place the following spring.
- there are about 500,000 acres in production for growing Christmas frees in the U.S. much of it preserving green space
- there are about 21,000 Christmas tree growers in the U.S. and over 100,000 people employed full or part-time in the industry.
- it can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree of typical height (6-7′) or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7 years.
- the top Christmas tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington.
- the top selling Christmas trees are balsam fir, Douglas-fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine and white pine.
(Source: National Christmas Tree Association)
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
Here is Part 2 about our Portland, Oregon real estate market for Q3 2009:
OREGON HOUSING PRICES
OregonLive recently reported that Oregon will see 5th worst housing market in the next year:
Oregon’s single-family home prices will fall another 1.8 percent between September 2009 and 2010, the fifth biggest decline projected in the First American CoreLogic Home Price Index. The states expected to do worse than Oregon: Michigan (-6.8 percent), Arizona (-4.8 percent), Washington (-4.2 percent) and Wyoming (-3.3 percent). Looking back, Oregon had the sixth-biggest price decline between September 2008 and September 2009 at 12.6 percent. Ahead of Oregon: Nevada (-25.5 percent), Arizona (-20.3 percent), Florida (-17.7 percent), Michigan (-15.1 percent) and Idaho (-14.9 percent). In both cases, Oregon is doing worse than the national average. First American’s national forecast projects housing prices will bottom out in most markets by March 2010, then turn positive. That obviously won’t be true for Oregon or Portland. First American’s forecast for the Portland market calls for prices to fall 1 percent between September 2009 and September 2010. Here’s a spreadsheet with First American’s forecast for the 50 states.
DISTRESSED PROPERTIES IN PORTLAND
21.9% of listings distressed in PDX
The AP reports that homeowners’ inability to keep up with payments is now more due to unemployment, rather than the sub-prime loans that contributed to the initial increase in foreclosures.
The latest report from the Mortgage Bankers Association indicates that the rate of foreclosure for people with fixed rate loans and good credit is on the rise.
A quick search on RMLSweb reveals that in the Portland Metro area, distressed properties currently make up 21.9% of active residential listings (this number takes into account listings that require third-party approval, as this typically indicates a short sale and those that are marked as bank-owned).
During the third quarter, Oregon had the nation’s 44th-highest rate of homeowners who were late on their payments, and the 21st-highest rate of homeowners in foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Oregon has a lower-than-average number of homeowners with sub-prime loans, but a higher-than-average number of homeowners with alternative or “Alt A” loans. Those include interest-only loans, Option ARM loans, or “stated income” loans, where there was no required documentation of their ability to pay.
Alt A loans, like sub-prime loans, are falling disproportionately into foreclosure. However, the Mortgage Bankers report does not track Alt A loans as a separate category.
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
Here’s Part 1 about the housing market in Portland, Oregon for Q3 2009. Part 2 will appear on Sunday.
HOUSING APPRECIATION
Portland State University issued their Third Quarter 2009 Real Estate Report indicating which areas showed appreciation during the most recent quarter of 2009 – Q3:
- Courtesy Portland State University. Click on Image for Better View
SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
The National Association of Realtors® reports that 80% of the housing markets across the U.S. had falling prices in the single-family residential housing sector.
Portland, Oregon was not immune to those falling prices, and NAR® reports that Portland for the third quarter of 2009, had prices dropping by -12.2%.
“During the third quarter, 123 out of 153 metropolitan statistical areas reported lower median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the third quarter of 2008, while 30 areas had price gains.
The national median existing single-family price was $177,900, which is 11.2 percent below the third quarter of 2008; the median is where half sold for more and half sold for less. Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 30 percent of transactions in the third quarter, which continued to weigh down median home prices because they sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. (Portland’s median sales price dropped by -10.7% from $280,000 to $250,000 in October 2009).
“The decline in the national median price has moderated recently, and a shrinking supply of unsold inventory suggests we are getting closer to price stabilization in many areas, but we need a steady stream of financially qualified buyers to further reduce inventory and get us to a self-sustaining market,” Yun said. “Foreclosures will continue to come on the market, but rising sales from the expanded tax credit should stabilize home prices by next spring and help to stem future foreclosures.”
