A big Happy New Year to readers of re:PDX and a special, heartfelt thank you from me and my family to those of you now living in (or having sold) one the homes shown below, as well as those listing with me currently. Your trust is greatly appreciated.
Recently, Portland’s multiple listing service, RMLS, announced an upgrade to their servers, allowing an additional 8 pictures to be uploaded for each active listing. Now, an agent can submit 16 images for each listing, at twice the earlier resolution allowed before.
So, that’s good news, right?
In theory, consumers get more views of each home and hopefully, better image quality. But this new flexibility should come with a warning:
Should we use all 16 images to market each listing?
I say it depends on the house. Some homes just won’t benefit from having additional images, due to size, disrepair, or owner’s unwillingness to clean up or de-clutter. For my money, the mandatory photos should capture the front of the home, the family and/or living room, the kitchen (from a couple angles), dining area, the master bedroom, plus the rear of the house and backyard. Beyond that, it would depend on other material or visual features of interest.
When the photo limit was 8, I always augmented my listings with photo tours like this one. Now, even with 16 available images, I expect to continue this practice because it allows for unlimited photos with larger formats and some marketing flexibility for me.
Many homes have features and visual interest that can easily take advantage of the extra allowance. Sizeable master baths, media rooms, garden sheds, territorial views, a shot of the neighborhood, or nice guest quarters can all be shown in the picture set now.
But what we should strive to avoid are toilet-dominated bathroom shots, overflowing laundry areas, garages bulging with flea market goods, enormous bedroom sets in postage-stamp bedrooms, and pictures of the front-drive with the Gremlin on cinder blocks. You think I’m kidding, but even when there were just 8 pictures, we’d see this sort of thing frequently.
Below are a couple examples I’m talking about. They are real photos found in other MLS sites:
and
Thankfully, these weren’t found in the Portland MLS. Thanks to Athol Kay of reagentinct.com, for use of his Bad MLS Photos of the Day. There’s lots more where that came from.
I challenge my local broker-brethren to stay off his list! Remember, quality over quantity.
I have had several listings on the market recently and have been struck by the sheer numbers of independent buyers operating without the aid of a buyer agent. Portland has an independent streak to be sure, but does it extend to buying real estate?
Surely, it is easier than ever before to research properties without the aid of an agent–there is no lack of Internet sites devoted to home valuations, classifieds, real estate search, and limited MLS access. But, getting inside each home for hands-on due diligence is a chore if you plan on only visiting open houses or calling the listing agent for an appointment.
It isn’t just lower priced, first-time homes or investment properties. I have shown properties in the $275,000 to $700,000 range to ‘unrepresented’ buyers, apparently content to talk with the listing agent. Even today, I showed a listing to a couple relocating back to Portland, and with only a few days to find a home, were apparently calling each listing agent for an appointment. I wondered how productive their time could be, waiting for listing agents’ availability to provide a showing.
I can understand first-time buyers that might not yet understand the value of having an agent that can provide advice, market information and exclusive representation–and gain them access to any property in the multiple listing service.
But, why do seemingly sophisticated buyers choose to go independent? At some point, they will have to decide how to enter into an agreement, either:
with an agent brought in just to represent them during the sale agreement process;
with the listing agent, now operating as a dual agent and representing both parties; or
representing themselves solely, with the listing agent serving as a go-between in negotiation, but offering no counsel to the buyers.
So, I pose this question to readers….why not use an agent during your investigation period?
Some theories:
Patent distrust of agents in general
Buyers hope to negotiate a better deal on their own
Listing agents know more about the property anyway
Undue pressure from agents to buy a property quickly
Buyers aren’t serious enough to ‘employ’ a buyers agent, but want to see properties anyway
Do have have a buyer’s agent, but aren’t getting value from the relationship or don’t want to bother them, or are too embarrassed to admit it.
I’m just curious. Buyers, which is it for you? And other agents, what has been your experience?
In the eighteen months since I started this site, my intent was to create a real estate commentary about Portland that would both provide a creative outlet for me and reflect my values of transparency and consultation. I was inspired by the thorough and prodigious efforts of another local agent, Susan Marthens, whose movingtoportland.net site was (and still is) the definitive resource for Portland-area real estate information.
My blog has generated press interviews and other promotional opportunities. And importantly for my family, it has generated business like the first-time homeowners/schoolteachers from the Bay Area, a retired couple from Sacramento, and most recently, a pediatrician and social worker relocating from remote NE Arizona, who are among the countless delightful relationships developed from the notes and calls I’ve responded to.
I haven’t paid for any online advertising, I haven’t hired a search engine consultant, or engaged in any real link-baiting or contentious arguments that tend to drive traffic. So, getting to Google Page One results by sharing real estate news, thoughts, market activity, and occasionally some humor, is gratifying. Especially when you’re ranked ahead of large agencies that spend huge amounts on their online presence.
Granted, I have some work to do. Try “portland home search” or “portland real estate agent” and the results slip a bit. And it also inspires me to improve my content quality and increase my writing frequency.
So, thank you, my frequent readers, linkers, and traffic contributors (you know who you are) for doing whatever it is that Google believes is important when it comes to providing useful search results.
