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

iBuyer Warning. Read before selling your home to Opendoor, Zillow, etc.

May 29, 2023

Over the past few years, the iBuyer model surged and faded, with companies like Opendoor and Zillow leading the way. iBuyers acted as intermediaries, providing quick purchases for sellers and reselling to buyers or amassing their real estate portfolio and turning those homes into rentals. However, this seemingly ideal solution has faced some recent challenges.  The model thrived when housing prices were rising, allowing for profitable transactions. But when the market started shifting,, iBuyers like Opendoor and Zillow ran into some difficulties. They were accused of driving up prices during the boom and faced a backlash during the new market. While some expected praise for making housing more affordable, that was not the case at all. As a matter of...

How to Pick the Best Offer in a Bidding War

May 22, 2023

The Portland real estate market has been buzzing with activity in the spring of 2023. While we saw home sales slide quite a bit from May of 2022 to the end of 2022, we are experiencing a strong rebound in the spring of 2023 (though we expect it to slow down again in the summer and more so in the fall and winter). With the current real estate market conditions, sellers who price their homes at or below market value often find themselves receiving multiple offers. Understanding how to handle the multiple-offer scenario is important if you’re in this situation. To help you make informed decisions, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding handling multiple-offer situations as a...

Is the Zillow Zestimate® Accurate? 2023 Update

May 19, 2023

These days, anyone interested in selling or buying a home is familiar with the home search engine Zillow and the proprietary Zestimate® formula it uses to place an estimated value on a property. Many times people will be motivated to make decisions about selling their home based on the Zestimate® they discover online. Or buyers may feel like they must offer a certain price based on a number generated by Zillow. But unfortunately, this price estimate can be misleading and has a wide margin of error according to Realtors, other sites, and even Zillow. This might cause you to wonder why Zillow would continue to post the Zestimate® and what is useful for if it cannot be trusted to accurately...

Top 5 Colors to Paint Your Home to Increase Home Value in 2023

May 15, 2023

If your home is in need of a fresh coat of paint or you are considering painting your exterior to enhance its curb appeal for potential buyers, choosing the right color can feel like a weighty decision. It’s true that the most important photo for your home’s online listing is the first one, and that first impression is crucial for capturing a buyer’s attention. Learning about the types of colors that work well for your home’s design and in your neighborhood – as well as colors that are currently trending for home exteriors – can go a long way toward narrowing your choices. We’ve provided an overview of the most popular home colors this year to help you discover the...

How Many Home Showings to Sell a Home? 2023 Report

May 5, 2023

My clients want to know, how many showings on average does it take to sell a home? So for a number of years now I’ve been writing a local research report on the topic. Thankfully, we do have access to the necessary data through RMLS. We get daily buyer traffic reports and inventory reports. The smart lockboxes we use locally record every home buyer showing. The MLS records when an offer is finally accepted and the homes goes into pending status. If you’re curious on the average number of days it takes to sell a home (annual reports), we have that for you. If you’re curious what the current real estate market is up to in the Portland, Oregon metro...

Cork Stripped Flooring: Better than Hardwoods?

April 17, 2023

If you’re looking for an earth-friendly material to replace or refinish your floors, whether in the interest of sustainability or to achieve a natural aesthetic or both, cork stripped flooring might just be the superior choice – even over the ever popular and time-tested hardwoods. There are several options in this category, but cork and hardwoods take the lead as both the most environmentally friendly and the most appealing to homeowners and homebuyers alike. Cork stripped flooring is made from the bark of the cork oak tree. Beginning when the tree is 25 years old, the cork is carefully harvested by hand with a small hatchet without damaging or hurting the tree. The cork is first punched into wine and...

How Soon Can You Sell Your Portland Home After Buying It?

April 12, 2023

Buying a home is a big investment, one of the biggest in life for most people. According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report (2022), the typical homeowner will stay in their home for 14 years before putting it on the market. This allows substantial equity growth and avoids financial loss through capital gains tax, mortgage prepayment penalties, and more. However, with the impact of COVID19, many homeowners are selling sooner rather than later. In 2019, the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report found that the average homeowner will stay in their home for 15 years, so the global pandemic effectively lowered the average by a full year. There are many unavoidable life circumstances that can suddenly force an...

Home Buyers and Seller Closing Costs – Portland, Oregon Metro Area Report

April 7, 2023

Updated 4/7/2023. For some people, “closing costs” is a vague term attached to selling or buying a home. Many aren’t clear about who pays what. Educating yourself on this part of the home selling/buying process is essential for a successful and surprise-free transaction. Closing costs vary from state to state. Also, because they’re based on the cost of the home in question, closing costs in the Portland metro area will be higher than other parts of Oregon due to comparatively higher home prices in the area. Keep in mind that some of these fees are payable to the lender and others to third parties, like home appraisers and title agencies. We want to dispel some of the mystery and confusion...

Whose Fence is it Anyway? How to Resolve Fence Problems with Your Neighbor

March 17, 2023

Living in a city often means living in tight spaces. Portland is no different, especially with the possibility of an increase in additions and new construction, thanks to the city’s new Residential Infill Project (RIP). Homeowners install fences on their properties for a variety of reasons: to keep pets and children safe, to serve as a tidy perimeter for landscaping, and to maintain privacy. It’s been said that good fences make good neighbors, but fences can also cause antagonism when disputes between neighbors arise over property boundaries. Here, we’ll sort through Oregon fence laws and local codes and restrictions and offer some useful tips for resolving fence conflicts peacefully. What Causes Fence and Boundary Conflicts Between Neighbors? Previous negotiation—Your neighbor...

Selling Mom and Dad’s Portland Home

March 8, 2023

Underneath the plains of Romania lies a cave that has been sealed off from the rest of the world for 5.5 million years. According to the BBC, “While our ape-like ancestors were coming down from the trees and evolving into modern humans, the inhabitants of this cave were cut off from the rest of the planet.” Insects, spiders, fungi and bacteria evolved separately in the low-oxygen environment, and scientists have discovered at least 33 species that exist nowhere else on earth! Does this cave sound like a place you know? Before a house becomes a “property” listed on the real estate market, it’s somebody’s home. And some of these homes have been, like Movile Cave, sealed off from the rest...