Sell a Home in the Portland, Oregon Metro

Top 1% Seller’s Agent

Planning on selling a home in the next year or so? You’ve come to the right place. Stephen FitzMaurice, Principal Broker is a top 1% sellers agent in Portland with over 2,000 local sales under his belt and writes extensively about the Portland real estate market.

The Right Way to Sell

Our team charges 4% commission max. and we pay more online to market our Portland and SW Washington homes so they sell faster and for more. (In Salem and Bend areas we charge 4.25% max.) We have a reasonable commission fee, while still providing more marketing and services than our competitors. We back it all up with a cancel anytime policy for no charge.

If you’re thinking of selling your home in the next twelve months, Stephen would love to tour your home. Call today to set an appointment.

Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor
4% Max. to Sell a Home
Cancel Anytime Policy
Licensed Since 2003
503-714-1111

How Much Does Portland Home Staging Cost?

November 20, 2023

Whether you’ve sold a home or not, you’re probably aware of the practice of home staging. The process of transforming a home into an interior design showcase has become a common practice in the real estate world. We know staging works, but considering staging costs and the potential return on your investment, is it really worth doing? To help answer this question, we explored Portland’s professional staging services to see the going rates in 2023. We also looked to national experts in the real estate world to learn more. Read on to see what we discovered and decide if home staging suits you. What is Home Staging, and What Does it Offer Sellers and Buyers? Staging is done in occupied...

Homeowners Overestimate Home Value as much as 150%

November 3, 2023

If you’re considering selling your home, you’re probably wondering how much it has appreciated since you bought it. According to a survey conducted by Rocket Homes, which polled 2,058 homeowners, if you were to guess, the accuracy of that guess probably depends on how long you’ve owned your home. (Learn more about the survey’s methodology.) When someone buys a home—probably the biggest investment of their lives—they naturally expect that the house will build equity and grow in value. It’s a reasonable expectation to have, after all. Still, the rate at which that value builds depends on several factors: location, neighborhood comps, the home’s age and condition, updates and upgrades, and the state of the current market, to name a few....

Home not selling? 3 Steps to Get it Sold Fast.

October 16, 2023

Unless you have avoided the news for the last year or so, it is clear that the real estate market is leaning toward buyers around the country. This can only make things feel even more frustrating if you’re one of the few homes that are not selling. How Slow is the Portland Real Estate Market Right Now? Get our latest Portland monthly real estate market report here.As of Oct. 2023, days on market in Portland, Oregon is increasing, and averaging over 40 days on market. Days on the Real Estate Market in Portland by Home Value As is typical, the more expensive homes are staying on the market longer, but even the most affordable segment of the Portland real estate...

Portland, Oregon Home Appraisal FAQ

October 13, 2023

What’s the difference between the home inspection and the appraisal? Home inspections and appraisals have a lot in common: both are key to the home sale transaction, both involve a third party coming into the home to form an assessment, and both can be stressful for home buyers and sellers!  That’s about where the similarities end. A home inspection differs from an appraisal in that the inspection is performed on the buyer’s behalf, and the results will help shape the sales contract. A home appraisal is performed for the sake of the mortgage lender, and the result will only affect how much money the lender is willing to pay for the home. While a home inspector looks at the “guts”...

Portland Attic Remodeling Ideas: All Budgets

October 6, 2023

As available housing inventory in the Portland real estate market continues to remain low, and the forecast for the real estate market in 2024 doesn’t predict any increase in inventory, homeowners are looking for more creative ways to use space and maybe even generate a little extra rental income. Got an attic? You may be wondering what you can do with it. Many of our real estate clients have successfully capitalized on attic space, turning them into beautiful retreats from the rest of the house. Though attics have a lot of potential, knowing the rules before you get started can save you a lot of hassle. Before you get lost in beautiful photos of attics gone live-able, check out our...

Homeowners are Becoming More Accurate at Predicting Home Value

September 1, 2023

We’ve been reporting on the discrepancy between what homeowners believe their home is worth and actual market value for several years. During that time the trend of homeowners overestimating their home’s value held steady, as it had been doing for years. According to a June 2020 article published in the Journal of Housing Economics, “… in most scholars’ opinion, dwelling owners tend to overvalue their properties by about 5%.” Recently though, we’re seeing an interesting deviation from the tendency of homeowners to be overly optimistic about potential sales prices – to now underestimating the market value of their home by an average of 0.77% – a difference determined by comparing homeowner opinions with appraiser estimates. A Shift in Homeowner Perception...

Virtual Home Staging – A New Way to Sell Homes

August 14, 2023

Each year we write a report on home staging, how much it costs, what kind of ROI to expect when you hire a professional stager, and more. We’re turning our attention to virtual staging now, a newer way to sell a home that’s quickly growing in popularity. Along the way, we’ll show some real life examples of virtual staging we’ve ordered for our clients (and we always provide this service – if desired and it makes sense for the home – at no extra charge). See everything we do for our home selling clients here, along with our lower than average commission charge. While there is a bit of controversy in the staging industry about the authenticity of virtual staging,...

Top 4 Free Home Value Estimates to Check, Before Selling a Home

August 7, 2023

Curious about your home’s value in a fluctuating Portland real estate market? I get it. Licensed since 2003, I’ve seen the ups and downs of Portland real estate pricing. In fact, I keep a category of this site dedicated to home value articles of interest and create greater Portland metro real estate reports – monthly. Whether they should or not, these online home value estimate websites drive customer perception about what their home is worth. While none of these sites can estimate a home value with the accuracy of a licensed appraiser or experienced local seller’s agent, there are better and worse home value sites because they come with different feature sets and levels of accuracy. 4. Redfin.com’s Home Value...

Home Staging Sells Homes Faster and For More, 2023 Report

July 21, 2023

We are all familiar with the integral role the internet plays in real estate transactions today. When the first stop for many potential buyers is to browse online home listings, up-to-date information and current photos are essential to success in selling your home. High-quality online photos, and now professional 3D home tours, have become the expectation for potential buyers previewing homes from their computer or laptop, and they can make the difference between your home ultimately being sold or sitting on the market longer as buyers flock to homes with beautiful online photography. As a seller, you may wonder how you can achieve the best possible photos of your home that will lead to the ideal sales price. The answer:...

How Long to Sell a Home in Portland, Oregon? 2023 Report

July 7, 2023

History of Time on Market in Portland Taking a look at the days on market in Portland, Oregon can tell the story of its real estate market as a whole. It is easy to see the trends, shifts, and market changes over the course of years. Typically days on market exceeding 60 days is a buyer’s market and time on market less than 60 days is considered a sellers market. Past Years Average Number of Days to Sell (go pending) in Portland, Oregon Past Years Average Number of Days to Sell (go pending) in Portland, Oregon 2022 29 ( hottest first half I’ve ever seen, slow second ) 2014 70 2021 27 ( fast all year ) 2013 83 2020...