In another recent report, across the entire Portland metro area, the market as measured by inventory, is the strongest in the $150,000 to $299,999 price range. That market segment has seen a robust sales pace over the previous 12 months (a 58% share) which has been propped up by the government’s $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. Homes price in the $350,000-$499,000 range have seen significant inventory increase in recent years, up to roughly 9-10 months of inventory in the Third Quarter of 2009 from only 7-9 months during the 2007 peak. However, it is a marginal improvement over 2008 at the same time. The most significant change in the market has been the houses over the $500,000 price. Inventory at the peak of our housing market for that price point was at 12.6 months to over 20 months for Q3 2009.
CNN recently reported that we still have too many houses on the market for sale. According to their recent report based on numbers from the Census Bureau:
“…a full-fledged housing recovery will remain elusive until the market can absorb all the houses and apartments that were built during the housing boom. And on that front, progress has been slow.
About one in seven housing units was vacant in the third quarter, according to the Census Department. This year has registered the highest reading since the government began collecting such data in 1965.
Part of the glut comes from a rash of foreclosures as strapped borrowers fall behind on their mortgages.
But rental apartments are emptying out at a record clip as well, as a spike in the jobless rate and a decade of subpar wage growth have sent many Americans back home to live with Mom and Dad.”
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
No longer can you text while driving. A new word according to this year’s Oxford American Dictionary, is driving while being intexticated and it is banned after January 1, 2010 in Oregon along with talking on your cell phone.
The other day while waiting for my light to turn green, I was watching people make left turns to see how many drivers were on their cell phones while dr
iving. All but one that I saw was talking on their cell. This is all about to change and will, perhaps, be harder on some folks than others.
The cell phone ban was approved June 24. If you’re planning on visiting Oregon after January 1, 2010, it will cost you $90.00 if caught texting or talking on your hand-held cell phone. Hands-free is allowed. Oregon is only one of 7 states that bans talking on a cell phone while driving. In fact, there’s talk the ban will go nation-wide soon.
I wrote a post a while back about the studies that have been done on the driving habits of those talking and driving. Granted, there are others that don’t need cell phones as an excuse to drive recklessly. However, when I get a call I always try to pull over to the side of the road or I won’t answer the phone. I had a near miss not too long ago with someone else driving while on their cell phone and I don’t want to be placed in danger nor do I want to place others in danger. There are enough crazy drivers on the road already.
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’S ECONOMY
According to Yahoo!® recently, Oregon is considered one of the 10 most troubled states. The list is based on several factors, including the loss of state revenue, size of budget gaps, unemployment and foreclosure rates, poor money management practices, and state laws governing the passage of budgets.
These troubles have forced Oregon and the other nine states – as well as many others — to raise taxes, lay off or furlough state workers and slash services. The actions in these 10 states can slow down the nation’s recovery, especially since these 10 states account for one-third of the country’s population and economic output.
The 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best-Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary and technology growth. According to the Milken Institute Study, Portland ranks #37 (last year the outlook was better and we ranked #28) for job recovery.
As you know if you’ve been reading my blog, I was in favor of the extended and expanded home buyer tax credit although many were against it, including many real estate agents. It wasn’t because I wanted to increase our debt, but I was in favor of it (and I”ve stated this in my blog) because I have sold real estate now through 5-6 recessions and I knew how important housing is to any recovery.
Now comes a study from the Joint Center For Housing Studies of Harvard University “The Role of Housing in Recessions and Recoveries” saying much of what I’ve said in my blog posts:
“Historically, changes in residential fixed investment (RFI) have contributed significantly to both pushing the economy into recession and lifting it out.”
“The housing downturn has had a dramatic effect on economic growth—directly through the collapse of construction and home sales and indirectly though reduced consumer spending in response to falling home values and the multiplier effects of reduced construction and sales”.
PREDICTIONS FOR 2010
2010 Real Estate Market
I guess we don’t have to wait until January 1, to read about predictions from economists about 2010 because they are already starting to show up in November instead. If you didn’t catch this article on CNN, here’s what they have to say about the “bottom” in housing and how they feel real estate will look in 2010.
Our National Association of Realtors® posted their optimistic predictions for 2010 and from local Oregon economist Bill Conerly comes his forecast for 2010 as well.
