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

12 Remodeling Trends to Sell a Home for More

July 15, 2022

After sequestering for much of the past two years, people are looking for ways to refresh and enliven their spaces at home. Trends come and go, and humans like change. So it’s always good to know what’s in and what’s out, for both our own personal tastes and preferences, and when it comes time to sell a home. We checked in to see what Portland, Oregon’s top interior designers are saying to bring you the biggest and most interesting home decor trends and influences for 2022. These can be especially helpful if you’re preparing for a future home sale. 1. Next to Nature After the stressors of the past two years, homeowners are creating “more tranquil spaces at home,” says...

How Much Does Portland Home Staging Cost? 2022 Report

July 11, 2022

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 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 what the going rates are in 2022. We also looked to national experts in the real estate world to learn more. Read on to see about what we discovered and decide if home staging is right for you. What is Home Staging, and What Does it Offer Sellers and Buyers? Staging...

Oregon Home Energy Score Policy 2022 Update

June 29, 2022

The City of Portland enacted the Home Energy Score (HES) Program in January, 2018 and saw 20,000 HES assessments completed by 2020, the most recent numbers to date. Portland was the first in the state and the second in the country (after Berkley, CA) to unveil a home energy program of this type. The program came about from an earnest City of Portland goal to significantly lower carbon emissions (by 80%) by 2050. In 2019, the Oregon Department of Energy (ODE) partnered with Earth Advantage, a green home certification program, to assist with the implementation of Oregon HES programs and share U.S. DOE best practices. Now, both Milwaukie (as of October, 2020) and Hillsboro (as of September 2021) have followed suit,...

What Sells a Home Best? Vacant, Seller, or Tenant Occupied? 2022 Report

June 17, 2022

Since 2017 we’ve been creating this annual report to help our clients know what occupancy status is better for a potential home sale. Is it easier to sell a home if it is vacant, seller, or tenant occupied? While most of our clients can guess it is more difficult to sell tenant occupied, this annual report helps them know just how much harder it is to sell with a tenant inside. Also for homeowners deciding to move out first and vacate or sell while still living in the home, these reports can be helpful. The numbers used. This report is based on data from RMLS, our local multiple listing service. We are looking exclusively at city of Portland proper, detached...

Why You Should Always List your Home on Multiple MLS Systems.

June 10, 2022

The magician behind the curtain in the real estate industry has a name, and it is the MLS. There are hundreds of multiple listing services, MLS systems, spread throughout all fifty states. When you speak with a Realtor (or some other home selling company) you expect them to perform this magic, list your home for sale with photos, 3D, appropriate data, written description, and put it on thousands of real estate websites all at once. Then the Realtor or other company typically does this by inputting all the data, pictures, 3D, and more into one MLS system within your State that they have a paid membership to. Then the home’s information will go out to the many thousands of real...

Best Colors to Paint Your Home to Increase Home Value 2022

June 1, 2022

First impressions matter. When you’re selling your home, you want to make the best one possible when potential buyers roll up to the curb for a walk through. Whether you anticipate selling your home in the near future or a few years from now, it never hurts to think about how to increase its value. Making the decision to sell your home is a big one, one that’s usually followed by other decisions, like what updates are needed, which ones take priority, and which ones fit within your budget. One change you can make to increase your home’s value is to paint the exterior. Not only will it give the structure a fresh, clean appearance, it will also entice those...

Portland Landscaping Tips to Increase Short-Term or Long-Term Home Value

May 23, 2022

Are you gearing up to put your home on the market this summer? If so, there’s a lot to think about: finding a qualified real estate agent, prioritizing repairs and updates, and so much more! The ultimate goal, of course, is to make your home as appealing as possible to every potential buyer who crosses the threshold for an in-person viewing. One excellent way to improve the aesthetic appeal and increase the value of your home is to refresh or revamp landscaping. Below, we offer tips and suggestions for improving the value of your home for both short- and long-term approaches. Short-Term Curb Appeal Boost to Sell your Home Here are a few quick, simple steps you can take to...

Homeowners Overestimate Home Value as much as 150%

May 17, 2022

If you’re thinking of 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 home will build equity and grow in value. It’s a reasonable expectation to have, after all, but the rate at which that value builds depends on a number of factors: location, neighborhood comps, the home’s age and condition, updates and upgrades, and the state of the current market, to...

Is the Zillow Zestimate Accurate? 2022 Update

May 9, 2022

If your look up your home’s value on Zillow’s valuation tool, Zestimate®, you may feel strongly impacted by the price that comes up. It may not be accurate, though. Zillow even says so on their site. So, why is that? And what good is it if you can’t count on it to give you an accurate estimate on your home’s worth? They post this disclaimer: “A Zestimate incorporates public, MLS and user-submitted data into Zillow’s proprietary formula, also taking into account home facts, location and market trends. It is not an appraisal and can’t be used in place of an appraisal.” (They even provide a table of error rates for cities across the U.S. within 5%, 10%, and even 20%...

5 Secrets to Selling Luxury Homes

May 2, 2022

Every home deserves professional photography and 3D home tours (a new standard). Most every home would also benefit from a floor plan PDF. Some homes may also need drone photos if they have a wonderful view or if the home is on a large lot. Some homes may need physical staging or virtual staging. Others will simply require interior design consultation (work with the décor already in the home) by myself or one of our professional partners. Closing on over 2,000 local home sales has taught me as much. Secret #1 to Selling Luxury Homes: Nail the Basics Here’s the basic list of what you should expect selling any home: Professional Photography 3D Home Tour Floor plan (some homes) Staging...