Enough bragging. Other real estate bloggers drive more traffic and are far more interesting. But today, I feel validated, just like Navin Johnson.
[youtube]h-xWKEG-yxg[/youtube] YouTube: Steve Martin in The Jerk
The HBA and the Oregonian also sponsor the summertime Street of Dreams, but this tour sprawls across the metro area instead of just one development site.
Scheduled for April 20-22 and April 27-29, the home tour includes open houses for 77 condos, townhomes, and custom homes built by the area’s leading local builders including Beacon Homes, Buena Vista, Arbor, Legend, Renaissance, JC Reeves, Morrissette, Taurus, and Wilshire. A couple national production builders, Centex and D.R. Horton are also featured.
Frankly, I think it is a better opportunity to see some of the smaller custom builders (like Intex and J.T. Roth), since the larger companies have open models every weekend at their sales sites.
The tour predominantly features the west side (Beaverton, Tualatin, Tigard, Hillsboro, Sherwood), but there are some east side sites in Happy Valley, Clackamas, and Beavercreek.
You can get more information at the tour’s website, or grab a guidebook from local Fred Meyer locations. The website has a link to an interactive map, but alas, it takes you to the virtually unusable OregonLive site to plot your tour stops. The tour planner is a little clunky, but it does provide stop-by-stop directions.
Time to catch up on some local and national real estate story links.
Group predicts median home prices will drop — MSNBC
Decline this year will be first since values began being tracked in late ’60s
(Will it happen in Portland? We’ll see . . . )
Portland’s Leading Alternative Paper Puts Out Its Cheeky Real Estate Viewpoint - Willamette Week
HABITAT: The Plunge
Buy a house? Here’s why you should stop worrying and become your own landlord.
And just for fun…..
Real Estate Roller Coaster - A depiction of housing prices from 1890 to the present, as charted on a roller coaster ride. (A little long, but is interesting to see what awaits us around the next bend after such a long run-up.)
Love him or hate him, that David Letterman guy was sure on to something when he began those Top 10 lists. Perhaps its our media-fractured attention span–we have enough focus to listen or read 10 bite-sized items, and then we’re off to the next thing.
Or maybe its about pride in being on one of those lists. It sorta reminds me of high school when everyone grouped around the bulletin board to see if they made the cheerleading or football squad.
It’s a sound that makes both native and long-time residents cringe.
Visitors and new residents to this area struggle with some of the names for our counties, cities, rivers, and streets. It’s easy to tell an out-off-towner when you hear them say “Willa-met” instead of “wil-LAM-mut”. It’s understandable. Many titles come from Native American roots, and therefore, don’t roll off the tongue easily.
In the spirit of helping Oregon newbies fit in better, I present “A Guide to Oregon Pronounciation”, including audio clips to play in your headphones and repeat out loud–just like in high school French class. Click the small player icon to hear the clip.
Streets
Couch — coo-tsch- LISTEN
Nicolai — NICK-o-lye- LISTEN
Yeon — YEE-on- LISTEN
Glisan — GLEE-sun - LISTEN (There is some controversy as whether it should be pronounced “glisten”.)
And of course, the local family chain of pubs, restaurants, hotels, and theaters.
McMenamins — MICK-mena-minz - McMenamins
I’m sure I missed some. Leave a comment. I am glad I don’t have to pronounce some of the locations in Washington State. Quillayute or Puyallup, anyone?
So, we are presented with a fresh, crisp new year. New goals, new opportunities, new hopes….and new listings, if you’re a buyer waiting for a fresh batch to come on the market.
But are all new listings NEW?
Savvy real estate watchers know that the local multiple listing service, RMLS, resets its listing identification numbering system at the beginning of each year. Last year’s new listings were numbered in the 6000000 to 6110000 range. The higher the number, the more recent the listing.
New listings for 2007 will start with 7xxxxxxxx. But the new numbering doesn’t necessarily make it new on the market.
The property may well have been on the market in 2006 or even earlier. If the listing agreement expired, or the property was pulled off the market, or had a significant change to the listing (big price reduction, repairs, remodel, etc.), the listing agent might choose to re-list the property to reflect the new status.
Give it the true sniff test. The only way to know if a property has recently been on the market is to ask your broker or agent for a listing history. It’s an easy request for us to fulfill. You might learn it was on the market for 125 days, off the market for a month, and now re-listed. Useful information if you’re considering making an offer.
A quick reminder that the first ever Portland Real Estate Blogger Meetup is this Friday, March 28 from 6 to 8 pm. 
Recently, Portland’s multiple listing service, 
I have had several listings on the market recently and have been struck by the sheer numbers of independent buyers operating without the aid of a buyer agent. Portland has an independent streak to be sure, but does it extend to buying real estate?
If you’re in the touring mood over the next couple weekends, you’ll have the opportunity to see over 75 new homes throughout the Portland metro area at the 
Love him or hate him, that David Letterman guy was sure on to something when he began those 
Oar-eh-GAWN.
player icon to hear the clip.
So, we are presented with a fresh, crisp new year. New goals, new opportunities, new hopes….and new listings, if you’re a buyer waiting for a fresh batch to come on the market.