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
HOORAY!!! My blog should did hit the 100,000 mark today. Thanks for reading.
RMLS™ October 2009 Stats
The October 2009 RMLS™ stats were published Thursday and I haven’t had a chance to look at them as yet. However, I am posting the report here. Our inventory of houses for sale is at the lowest we’ve seen since August 2007 and sales jumped by 64% the largest increase since 1996. I’ll post more data in the next couple of days. However, if you’ve been thinking of selling or buying, now’s a good time. With low interest rates, low inventory and the home buyer’s tax credit, it is a good time for all parties.
OTHER NEWS
There’s been a lot in the news lately but the over-riding news story has been the increase in unemployment benefits and the
extended/expanded home buyer tax credit. Here’s a great website with frequently asked questions and answers in regards to the new Home Buyer Tax credit that might come in handy for you.
There have been other news-worthy items as well:
Fannie Mae Offers Deed For Lease Program
There’s more info on their website about the Deed For Lease program.
Bend Named In Top 25 Cities
Yahoo!® recently had their Top 25 cities to recover from the economic downturn with a job recovery. The only Oregon city to make the list was Bend and it posted at #23.
23. Bend, Ore.
Q1 2010 annualized job growth: 0.8%
Q3 2009 annualized job growth: -4.7%
First quarter of recovery: Q1 2010
Unemployment rate: 14.5%
Median household income: $54,179
The economy of Bend, at the Cascade Mountains’ eastern foothills, is especially popular with hikers and skiers. Bend’s job market got hammered during the recession because it depends heavily on highly cyclical industries—construction, the retail trade, and tourism. As the overall recovery sets in, Bend and its highly volatile economy should bounce back faster than the rest of the country.
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
Courtesy chromaonline.com
The other day I wrote a post Fall Leaf Lovers…I don’t recall as beautiful a season as we’ve been having this Fall around Portland. Almost any road you go down, there are leaves in every color imaginable. At this time of year, you also hear a lot about the pumpkin patches on Sauvie Island. During the summer months, the Sauvie Island farmers offer their homegrown fruit and produce in open-air stands all summer into the early autumn. Perhaps what you didn’t know is that Sauvie Island also offers bicycling around its quiet byways, canoeing on tiny Sturgeon Lake or quiet Multnomah Channel, or birdwatching of those that migrate on the island making pit stops twice a year to rest and refuel.
Courtesy rootsweb.ancestry.com
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their trek through the Northwest in the early 1800s, somewhat disgruntled wrote about the fact that they and their party couldn’t sleep “for the noise kept up during the whole of the night by the swans, geese, white and grey Brant, ducks on a small Sand Island….They were immensely numerous and their noise horrid”.
You can hear them too, because on October 24, from 8 to 11 a.m., the Audubon Society will be on the Wapato Greenway, on Sauvie Island listening for the song birds and early waterfowl.
About Sauvie Island
Multnomah Indians
The original inhabitants of Sauvie Island were the Multnomah Indians. Numbering about 800 in population when first recorded by Lewis and Clark in 1805, the Multnomah Indians enjoyed the island as a luscious hunting, fishing, and plant-gathering ground in the summer and fall. The island referred to as Wapato Island in the Lewis and Clark journals because of the large beds of wild potatoes, or wappato as named by the native Multnomahs. Unfortunately, the Multnomah Indians were decimated by smallpox and malaria introduced with European exploration to the region. Today, the county in which Portland and much of Sauvie Island lie, together with the channel running along the western side of the island, named for the Multnomah Indians.
Laurent Sauvie
Laurent Sauvie, for whom the island is named, was a French Canadian employee of the Hudson Bay Company. Sauvie oversaw dairy farms on the island for the Hudson Bay Company and supplied goods for Fort Vancouver.
The Oregon Trail
By 1856, most of Sauvie Island was staked out by settlers who had crossed the continent via the Oregon Trail. The settlers were attracted to the fertile soil enriched by seasonal flooding in the winter time, superb hunting, and excellent fishing. During this time, the Bybee-Howell House was built on the western side of the island, where it still stands today.
