Buying a Home in Portland

Welcome Portland Home Buyer!

If you are thinking of buying a home in Portland, we are here for you. The below home buying articles are written by experienced, top Portland buyer’s agents who know the real estate market.

Top 1% Portland Buyer’s Agent

Kami Price, Principal Broker is our lead buyer’s agent and a top 1% buyer’s agent in the Portland metro area. Kami has been licensed since 2004 and has helped hundreds of local home buyers find their next property. She has a long list of awards and additional education certificates. You can put your trust in her to navigate your next home purchase with incredible skill. Her office phone: 503-773-0000.

Portland Buyer’s Home Search

We’ve looked far and wide to find the best Portland home search program out there. We recommend you give this one a shot! Our search program is updated every few minutes, you can filter by schools, view type, HOA, lot size, garage and much more (just hit the “more” button). You can get instant alerts, save multiple different search criteria, and more.

10 Reasons to Buy a Home in Portland in 2020

March 13, 2020

Buying a home is a goal that’s easy to put off until “next year”. Here are ten reasons why this year, 2020, is the year to become a homeowner in Portland!  Real estate values have cooled, but not for long. Five years ago, we were seeing rapid, 7-8% annual gains in Portland home values as the market rebounded after the Great Recession. More recently, 2017-19 saw a period of limited growth, and some home values even dropped a bit in the midrange of the market. In these first couple months of 2020, we’re seeing a strong real estate market with good indicators of growth: a strong Portland economy, low unemployment, and high demand for homes. We predict the Portland real...

Top 10 Costliest Mistakes for Home Buyers in Portland

August 23, 2019

Rock-bottom interest rates continue to lure home buyers to the Portland real estate market, just in time for the late-summer, early-fall drop in home prices. This is a great market — and a great time of year — to invest in a home or piece of real estate, but that doesn’t mean deals are guaranteed. Before you start home shopping, read our list of the most common mistakes that buyers make, with or without a real estate agent. 10. Waiting too long. Real estate market inventory levels hit an annual peak in Portland during the fall season. The most recent RMLS report showed 2.3 months of inventory; last year that number rose to 3.1 months in September before falling again...

Rent vs. Buy a Home in Portland – 2019 Update

August 12, 2019

The biggest question we get from a potential first time home buyer is: Which is more affordable, renting or buying a home in Portland?  Affordability is a multi-tiered puzzle. Potential Portland home buyers aren’t just impacted by their own finances — mortgage rates, property tax rates, home maintenance costs, and potential lifestyle changes brought on by the move (for example, being able to go down to one car and take public transit) all play a part.  Still, if you suspect that you’re paying more in rent than you would for a mortgage in a similar or better home, the first thing you’ll want to look at is what the total cost is for a home in Portland. In other words,...

Portland Home Loans – How to Choose One. 2019 Update

July 29, 2019

Talk about thousands of options, and you might be discussing the Portland home loan industry. Seems like every local Portland bank and credit union is offering home loans, as well as local mortgage only (or direct lender) companies, and now multiple online mortgage offerings are thrown into the mix. Where would you even start? Here is our guide to choosing the best Portland home loan for you. The two most important things to consider in choosing a Portland home loan are: The actual terms of the home loan are crucial. What is the interest rate they are charging? What is the loan origination cost (fees you’re paying them direct)? What are the total lending costs depending on your credit score...

Must Know! First Time Home Buyer Grants, Loans, Programs – 2019 Guide

July 12, 2019

As real estate agents, we love helping clients transition from renting to becoming first time home buyers in the Portland real estate market. The biggest hurdle to making that happen is the first time home buyer down payment. Second-biggest is probably making that monthly mortgage payment! Either way, there are first time home buyer loan programs out there to help, whether they’re from government agencies, private non-profits or individual lenders. Keep in mind that the following list of home buyer assistance programs is just a starting point. Financing your home purchase is a complicated series of decisions, and there are scams out there! That’s why we recommend home buyer education, whether you’re a first-time buyer or you’re re-entering the market....

How to Win a Home Offer – from Top Buyers Agent

July 1, 2019

Are you in the market for a home in Portland this summer? Whether it’s your first time buying a home or it’s just been a few years, let’s take a closer look at what goes into a successful home offer.   First, Portland Real Estate Market News If you’re entering the Portland home buying market this July or August, be prepared to compete with other buyers for in-demand homes in the below median price range. Homes in the lower price brackets are still in high demand, while the luxury market remains cool in most (not all) areas. Medium priced homes are selling quickly right now, but that market will cool a bit in July and August – our highest inventory...

Wire Fraud on the Rise: Protect your Portland real estate deal.

April 5, 2019

Homebuyer Aaron C. didn’t see anything strange in the email he received from his title company. As instructed, he wired them the $123,000 to complete the purchase of a Portland-area home for him and his family. The email turned out to be a plant from a hacker who had gained access to his email account. Instead of going to his title company, the money he wired went to a Chase bank account in Florida, where it was transferred away by the fraudsters before anyone caught on, according to the story reported by KGW News. Unfortunately, this type of scam is booming for real estate transactions across the country. In another prominent case in Oregon last year, homebuyers lost $379,000 to...

Compare Portland Homes by Energy Efficiency

March 11, 2019

Portland home buyers get to be a little pickier in 2019. In January we started out the year with a high 3.3 months of inventory on the real estate market, and it’s just a few weeks until the typical spring surge of homes going on the market brings that number even higher. With high utility rates and the threat of climate change on everyone’s mind, many buyers are factoring energy efficiency into their decision-making process. But while it’s easy to compare the number of bedrooms or square footage of different homes, how do you tell if one home is truly more efficient than another? Here’s our real estate agent guide to understanding which homes are truly efficient — and which...

First Time Home Buyers Downpayment Amount – Portland 2019

February 15, 2019

Are you looking at buying a home in the Portland area in the next 12 months? Two years? Three? Whatever your goal, if you’re a first time home buyer in Portland you’re probably going to need a savings plan.  Good news: New online money-management services can help you reach your goal of home ownership. From receiving text alerts when you’ve exceeded your fast-food budget, to getting advice on short-term investments that can help you grow the cash you already have, there’s a product or service out there for you.  But that doesn’t replace good-old-fashioned planning, combined with a healthy dose of determination. 1. Down Payment Amount Saving for a down payment? Do you know how much you need?   The...

4 Overlooked Costs of Owning a Home – Portland: 2019

February 11, 2019

Hey, renters! This is a great year to buy a home in Portland: Prices are down in many market segments and mortgage rates are still relatively low. Still, if you’re on the fence about becoming a homeowner, we don’t blame you. Investing in a home is inherently risky (as all investments are risky), in part because there’s much more to it than a mortgage payment.  Fortunately, you can decrease your risk significantly by planning ahead. Our real estate team has assembled the top most overlooked costs of owning a home in Portland, updated for 2019. If you can budget for everything, you’ll be taking a lot of the stress out of buying a home — and living in it for...