Week Links - July 14, 2008

July 14th, 2008

Happy Bastille Day! (Needed something to celebrate today…may as well choose a French holiday…)

Without further adieu (ahem), here is a rundown of recent real estate news, both national and local to the Portland area.

Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae get a lifeline - What does it mean for you?
Overshadowing the Fed takeover of IndyMac Bank over the weekend, the Fed steps in to shore up mortgage insurers Freddy and Fannie. Dan Green of The Mortgage Reports looks at it from the consumer viewpoint.

Homes selling much faster in Portland than national average
According to Altos Research, as noted in this US News and World Report blog post. At 79 days on average to sell a home, Portland is the third-lowest city in the index, a full 30 days faster than the 10-city composite, and averaging half the time it takes to sell in Miami.

McMenamins score more real estate holdings
Portland’s Brew Bros. have redeveloped a poor farm, a buncha old theaters, derelict schools, and even a mausoleum into family-friendly brewpubs. This time it’s reportedly Portland’s (in)famous gay bathhouse district. What will they think of next?

If it’s 2008, where’s my rocketpack?
Last, here’s how the National Association of Realtors in 1991 thought we would be buying houses by the year 2000 (opens new window).

Link to NAR’s Peek into the future of Real Estate

I wonder what purpose NAR had in creating the video. I half expected Woody Allen to show up in one of the scenes, being chased by a bioengineered, hydroponic banana*.

C’est tout, mes amis!

Painting by Jean-Pierre Houël.
* Sleeper reference.

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Related posts:

1. Week Links - May 9, 2008
2. Portland Prices Run in the Red
3. Portland Real Estate Auctions Becoming Commonplace?

Entry Filed under: Forecasts, Market Activity, Mortgages, National News