Sauvie Island Courtesy Department of Oregon Fish and Wildlife
In the 1930’s the Army Corps of Engineers implemented a system to control the annual flooding of the island, and by 1950 the Sauvie Island bridge was constructed to connect the island to mainland. Both of these feats removed the last obstacles to full settlement of the island. To preserve the natural wonder of the area, Oregon Parks and Wildlife set aside 12,000 acres as the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area. This has ensured public access to the lakes, beaches, wildlife, and plants that make the island a unique natural experience.
Today
Courtesy of blog @ oregonlive.com
Sauvie Island is still agriculturally vibrant. The island continues to provide local farmers with the most fertile soil and best growing conditions. The vast farms are a visible reminder that Sauvie Island is still a land apart. In recent years the island has become known for its U-pick options and farm stands along Sauvie Island Road and Gillihan Road. From peaches to pumpkins, there are fruits and vegetables to be enjoyed all season long. The island has also become a recreational get-away for Portlanders offering some of the best hiking, beach access, hunting, and street cycling around.
This Fall take a drive over to Sauvie Island and experience all that it offers!
Sources and Links:
National Geographic: Lewis and Clark Journal Logs
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journals_maps_13.html
National Geographic: Multnomah Indians
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/record_tribes_095_13_25.html
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: Sauvie Island Wildlife Area
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/
Sauvie Island Research Group
http://sauvieisland.org/about-sauvie-island/
Source: Information researched and compiled by Katrina Lorne
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).
Tired of the usual tourist traps or the same places you keep visiting with your children? Here are some out of the ordinary local farms to go to instead. Your trips will be educational, I guarantee.
Rossee Possee Acres Elk Farm. Working elk farm, petting zoo located in Molalla. 32690 South Mathias Road, Molalla, OR. 97038. Check on hours before heading out.
The Willamette Egg Farm. One of the leading producers of shell eggs and processed egg products in the Pacific Northwest. Open
to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 10 a.m. Located between Canby, Molalla and Woodburn. Egg processing plant. 31348 S. Hwy 170, Canby, Oregon. (503-651-0000). Did the chicken come before the egg? Or..?
Magness Tree Farm. An internationally recognized 80-acre demonstration forest and outdoor education site. Includes a large natural area, stream, 9 forest management zones, 2.5 miles of hiking trails, the historic “Clatskanie” fire tower, recreation field, picnic shelter and rustic log cabins for youth group camping, outdoor schools, and retreats. Open daily. Free to the public, a charge for group tours. Guided tours every Sunday at 2:00.
Alpenrose Dairy. Portland’s popular kids’ attraction and working dairy since the nineteenth century. Florian Cadonau, who in 1891, owned a dairy farm near what is now Southwest Thirty-fifth and Vermont in the heart of West Portland.
Southern Oregon Souay Sheep Farm. British Soay sheep are being kept in the US as part of a global conservation effort to preserve this historical archive, with all of its diversity, as an undiluted genetic reservoir for the future. Southern Oregon Soay Farms, P.O. Box 1382, Merlin, Oregon 97532 kathiem@soayfarms.com (541) 955-8171.
Oregon Oyster Farm. Since 1907, the oldest oyster farm at the Oregon coast at Yaquina Bay. Oysters in the Shell, Oyster Meat, Oyster Cocktails, Smoked Oysters, Steamer Clams, and More! 6878 Yaquina Bay Rd., Newport, Oregon 97365 (541) 265-5078.
Zenger Farm. A working urban farm promoting sustainable food practices, youth education, environmental stewardship, and community and economic development. 11741 S.E. Foster Road, Portland, Oregon (503) 282-4245.
Pholia Goat Farm. Farmstead handmade raw milk aged goat cheese. Wine tasting, hay rides, baby goats, milking for the kids and cheese tasting. Classes on cheesemaking too. 9115 W. Evans Creek Rd., Rogue River, Oreon 97537 (541) 582-2883).
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
100% Financing – USDA Loan
If you thought the no money down, 100% financing was a thing of the past, there is still the USDA 100% loan here in Oregon that you
might qualify for. There are income restrictions and limits as to the location of the property.
The USDA Home Loan program is a great program offering 100% financing with no down payment or mortgage insurance for those who qualify. Below are the general eligibility requirements.
