What an extraordinary modern home! I made a 60-second mad dash up 3 floors of  this totally orchestrated warm and modern masterpiece to the rooftop with a view towards every direction of the city.  I wish I could have stayed longer, but the airport was calling. I love this house!

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 12517645 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

The majority of listings under $900,000 are in a normal seller’s market.  It doesn’t mean don’t prepare your home properly to sell, it means that with your listing properly prepared for today’s market it will sell in under 6 months. This is one of many charts I prepare for the region to stay on top of the trends.

It’s important to analyze the market when listing a property for sale. You do not want to think you are automatically in a buyer’s market when it could be quite the opposite. Take a look at some of the changes that have occurred between August and September in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Clark County. You will see that when you are empowered with real numbers, only then do you understand your market. That’s why the majority of homes sit for long periods of time without selling. They are not priced to sale.

THE MARKET IS CONSTANTLY SHIFTING. KNOW WHERE YOU STAND.

Multnomah Co. – Detached Homes

400-500k: WAS seller’s market, NOW buyer’s market

600-700k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

700-800k: WAS extreme buyer’s market, NOW balanced market

800-900k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

(nothing selling over 2 MIL)

Overall: WAS seller’s market, NOW balanced market

Multnomah Co. – Condos

100-200k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

400-500k: WAS seller’s market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

800-900k: WAS seller’s market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

(nothing selling over 2 MIL)

Overall: balanced market (no changes)

Washington Co. – Detached Homes

400-500k: WAS seller’s market, NOW buyer’s market

500-800k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

800-900k: WAS extreme buyer’s market, NOW seller’s market

(nothing selling over 2 MIL)

Overall: WAS seller’s market, NOW balanced market

Washington Co. – Condos

200-300k: WAS seller’s market, NOW buyer’s market

(nothing selling over 300k)

Overall: balanced market (no changes)

Clackamas Co. – Detached Homes

300-500k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

2-3 MIL: WAS extreme buyer’s market, NOW balanced market (interesting since 1-2 MIL range has 57 mo. of inventory)

(nothing selling over 3 MIL)

Overall: WAS balanced market, NOW normal buyer’s market

Clackamas Co. – Condos

200-300k: WAS balanced market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

400-500k: WAS buyer’s market, NOW seller’s market

(nothing selling over 600k)

Overall: balanced market (no changes)

Clark Co. – Detached Homes

No drastic changes

(nothing selling over 2 MIL)

Overall: balanced market (no changes)

Clark Co. – Condos

100-200k: WAS seller’s market, NOW buyer’s market

300-400k: WAS seller’s market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

(nothing selling over 3 MIL)

Overall: WAS seller’s market, NOW extreme buyer’s market

Homeownership: Still the American Dream

by THE KCM CREW

Yesterday, Fannie Mae released theirNational Housing Survey for the second quarter of 2011. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. Each quarter, we like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting. Here they are for the most recent report:

Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:

• It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
• You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
• It allows you to have more space for your family
• It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

• 65% of the general population (and 67% of homeowners) believe that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
• 56% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.
• 69% think that now is a good time to buy a home (this number has increased in each of the last two quarters)

Rent vs. Buy

We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

• 63% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
• 72% of renters think that owning is superior to renting
• 95% of homeowners see homeownership as a positive experience (4% see it as a negative experience) while 82% of renters see renting as a positive experience (17% see it as a negative experience)
• 96% of homeowners live in a single family residence while 46% of renters live in a multi-unit building

Bottom Line

Even in difficult times, Americans still realize the value of homeownership.

FSBO a No Go!

by THE KCM CREW

This blog prides itself on the quality of real estate information we deliver each and every day. We try to gather empirical evidence to validate the positions we take. We do not use just an anecdotal story to make a point. We also do not get caught up in the sensationalism of the moment. However, today will be different.

We can’t resist commenting on the storywhich recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal regarding Colby Sambrotto, the founder and former CEO of forsalebyowner.com. It seems the founding father and lifelong evangelist of the concept of selling your home without a real estate agent was forced to hire a broker to sell his home after failing at what he preaches others should do.

After failing to sell his NYC apartment on his own as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), Sambrotto hired a broker and paid a 6% commission in order to get the job done. His personal experience helps refute some of the myths Sambrotto has been espousing for over a decade. Let’s look at two of those myths:

Myth #1 – You Will Pocket More Money Selling on Your Own

Most FSBO sites say you can save the commission by selling on your own. What happened in Sambrotto’s sale?

From the WSJ article:

“The broker, Jesse Buckler, said he told Mr. Sambrotto the apartment in the Lion’s Head building on West 19th Street near Sixth Avenue was priced too low and wasn’t drawing the right buyers.

By May, it went into contract, he said, after attracting multiple offers. It closed in the last few days for $150,000 more than the original asking price.”

Myth #2 – The Internet Alone Can Sell Your Home

Many have said that, with the introduction of home search on the internet, hiring an agent is no longer a necessity. What happened to the FSBO guru when he attempted to only depend on the internet?

From the WSJ article:

“Looking to move his family to the suburbs, [Mr. Sambrotto] said he carefully staged his apartment for sale himself, and put it on the market. But after using a mix of websites to publicize his apartment, he said he had only ‘middling success’ and switched to a broker because many buyers were so reliant on brokers.”

Bottom Line

There is a reason the real estate industry has been around for centuries: it performs a valuable service.

P.S. We are putting together an infographic on this story for later this week. Check it out on Friday.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”390″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywrRpnQy4AM[/youtube]

CBS Money Watch: Buyer's Market

NPR - Good Time to Buy a Home