How Long Is It Taking To Sell A Portland Home?

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How Did it Happen?

Fantastic documentary, by CNBC, on how the housing crisis developed and crashed.

Stats From A Friend At Umpqua Bank

House Still Buyable

The economic climate has been a bit stormy lately, but that doesn’t mean your dream of buying a cozy cottage by the seaside has to go by the wayside. Learn more about what’s still possible when it comes to home buying.

PERCEPTION REALITY
Banks Have no money for mortgage Loans Umpqua Bank has plenty of money to lend, and we’re ready to use it to help you get settled into your new home
No one can get a home loan right now We’re closing nearly $60 million in new mortgage loans every month; our customer are building, buying and financing their homes.
You must have 20% into the deal not Government – sponsored loan programs can require as little as 3.5% down, and loans with a 95% loan-to-value with out on finance are still available. We’ll help you evaluate what you can borrow and connect you to the program that makes sense for your specific situation.
Down payment assistance programs have disappeared Some down payment assistance programs have disappeared, but many are still available through city, state and local community development organizations
You must have stellar credit to get a mortgage loan Though the industry overall has seen a tightening of credit criteria, our lending practices have not dramatically changed. Talk to us to see where you stand.

THERE ARE NUMEROUS LOAN PRODUCTS AVAILABLE:

• Conventional - fixed and arm products with a loan amount less than $417,000.

• Non-Conforming - fixed and arm products with a loan amount greater than $417,000.

• FHA - 3.5% down payment (can be gifted by acceptable source). Flexible downpayment sources.

• Oregon Bond - Loan must be conventional, FHA or Rural Housing. Income restrictions and designed for first time homebuyers

• Rural Housing - Must be in rural housing area. 100% financing based on appraised value. Adjusted household income can not exceed the maximum allowable income

• VA - Guaranteed by federal government based on the amount of entitlement to the veteran in the conjunction with loan amount.

• ODVA - loans are conventional fixed rate designed for veterans.

• All-in-One Construction - Must be for primary or second home

http://jimhungerford.com/

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New Rules Could Cost Oregon Sellers

According to this article, when a home's soil is test to see if the oil tank is leaking they are testing for a carcinogen call benzene. If too much benzene is found the oil tank has to be decommissioned. This just means making sure that chemicals are not leaking to the home or groundwater. Most of the time this does not require much soil removal to comply with guidelines but two new chemicals have been deemed carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Naphthalene and ethylbenzene are now considered carcinogens and are a part of the updated screening test for leaky oil tanks. Now more and more home owners are finding that the amount of work needed to fall within the guildelines can be more like $7,000.00 instead of $2,000.00.

Usually these types of things get tested when trying to sell or buy a home and since this is a buyers market sellers are getting hit with an unexpected expense.

It is very much a case-by-case scenario but home owners should know that passing this "test" has gotten a little tougher.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/new_epa_and_oregon_rules_doubl.html

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The PORTLAND market is currently quite strongly in the Buyer's Market zone (below 30). The 90-day Market Action Index stands at 16. With several months of inventory available at the current sales rate, buyers should find ample choice. The Market Action Index has been trending lower for several weeks while prices have remained relatively stable. If inventory continues to grow relative to demand however, it is likely that we will see downward pressure on pricing.

Bull Mountain - Tigard Gem

Sherwood Stand Out

Rare Tigard Home

New Price! Bull Mountain Value

New Hillsdale Listing

New Tigard Short Sale

New Gresham Listing

New SE Portland Listing

New Beaverton Listing

February Market Report

February Residential Highlights

The Portland metro area market improved in February compared to a record low January, but remains slow compared with February 2008. Comparing February 2009 with the same month in 2008, closed sales dropped 38.1%. Pending sales also fell 30.5%. New listings decreased 19.7%. On the other hand, when comparing February 2009 with January 2009, closed sales grew 17.1% (857 v. 732) and pending sales were up 3.3% (1,276 v. 1,235). New listings, on the other hand, dropped 17.3% (3,471 v. 4,196). At the month’s rate of sales, the 14,188 active residential listings would last approximately 16.6 months, down from a record 19.2 months in January.