- Applicants must not have an adequate down payment to secure conventional credit without the USDA guarantee.
- To intend to live in the dwelling as a primary residence. Non-occupant and co-borrowers are not allowed.
- Must be selling existing home, if applicable.
- To be a citizen of the United States or not restricted from permanent residency.
- Have income less than the maximum allowed by the USDA Home Loan Program.
- Purchase a property in an Oregon USDA Approved Area
Most people living in rural areas qualify for USDA Home Loans. Also, many people living in medium sized cities as well as those living on the outskirts of major metropolitan areas may also qualify. Check this page to see whether your income qualifies you.
- A 100% No Money Down Loan
The USDA home loan program requires no down payment and you may finance up to 102% of the appraised value. Since the end of down payment assistance programs in 2008, the USDA home loan program is one of the only remaining 100% loan programs.
- There are no Limits as to the Amount You Can Borrow
The USDA Home Loan program will finance what you can afford to pay. Unlike conventional loans which are insured by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, there are no official loan limits. The amount of the loan will be directly related to your ability to repay the loan.
- No Mortgage Insurance
The USDA home loan program requires no up front or monthly mortgage insurance; saving you hundreds of dollars each month. With FHA loans, you have both an up front mortgage insurance premium and a monthly mortgage insurance payment.
- No Credit Score Required
Unlike most home loans, the USDA Home Loan does not require a credit score. Instead, borrowers can use things such as rental history, insurance payments or utility bills to verify their credit worthiness. Check the USDA Home Loan credit guidelines to learn more
- Seller Concessions Allowed
The USDA Home Loan program, there are no rules regarding closing costs and who pays what portions. Some loans limit the seller concessions, but under this program the negotiations are not controlled.
- Rural Areas Are Not Necessarily That Rural
The USDA Home Loan is guaranteed by the United States Department of Agriculture. People may wrongly assume that this loan is meant for farmers or ranchers. Many homes in smaller cities as well as those in outlying suburbs of metropolitan areas are also eligible. Check this link to see if the area you are wanting to purchase qualifies or input the address of a house here in Oregon.
Federal V.A. and State of Oregon G.I. Loans
If you’re a qualifying veteran, there’s still the 100% Federal V. A. Loan program. Here’s the information to see if you are eligible.
The maximum Federal VA loan eligibility in OREGON for a veteran is $104,250 and the maximum loan amount with no down payment is $417,000. U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) home loan guarantees are made to servicemembers, veterans, reservists and unmarried surviving spouses for the purchase of homes. VA guaranteed home loans offer several important advantages over most conventional loans including a guarantee that protects the lender against loss due to nonpayment by the borrower. A VA Certificate of Eligibility is required. To ask about home loan guaranty information, call the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) toll free, 1-888-349-7541 www.homeloans.va.gov or call the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (Toll Free within Oregon) 1-800-692-9666 or from outside of Oregon 503-373-2085 www.oregon.gov/ODVA
For more than 60 years, the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) has made home loans to veterans at favorable interest rates. More than 330,000 home loans have been made to veterans in Oregon. The ODVA’s State Veteran’s Home Loan program offers favorable interest rates and enables honorably-discharged veterans to purchase a single-family owner-occupied home. Eligibility for the program can be established prior to making actual application for a home loan. A veteran’s eligibility for the program expires 30 years after discharge from qualifying active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. For program qualifications, contact the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Toll-Free within Oregon, 1-888-673-8387. From outside of Oregon 503-373-2070.
Portland Development Commission
The PDC has quite a few financing options that you may not know about. You can contact them at the following for further information:
Portland Development Commission | 222 NW Fifth Ave | Portland, OR 97209-3859
Phone: 503-823-3200 | Fax: 503-823-3368
Mortgage Credit Certificate Program
The Portland Development Commission’s Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program works to provide first-time homebuyers with a federal tax credit. This program is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on the amount of income tax you owe instead of a deduction to your taxable income. Better yet, this program is good for the life of your home loan!
You do not have to pay back the MCC if you remain in your residence for the life of your mortgage loan. The MCC’s credit totals 20% of the interest paid on your mortgage annually, so an MCC awarded to a $250,000 mortgage could save you about $3,000, or $250 each month.
