Archive for April, 2006
I’ve had my head in the condo market the past few weeks and have spent some time looking at the opportunities and pricing dynamics in the Portland area.
I’ve compiled a breakdown of current condos by geography, average list price, size, dollar per square foot, and market activity. DOM stands for Days on Market, and these averages are higher than single family residences in Portland right now.
Available condos and townhomes as of April 25, ranked by number of listings:
| Area |
Listings
|
Avg. List Price
|
Avg. Sq. Ft.
|
$ / sq. ft.
|
DOM
|
| West Portland |
326
|
$538,940
|
1,329
|
$377
|
101
|
| Beaverton / Aloha |
128
|
$235,972
|
1,732
|
$165
|
59
|
| Southeast Portland |
93
|
$267,103
|
1,167
|
$229
|
59
|
| Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville |
85
|
$235,941
|
1,318
|
$179
|
60
|
| North Portland |
81
|
$425,188
|
1,363
|
$312
|
60
|
| Northeast Portland |
59
|
$411,402
|
1,233
|
$253
|
71
|
| Lake Oswego / West Linn |
58
|
$366,884
|
1,595
|
$230
|
43
|
| Gresham / Troutdale |
41
|
$246,972
|
1,690
|
$146
|
88
|
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove |
32
|
$223,903
|
1,424
|
$157
|
53
|
| Yamhill County |
28
|
$224,112
|
1,568
|
$143
|
89
|
| NW Washington County |
17
|
$262,329
|
1,472
|
$178
|
46
|
| Milwaukie / Clackamas |
12
|
$390,733
|
1,652
|
$236
|
51
|
| Oregon City / Canby |
7
|
$233,786
|
1,385
|
$169
|
46
|
As expected, the downtown core of Portland features the lion’s share of units, averaging over $375 per square foot. New properties in the South Waterfront will push up to $500 per square foot when released. Downtown and North Portland average values are somewhat skewed by a number of very high-priced units.
An update on the ‘affordable’ Harrison: I attended the sales release with an interested buyer this weekend. As the second round of buyers viewed available units around noon, the starting price for a 2-bedroom unit was up to $306,000 and ranged up to $420,000 for around 950 sq. ft. There were no $255,000 2-bedroom bargains here.
Please contact me if you would like further analysis of for any of the geographic areas listed above, or if you would like to see listings.
Picture: The Gregory by Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon - Used under Creative Commons License.
Technorati Tags: Portland, condo, pricing, market+activity
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
April 26th, 2006
Never let it be said that a little ingenuity and some good publicity might get you to home ownership faster than the traditional method of saving the downpayment and closing costs.
Kyle McDonald of Montreal, Canada is attempting to parlay one red paperclip into a series of increasing barter values in hopes of someday owning a home.
Since July 2005, Kyle has traded his one red paperclip for:
- a pen in the shape of a fish for;
- a strange-looking cabinet pull for;
- a Coleman stove for;
- a portable generator for;
- a neon Budweiser sign and a keg of beer for;
- a snowmobile for;
- a trip to Yahk, British Columbia for;
- a package van for;
- a recording contract for;
- a year’s free rent in Phoenix for;
- ?
It would not surprise me to find this guy ending up in Portland. I wonder what other trade-up ventures it will spawn.
You can make the next bid or just read the story at http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/ .
Technorati Tags: barter, house, one+red+paperclip, publicity
April 17th, 2006
Through the first 3 months of 2006, some trends are starting to develop in the Portland area real estate market.
- The market has slowed compared to a year ago. Listings are up just 0.8% over 1st quarter of 2005, and the pace of sales has dropped (8.7% fewer accepted offers and 6.7% closed sales). March’s numbers were very telling, with significant drops in all categories.
- Inventory continues to be in short supply. The slow pace of sales has kept the market’s available supply right at 2 months.
- Appreciation is still very strong. The 12-month average sale price through March 2006 ($292,400) is up 16.4% and the median sale price ($245,000) is up 16.7% compared to the previous 12-month period.
The area continues to enjoy a favorable real estate climate, although for my part, I would like to see more available inventory on the market for those motivated buyers.
