Market Report

June Residential Highlights Outside, the temperature continues to rise but the market is cooling when comparing June 2007 to June 2006. New listings continued to grow at 12.7%. However, closed sales and pending sales dropped 18.5% and 10.4%, respectively. As a result, there were 13,752 active listings at the end of June 2007. Given the month’s rate of sales they would last 5 months.

Year-To-Date Trends Similarly, when comparing market activity for January-June 2007 to the same time period in 2006, new listings increased 14.4%. On the other hand, the number of pending and closed sales decreased 8.8% and 8%, respectively.

Appreciation Using the average and median sale prices for the twelve months that ended with June 2007 compared to the twelve months ending in June 2006, the average sale price appreciated 8.9% ($333,200 v. $306,100). Using the same formula, the median sale price appreciated 8.7% ($280,000 v. $257,500).

Second Quarter Report Comparing the second quarters of 2007 and 2006, new listings are up 10.3% (17,386 v. 15,769). However, pending sales decreased 11.9% (8,652 v. 9,819) and closed sales dropped 9.8% (8,361 v. 9,271).

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

Portland, 12th Yuppie-Friendly City

If you are, or are soon to be a college graduate ready to become a Young Urban Professional keep in mind that not all cities are created equal. Things like opportunity, salary vs. cost of living and nightlife vary widely across the U.S.

Shocking as it may be (sarcasm) New York is the No. 1 best city for young professionals. Not only is it home to some of the biggest companies in the world but the bar and club scene is out of control. The rest of the top ten is finished off by San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Denver. Go Seattle!

The top universities in the country; Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Stanford, Northwestern and Rice handed over their alumni list from 1997 (ten years ago). These graduates were located today to see where across the country they have spread to. Those who stayed in town were thrown out of the data pool because the idea is to see which cities are alluring enough to get these professionals to move.

Also taken into consideration, where the business opportunities are, which had the best starting pay and where the most never-married young people were living. Naturally the size of the city had to be taken into consideration so the transfered alumni were compared to overall population size.

As far as the opportunities available, some companies are better than others, so to include this aspect the Forbes 400 best big businesses and the 200 best small businesses were factored in.

http://promo.realestate.yahoo.com/Best_Cities_For_Young_Professionals.html

12. Portland, Ore.

"Portland may be growing, but it still has a ways to go. Ranked eighth in 1997 graduate data, and better than the mean for salary to cost of living, Portland was hampered by a rank of 27th for best big and small businesses and a rank of 25th for its young never-married population."

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

Can Portland Be Even MORE Bike Friendly?

Portland State University researcher Jennifer Dill is conducting a new study detailing where, why and how often Portlanders ride their bikes. The city is thinking it may be a useful planning tool in plotting the future of bike infrastructure in the city. So far 500 adults have been surveyed by phone and 56 percent of the riders said they wanted to bike more but didn’t because of “too much traffic.” Thirty-seven percent cited a lack of nearby bike lanes and trails as their barrier. Those with a network of quiet streets near their home were more likely to ride regularly.

Next Jennifer will have volunteers put GPS (Global Positioning System) units on their bicycles to track what routes are being used. Portland is already considered a bike friendly city but Dill thinks we can do even more.

Also on board is Roger Geller, the city’s bicycle coordinator for the Portland Office of Transportation. He is arguing to widen the city’s existing bike lanes from 5 feet to 6 1/2 feet for a bigger buffer zone or so that people can ride side by side. Secondly, he wants to incorporate cycle tracks, which is a curb or other device that separates the cyclist from traffic, commonly used in Europe.

There are obvious reasons why bicyclists would want to push for this, it's helpful to the environment, traffic and oil dependency. A bike infrastructure plan was started in 1996 but efforts were focused on bike lanes on major streets. The thought was that people wanted direct routes for things like commuting. As the recent survey shows, it turns out people want to ride on low-traffic residential roads. Very few riders are accomplished in a way that makes them comfortable riding in regular traffic. How many tragic biker stories have you heard on the news.