If you become a homeowner this year or next year, you could save more or get more money back at tax time! For more information on how the Mortgage Credit Certificate can work for you, visit www.pdc.us/mcc or give PDC a call at 503.823.3400.
Buying A Fixer
The Portland Development Commission has monies available within the City of Portland for renovation work on houses that needs repairs or if you just want to make some improvements. With the right renovations, you may be able to add immediate value to your home or put your personal touch on a previously-owned home. Moreover, in situations where repairs are required before a loan can be closed, the PDC’s Purchase and Renovation Loan is the perfect solution. That’s because the appraisal is performed based on the work to be done, and the work is completed after the loan closes.
Buying a Foreclosure in Portland
There’s a new program from PDC that offers assistance to purchase a foreclosed/bank-owned homes in certain neighborhoods in the Portland metro area. These areas include parts of North, Northeast, and Southeast Portland, and parts of Gresham, Fairview, and Troutdale. It is a silent second loan up to 20% of the purchase price plus closing costs or up to $50,000. This amount varies depending on whether the home requires repairs. It is not a 100% loan, a down payment of $1,000 from a buyer is required.
If you sell within the first 5 years, you need to pay back a portion of the profit. The percentage of the profit to be paid back varies depending on how many years you live in the house. You do not need to be a first-time homebuyer to qualify but the home does need to be owner occupied. Income restrictions apply (no more than 120% of median family income) as well as debt-to-income ratio (45% or less) and liquid assets of no more than $15,000. Not only is there a location restriction as stated above, but the home must be a foreclosure in one of those areas.
Home Repair, Weatherization Help
Home Repair Loans – City of Beaverton, City of Portland
There’s also a Hope-4-Homes program in Beaverton to assist low-income homeowners with help in making home repairs. And, the City of Portland home repair loan information is also here.
Weatherization Project – Clackamas County
Clackamas County offers free services if you meet certain income and resident requirements for insulation, weatherstripping and more depending upon the condition of your home. If you have questions regarding this project or to see if you qualify contact:
Clackamas County Weatherization. (503) 650-3338
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
Picture of Autumn in Lake Oswego (City-data Website)
Autumn declares its arrival with leaves turning bright crimson, vibrant orange and vivid yellow and it’s one of my favorite times of year. We here in Oregon are fortunate to experience all four seasons and Fall is now in full swing. With schools in session, there is a brief lull before the holidays. Take a trip on some of Oregon’s winding roads that loop and twist through shades of dark green evergreen trees, amid the colored leaves of big leaf maples, alder and mountain ash sometime this week as it’s supposed to be sunny pretty much for the next seven days.
There are some great sites throughout all of Oregon to view the fall leaves. I have a Fall video link on my side bar under my new videos category for viewing. Pretty much anywhere in Oregon you’ll see the changing of colors, however, here are some places of particular interest:
- A drive thru Oregon’s Coast Range
- Forest Park (southwest Portland)
- University of Oregon (Eugene)
- Oregon State University (Corvallis)
- Lewis and Clark College (southwest Portland)
- Marylhurst University (Lake Oswego-West Linn-southwest Portland)
- Reed College (southeast Portland)
- Tryon Creek State Park (southwest Portland)
- Mary S. Young State Park (West Linn)
- Highway 242 – the old McKenzie River Highway from McKenzie Bridge to the top of McKenzie Pass
- Hoyt Arboretum (southwest Portland)
- Japanese Garden (southwest Portland)
- The western section of the Columbia River Gorge (between Portland and Hood River).
- Cook Park (Tigard)
If you want to bring the fall into your own yard, here are some trees recommended for planting:
- Autumn Blaze Maple
- Autumn Flame Maple
- Autumn Purple Ash
- Cascade Snow Cherry
- Chantileer Pear
- Dawn Redwood
- Emerald Queen Norway Maple
- Frontier Elm
- Japanese Stewartia
- Milky Way Kousa Dogwood
- Red Sunset Maple
- Scarlet Oak
- Seiryu Japanese Maple
- Tamarack or Larch
- Vine Maple
As they say on a popular TV show – “Take some time to enjoy the view!”.