Portland Area Appreciation (sorted by average sale price):
| Area |
YTD Average Sale Price |
YTD Median Sale Price |
12-Month Appreciation |
| Lake Oswego / West Linn |
$505,400 |
$438,900 |
15.6% |
| West Portland |
$426,500 |
$350,500 |
13.8% |
| NW Washington County |
$359,300 |
$321,000 |
13.5% |
| Tigard/Tualatin/ Sherwood/Wilsonville |
$344,700 |
$314,000 |
27.1% |
| Milwaukie / Clackamas |
$336,100 |
$290,400 |
20.4% |
| Oregon City / Canby |
$308,800 |
$279,900 |
19.3% |
| Northeast Portland |
$289,200 |
$250,000 |
18.1% |
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove |
$269,300 |
$240,500 |
19.5% |
| Beaverton / Aloha |
$271,800 |
$247,100 |
15.6% |
| Southeast Portland |
$248,800 |
$219,500 |
15.9% |
| Gresham / Troutdale |
$248,400 |
$237,800 |
14.5% |
| Yamhill County |
$241,000 |
$213,200 |
18.6% |
| North Portland |
$239,700 |
$229,500 |
20.6% |
| Columbia County |
$216,900 |
$198,200 |
18.0% |
Source: RMLS, April 2006.
Technorati Tags: real+estate, market+activity, appreciation, Portland, home+prices
April 14th, 2006
Here’s one that I’m sure has passed through a zillion email Inboxes:
Your house . . . . as seen by . . .
Yourself . . .
Your Lender . . . .
Your Buyer . . .
Your Appraiser . . .
. . . Your Tax Assessor . . .
Thanks to Sheryl O. for the original email.
Technorati Tags: housing, humor, taxes, appraisal
April 11th, 2006
Portland and Seattle are identified by Bankrate.com as two of the top 10 cities that should defy the national trend toward softening housing prices and demand. Their take? Portland (and Seattle) will see continued appreciation and demand due to undersupply and development restrictions.
Quoting Bankrate:
The overall news out of the Pacific Northwest isn’t great. The area lost jobs in the tech bust and is still recouping. But in terms of housing price appreciation, the thing these cities have going for them is a restriction in supply. Tight controls on development have prevented the normal progress of builders going farther out from the city core to find cheap land in the suburbs. Hence, demand stays high for available units. (Forbes Magazine lists Seattle as the most overpriced place to live in the country; Portland was third on the list.)
“Portland and Seattle have really benefited from California’s growth,” says Richard Gollis, principal of San Francisco-based real estate consultants The Concord Group. “Portland is starting to see the next generation of housing product, which is large-scale, high-density projects in downtown. The same thing is happening in Seattle. People who moved there 20 years ago for the tech market are older now and have a different lifestyle.”
The top 10 (really, it’s 12):
- Boise (ID)
- El Paso (TX)
- Albuquerque (NM)
- Seattle (WA)/Portland (OR)
- Salt Lake City (UT)
- Raleigh (NC)
- Philadelphia (PA)
- Atlanta (GA)
- Little Rock (AR)
- Cincinnati (OH)/Birmingham (AL)
Full story at Bankrate.com.
Bubble photo by Bohphoto.
Technorati Tags: real estate, bubble, appreciation, Portland, Bankrate
April 7th, 2006
Here’s what happens when markets soften or become oversupplied.
This is a park bench outside a condo complex in Northern Virginia (DC suburb) with 47 lockboxes attached. Each lockbox represents a condo unit that is for sale or for rent. The scary thing is that this is the first phase of two, and this phase has 220 units.
Now, apparently this is a case of speculative investors (flippers), snapping up properties and re-marketing them.
I have not seen anything like this in Portland…yet.
First, many condo developers in Portland now limit the number of units that can be re-sold in the first year or two. Second, current low inventories (under 3 months worth) continue to keep the balance tipped in favor of sellers here.
Full story at the Bubble Meter.
Technorati Tags: condo, Portland, inventory, lockboxes
April 6th, 2006
Portland’s livability and lifestyle continue to attract national interest and awards. At the risk of sounding like a Portland-area apologist (or local Welcome Wagon representative), here are a few more ‘lists’ that Portland’s made recently.
Portland best place to live: Men’s Journal
Based on adventure, attractiveness and affordability, Portland is the best place to live. Hood River is the best place to play.
Portland is the nation’s Top Walking City : American Podiatric Medical Association
Based on number of active walkers, parks, climate, and more.
Top Cities for Bicycling: Bicycling Magazine
Portland takes the top honor for bike-friendliness and usage.
Top 10 Utility Green Power Programs: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
Portland General Electric has the number 2 program overall.
Top 10 Cities for Independent Moviemakers: MovieMaker Magazine
Portland ranks #3 behind New York and Austin, TX.
Multnomah County Libraries 2nd Best Library in Nation: Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings
Based on circulation, budget, staffing, etc.
Technorati Tags: Portland, top 10, city, lifestyle
April 3rd, 2006