The idea now is to push for more cycle tracks and "bike boulevards" that feel safe for the average rider and to encourage more new bike riders. This will also move us toward a more integrated cycling infrastructure so that people have more options as far as places to go by bike.

According to Geller, the city’s spending on bike projects is rising but still accounts for less than 2 percent of PDOT’s capital budget. Even with this small percentage there are those who see this as a waste of time and money saying that the priorities should be in keeping the roads maintained. It seems some feel that widening the bike lanes with narrow the traffic lanes and that will just cause more congestion. But if those bike lanes are being used, won't there be less cars to contend with, and less road damage?

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=118427835449808000

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

Old House Gets New Purpose

On the corner of Southeast Washington Street and Fifth Avenue in Hillsboro stands an old house with a brand new makeover. 100 years old actually and until recently was known as Wehrung. But its dramatic makeover called for a new name Garrett Lee Smith Safe Haven House, after Republican Sen. Gordon Smith's son, who committed suicide in 2003 from depression.

Washington County isn't the farming community it once was. We are urban now and have to deal with urban issues, namely homelessness. Every night, 10 men and women with mental illnesses and a history of homelessness bed down at Safe Haven. The facility, run by Luke-Dorf Inc., a Tigard-based organization with treatment centers throughout Washington County, is the county's first facility geared toward chronically homeless individuals.

This facility is not meeting the current demand. Next door to the Garrett Lee Smith Safe Haven House they are building a 15-bed facility called The Hillsboro Graduated Independent Living Program. This one will be geared toward homeless people with mental illnesses and drug and alcohol addictions and is scheduled to open Oct. 31. This is a positive trend that includes A Safe Place for Youth which is a shelter for homeless teens, opened in April, at 454 S.E. Washington St. It's a good thing to offer services outside of downtown Portland where it can be more dangerous.

http://www.oregonlive.com/swweeklytts/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_southwest_news/118409191322090.xml&coll=7

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

National Night Out 2007

Tigard Police are trying to get neighborhoods out to this year's National Night Out. Target, the national sponsor for the crime prevention event, is also taking the opportunity to join in with the community's celebrations. This year 33 million people are expected in more than 10,000 communities across America will show their support on Tuesday, August 7th to promote police-community teamwork. Only through these types of partnerships can we create awareness, bring safety and reduced crime.

The Target store located at 9009 SW Hall Blvd., with the Tigard Police, are encouraging the community to work together by hosting a National Night Out kick-off celebration at the store on Saturday, August 4th from 11AM until 1PM. Tigard area residents will be offered tips, handouts, giveaways, product sampling and prizes that promote safety. Tigard residents can also register for National Night Out during the event. Additional information about registration, including forms and ideas can be found on the National Night Out page of http://www.ci.tigard.or.us. Information can also be obtained by calling 503-718-2561.

Registration deadline for National Night Out is August 1st.

http://www.ci.tigard.or.us/news/07-06-20_national_night_out.asp

Jim Wolf, Public Information Officer Tigard Police Department 503-718-2561 Pager: 503-795-2391 jim@tigard-or.gov

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

Staying Informed on Crime in Your Area

CRIME Spotter is a visual representation of where crime has occurred. Going back 12 months, a database of crimes that gets turned into a map showing you what crimes are being committed where and how often. This database is updated with new crime data each month. You can enter in your address and see what's happening a mile in each direction from your home.

http://maps.tigard-or.gov/

Tigard is known for being a low crime area, safe for families. It's citizens and police are proactive and informed creating a team determined to keep Tigard's crime below average, especially "stranger on stranger" crime. This is another tool used to aid in the effort.