Source: In part – Off the Beaten Path – Myrna Oakley
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
From attending classes, lectures, art exhibits to dances, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting this campus on many occasions. The grounds are beautiful and boasts a commanding presence, Marylhurst University , sits on the banks of the Willamette River with a marvelous view of Mt. Hood. The
University is situated between two towns recently named by Money magazine as part of their 100 best small towns – #69 West Linn and #74 Lake Oswego. Marylhurst University has its own post office:
- Marylhurst University
- 17600 Pacific Highway (Hwy. 43)
- P.O. Box 261
- Marylhurst, OR 97036-0261
- Phone: 503.636.8141
- Toll-free: 800.634.9982
- Fax: 503.636.9526
HISTORY OF MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY (Watch all these YouTube videos)
From Montreal 12 nuns, the youngest was 18, set sail on a ship to journey for the frontiers of Oregon. The voyage took five weeks and was not without adventure. They had to transfer vessels two times as the ships were in poor condition to set sail, there was a violent storm on sea which threatened to destroy two of the ships but the third – the Northern – landed in Portland October 1, 1859.
On the dock it seemed as if all of Portland’s citizens were there to greet them and they arrived with the boom of a canon. The Sisters had come prepared to educate its children. However, from the moment the doors opened to their new school, they were called upon to care for orphans, the poor, the sick and the despairing. Babies were frequently abandoned on their doorstep. By 1950, there were 800 Sisters and their 18,000 students. Motivated by a deep love of God, and an absolute passion for educating young people, they brought with them from Quebec, what is so deeply integral to their French heritage, a love for the beauty of music and art, and the gift for finding and celebrating God in the natural beauty of creation.
The “Twelve” started St. Mary’s Academy that first year in downtown Portland. Soon the Academy housed a school to educate teachers.
A track of land was purchased in 1906 in Oak Grove and 50 acres on the site of the current Marylhurst location. In the early 1900s, the Sisters’ Province Administration and the Teacher’s College moved to this site on the banks of the Willamette River. Marylhurst University was born. In 1930, it was renamed to Marylhurst College from Saint Mary’s Academy and College. The school and college were combined in 1950. Marylhurst only became co-educational in 1974 and added graduate level programs in the mid-1980s. The name was one again changed to Marylhurst University in 1998.
For more than a century, Marylhurst University has been dedicated to delivering academic excellence in an environment that supports student success. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, knew how important it is to educate the “whole” person. They created an engaging learning atmosphere at Marylhurst that fuels the imagination, broadens intellectual horizons and strengthens professional expertise still today.
Sources: As recalled by Sister Jane Hibbard, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, and Marylhurst University Trustee, at the dedication of Knight’s Green on October 17, 2007, Oregon’s Iron Dream by Mary Goodall, and The Oregon Companion by Richard H. Engeman.
Now these traditions of educating the whole person, ensuring the development of spiritual and artistic growth, cultivating and delighting in a setting of extraordinary natural beauty: all of this is the heritage and pride of Marylhurst
ADULT EDUCATION
With the economy such as it is, many adults are not only needing to go back to school in order to advance in today’s business world, many are needing to change careers. The other day I wrote a post saying Oregon has high ranking college towns. Here are some of the colleges and universities around Portland, Oregon:
- Art Institute of Portland
- Clackamas Community College
- Concordia University
- Lewis and Clark College
- George Fox University
- Linfield College
- Mt. Hood Community College
- Oregon Health Sciences University
- Oregon State University
- Pacific University
- Portland Community College
- Portland State University
- Reed College
- University of Oregon
- University of Portland
- Willamette University
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
HUD’s most recent quarterly report was issued the other day. Here are the highlights about metro Portland, Oregon:
- During the 12 months ending June 2009, job losses totaled 55,400 in Oregon. Oregon accounted for one-half the 38,200 manufacturing jobs lost in the region, due mainly to layoffs at Daimler AG and Intel Corporation.
- Regionwide employment declines occurred in nearly every sector, with two-thirds of the job losses recorded in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Government, education and health services, and information were the only sectors to record employment gains, up 21,000, 20,300, and 900 jobs, respectively. For the 12 months ending June 2009, nonfarm employment averaged 1.7 million jobs in Oregon. The regional average unemployment rate increased to 7.5 percent during the 12 months ending June 2009 compared with a rate of 4.8 percent for the same period in 2008. The average unemployment rate, which increased in every state in the region, was 9.4 percent in Oregon.