Sale Prices

The average sale price for February 2009 was down 12.9% compared to February 2008, while the median sale price dropped 7.5%. Month-to-month, the average sale price and median sale price are both up when compared with January levels; the average sale price increased a slight 0.4% ($298,500 v. $297,200) and the median sale price was up 3.6% ($259,000 v. $250,000).

Year-to-Date

Comparing January-February 2009 with the same period in 2008, closed sales dropped 35.8%. Pending sales also fell 29.1%. New listings decreased 17.2%.

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Beware

I was reading a blog by a RE/Max agent in New Jersey, Mr. John Nyiszter who made me aware of some very important information.
Apparently there are identity thieves out there who will borrow an address and pictures from your listing website and post an ad on craigslist posing as a renter.
Then when this person finds a renter via craigslist they will request payment for the home they are going to rent you.
The potential renter in this scenario figured it out when the person who posted the craigslist ad asked for a wire transfer to Nigeria.
Especially nowadays, there are a lot of shady people out there and I want you all to be careful.

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Portland Home Prices

Here is a look at the current home prices in Portland Oregon.



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Choosing Foreclosure

It is said that 20% of home owners are "underwater" on their mortgages and more and more homes are going into foreclosure every day. For many the best financial option is to let their home go into foreclosure instead of throw away thousands of dollars that the home has lost in value.

The prediction is that most of these home owners will do just that but some think that people aren't always so rational.

One reason is that people tend to over value their own home. That makes it to valuable for them to just walk away from.

Secondly, people tend to place greater importance on immediate consequences than they do the long term ones. Walking away might help you out down the road but is a lot of pain and effort right now.

Then there is the morality of it. Some feel it is just plain wrong to walk away because if you borrowed the money, then you need to pay it back, it's that simple. Check out this article with great real-life examples of home owners situations and what they intend to do about it.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0903/gallery.walking_away/index.html

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Portland Inventory Report

Watch for our real-time updates on the Portland Area Real Estate Market!

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Score A Deal!

Before recently most people had never even heard of a short sale, now buyers are out looking for them to make sure they are getting a deal.

A short sale is when the bank agrees to discount the loan balance for a seller who owes more on his mortgage than the home is currently worth. And since nowadays these are everywhere, you are going to find one on your house hunting trip whether you want to or not.

So there is a down side to these things, you have to work for them. There is the extra step of getting approval from the bank and this one step can add months and months to the process. Especially now because they are so backed up with all the short sales being processed.

First of all, you want to be aware of what your are getting into, patience and persistence are going to be key. Do not think your transaction will be different and be easy and short, because it won't. So do not plan on aparticular move in date, have a place to stay till it is all finalized.

Second, you definitely need a realtor who has done these before. You need someone advising you properly and calling the lender daily on your behalf.

Thirdly, try to avoid short sales with extra liens on them. The more banks you include the longer it will take. If you can help it, you also want to avoid homes that already have other offers. This too will extend the process and decrease your chances of getting the home.

Fourthly, you want to price right so have your agent research the comparables, do not just go off the list price. The bank may be low-balling to attract multiple offers. You will also want to get pre-approved or the bank my not even look at your offer.

Fifthly, try to get the lender to pick up the closing costs. You also want to let them know that you won't be paying for appraisals and inspections until you have an approved offer. No reason to be throwing money away on every house you MAY get. While you are at it, try not to put in earnest money over 3Kin case you want to pursue more than one home at a time.

Finally, be willing to be annoying. You should be calling your agent at least once a week so that you know they are calling the lender constantly. The processor dealing with your loan will not be putting your off because they want the phone calls to stop. But if you are willing to put in the effort, you can score a major deal!

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/real_estate/short_sale.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2009012806

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