Step 1: The first page of CRIME Spotter opens with an Address Query box. Type in an Address Number and/or Street Name and then click Search.
Step 2: If CRIME Spotter detects multiple candidates it will display a Candidate List. Click on the desired address using the radio buttons on the left and then click Show Report.
Step 3: CRIME Spotter then generates a new page starting with a Summary map with a corresponding graph. The first summary map displays a random 1/4 square mile crime density grid based on all of the reported crimes.
Step 4: Below the grid map, CRIME Spotter generates a graph of total reported crime occurring within a one-half mile radius of the entered address. Hover your mouse over the each column to see individual totals.
Step 5: Click on any of the individual crime tabs along the top to see specific crimes along with corresponding descriptive information. The descriptive information displayed represents only those crimes that are within a half-mile radius of the queried address. To start a new search, click the Search tab located at the top.

Rape is included but the location is not shown to protect the victims.

Other Crime Information

Click on any of the links below for additional crime-related information.

Washington County
City of Beaverton
City of Portland
City of Lake Oswego
Sex Offender Inquiry System

Contact Information
For more information regarding crime statistics within the City of Tigard, please contact the City's Police Department Public Information Officer at 503.718.2561 or e-mail jim@tigard-or.gov.

http://www.ci.tigard.or.us/police/crimespotter/default.asp

http://maps.tigard-or.gov/

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com

The New Retirement Centers

The Forest Grove Senior Center is a typical type senior center where older adults spend time socializing, quilting or volunteering at tasks such as washing breakfast dishes for the Lions Club. An hour away, in east Vancouver, The Firstenburg Community Center has sewing but down the hall, toddlers romp in the day-care area, mothers bob in a water aerobics class, and teens on summer break scale Sadri's Summit, a rock climbing wall. The two centers could not be more different, or representative, of past and present attitudes about leisure time of those 55 and older. Across the Portland metropolitan area, senior centers are revamping in preparation for the aging baby boomers and their redefinition of retirement.

A major trend in this revamping is the idea of multigenerational centers. In 2006, Vancouver opened a giant $21.1 million multigenerational center that offers recreation and social opportunities for all ages. In Oregon, the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District and Lake Oswego both want to build similar centers if voters approve funding. The movement parallels concerns of Washington County and city leaders, keenly aware of their aging constituency. The county's Department of Health and Human Services projects the number of residents age 65 and older will more than double, from 42,985, or 8 percent of the population, in 2005 to 101,302, or 14 percent of the population, in 2025.

Some senior centers don't seem to think the varying age groups will tolerate being forced to mingle. Others see the current activities of the baby boomers, which at times are the same as the "youngsters", and are looking to be ready for them. Baby boomers in particular tend to fight the notion of getting older, but depending on budget and community involvement, it can be difficult to get support for these new multigenerational centers. Forest Grove is dragged down by a lack of senior interest and few public dollars while Tualatin Hills' tax-supported Elsie Stuhr Center in Beaverton bursts with so many people and activities that the district long ago acknowledged the need for another center. This new center could be a multigenerational center because of the cost efficiency and social benefits.

Traditional senior centers still carry a certain bridge playing, quilt making, rocking-chair stigma. Some seniors are still very much interested in that type of an environment but as things move forward the new seniors are going to demand more choices and it could only be to everyone's benefit to be ready for that. For now there are going to be those who don't see Pilates as a senior citizen activity. For smaller, struggling centers, such thinking threatens existence and sidelines any thoughts of erecting an expensive multigenerational center. It's hard to argue the need for a new site when the current ones are getting no use. The struggling facilities really need to update the current locations first and it's programs. Once they start getting used the funding will be there, people will see it's need.

Boomers don't necessarily want to hang with teenagers, but many may not want to take a bridge class, either. Conversely teenagers might not necessarily jump at the chance to hang around retirees, on the other hand, you can't deny the convenience for families to have all their activities located in one building. Vancouver's Firstenburg center shows how it works. The sprawling 80,000-square-foot, two-story building provides breathing room to every age group. Every new idea draws resistance at first but eventually you can't deny the social, economical and convenience benefits.

http://www.oregonlive.com/swweeklytts/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_southwest_news/1182903952203240.xml&coll=7

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com