- Oregon registered the greatest loss in construction jobs, down 14,800 jobs.
- Oregon sales market conditions also remained soft during the 12 months ending June 2009. According to data from the local multiple listing services, the number of new and existing single-family homes sold in the 11 largest markets in Oregon totaled 35,900, a 29-percent decline compared with the number sold during the previous 12 months. During the same period, the average sales price decreased by 13 percent to $271,900. In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon-Washington metropolitan area, the number of new and existing homes sold totaled 21,100, down 34 percent compared with the number sold during the 12 months ending June 2008, and the average price decreased 11 percent to $298,800.
- Oregon, permits totaled 5,900, a decline of 2,100 homes, or 18 percent, from a year ago.
- In Oregon, 3,400 multifamily units were permitted, 1,200 fewer than the number permitted during the 12 months ending June 2008.
- In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton metropolitan area, rental housing market conditions were balanced in the second quarter of 2009. According to Reis, Inc., the apartment vacancy rate was 5.8 percent, up from 5 percent in the second quarter of 2008. The average rent was essentially flat at $750 over the same period. Because of limited new apartment construction, rental markets in the Oregon metropolitan areas of Medford, Salem, and Eugene-Springfield remained balanced with apartment vacancy rates of 4, 5, and 5 percent respectively. A year ago, the vacancy rate was 4 percent in all three metropolitan areas. Between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, average asking rents in these three areas increased between 1 and 2 percent, to $590, $620, and $700, respectively.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
I’ve been cleaning up some of my posts from the past 16 months since I’ve been blogging. Over that time, I have written many posts about unemployment and obviously housing. It amazed me to see how many posts I had written where I indicated Oregon’s economy was strong, growth was good and that our employment situation was far from being as bad as the rest of the U.S. Things have changed dramatically and quickly.
I went on line to see exactly when the unemployment rate started trending up as well as the inventory of houses started increasing because I wanted to see the correlation between the two.
According to the charts it looks as if the unemployment rate started increasing rapidly by Q3 2008 and was low during the peak housing market from 2004 right through that mid-2008 point.
On the other hand, the RMLS™ chart shows our housing inventory started to increase a year earlier in September 2007 when our housing crisis started. Frankly, I was prepared to see the inventory levels increase around the same time as the unemployment numbers started increasing, but that wasn’t the case. Our housing market started declining 12 months before the unemployment rate started skyrocketing.
Our unemployment numbers are horrendous and Portland’s August unemployment was at 11.6% while Oregon is at 12.2%.
In Oregon, we are at the beginning stages of a new Governor’s race. I hope new leadership will focus on bringing jobs and new industry to Oregon.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
There’s a question I’ve been asking myself for years and have never found or seen the answer. Why do college books cost so much?
Having had a small book-seller business, I have sold new books and college books. The cost of those books to the public is horrendous yet no one seems to question the high cost of those books. Yet the wholesale cost isn’t nearly as high and in fact, only a fraction of what students and their parents are being charged.
Many college classes will be starting either this week or, in other parts of the country, have already started. Over the Labor Day weekend I saw this post in the NY Times discussing the high cost of a college education. It still doesn’t specifically mention books, however.
Tuition costs have gone in only one direction — up — during Mr. Weiss’s career. “I genuinely believe that we are at a crossroads here in higher education,” he said. “I think we have reached a ceiling that we’re beginning to bump into.”
In a recent report, Portland had a ranking of #9 for a mid-sized town and Corvallis ranked #7 as a small-town for being the best places to attend college. Oregon has many fine colleges and universities and, as a parent, you might consider buying a home for those college kids to live in and use as a real estate investment while they are in attendance here.
© Copyright 2008-2009 Betty Jung. All Rights Reserved. Use of this article, photos and images without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
ALL ABOUT…..Portland.Oregon.Real Estate by Betty Jung is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Based on a Blog at WordPress.
(For more local and national real estate information, go to www.bettyjung.com).
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