Portland Real Estate Blog

This is a top 100 real estate blog in the world according to Feedspot.com. In particular this is a Portland real estate blog written by a top 1% Portland real estate agent, Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor. Stephen regularly reports on the Portland real estate market, including short sale and foreclosure news. He gives home selling and home buying tips. He also writes informative articles on Portland neighborhoods. Finally, he writes to inform the general public about real estate agents and the industry.

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Wood Stove Removal in Oregon: 2020 Update

December 6, 2019

Selling a home in Portland? You may have this item on your to-do list: Decommission the wood stove. Wood stove decommissioning is a hot topic in Portland because many homes have older wood stoves that are not EPA-certified, and therefore are illegal to sell with the home. Period. Real estate sales contracts will let you choose to make the seller or the buyer responsible for the removal, but the removal of the wood stove in Oregon is not negotiable. It doesn’t matter if the wood stove is not in use, if it is in a shop or garage, or if the wood stove installation is otherwise up to code. If the stove itself is not certified, it must be decommissioned...

Portland Real Estate Bubble – Housing Market Crash 2020

December 3, 2019

You have probably started hearing already that the Portland real estate market is cooling, and many now want to know if the real estate market here will crash, are we in a market bubble now and will it pop in 2020? Will the Portland Real Estate Bubble Pop in 2020? We are going to answer that question, I believe fairly definitively (minus any international market calamities that we could not possibly predict), in this article by looking at all of the major drivers within the Portland real estate market and they are these 5: Portland wage rates Portland employment rates Portland new home construction rates Portland housing affordability rates Portland population growth After analyzing these five local market questions, we...

Portland Housing Affordability Rate – 2020 Update

November 29, 2019

Most people can afford to pay 30% of their income on housing costs; more than that, and housing becomes unaffordable. The Portland affordability rate is different depending on whether you’re renting or buying. According to the most recent census data, the median household income in Portland is $73,000 per year. For those households, the monthly housing payment should be $1,825/month or less. But, according to Zillow’s Rent Index for Portland, the average renter in Portland is paying $2,072/month — 14% more than the affordable level for median income earners. Unaffordable Portland Rent at 114% of average income. By comparison, the median home price in Portland is $410,000 (according to the September 2019 RMLS report). Assuming a 20% down payment on that...

Lead Pipes, Lead Paint – Pure Portland Poison. Learn how to test for free – 2020 Update

November 25, 2019

Lead Paint in Portland Older Portland homes may be loaded with lead. According to a November 2019 report by the Willamette Week, “The paint on a house from the 1920s or 1930s that’s been repainted about once a decade may contain 50 or 60 pounds of pure lead.” Lead Pipes (Drinking Water) Not only may your Portland home contain lead paint, but in some older homes, lead may also be found in pipes carrying drinking water, and it can also contaminate soil around the home. And, if you haven’t already heard, lead is a hazardous material that’s poisonous even in very small amounts, causing brain damage, cardiovascular and reproductive problems. That’s the bad news. So what’s the good news? Lead-control...

professional photography portland real estate market

Professional Real Estate Photography – No longer Optional in 2020

November 22, 2019

In the Portland real estate market, professional photos are the expectation and the standard. It is simply no longer acceptable for real estate agents to take terrible photos, nor is it acceptable (in my opinion) for real estate agents to take the photos themselves – use a professional! Also, considering the high-end cameras available on the average smart phone these days, is the term “professional photography” even applicable anymore? Among real estate professionals, the answer is an emphatic “YES”, even from those of us who consider ourselves to be cell phone camera virtuosos. Study after study shows that using a professional photographer to shoot your home’s listing photos will attract more buyers, generate more buzz around your home, and ultimately,...

Pocket Listings Banned in 2020 – Portland Real Estate Market

November 18, 2019

Pocket Listings in Portland and throughout the U.S. have been a hot topic for a while. While some real estate agents argue for pocket listings in the Portland real estate market, most argue against them or at least want sufficient regulations in place to protect home sellers and buyers. Pocket listings are usually defined as homes for sale that are not listed publicly in a MLS system, but privately with a local Realty company who may also promote that listing to other local Realty companies or select networks of potential buyers. Pocket Listings Changes in 2019, more coming in 2020. Recently in 2019 RMLS, our local Multiple Listing Service here in Portland, Oregon created a coming soon feature for all...

top portland real estate flooring options

Top 5 Home Floor Choices for 2020

November 16, 2019

Are you sick of your linoleum? Any homeowner in Portland who has explored new flooring options lately might be dazzled by the array of materials on the Portland real estate market in 2020. While engineered products and vinyls might provide the most bang for the buck, flooring made from natural materials has gotten a big boost from new technology as well. Here’s a quick guide to what kind of performance to expect out of today’s floors, and our top picks for 2020’s best flooring options. 3 Things New Floors Can Do For Your Home You might think of flooring as simply the stuff that you walk on. As real estate agents, we find that floors do a whole lot more. ...

Portland Property Taxes to Rise in 2020

November 11, 2019

Portland property tax payments are due November 15. For most homeowners, the bill will be more than it was last year. But if you were one of the many Portland homeowners whose property values stayed the same or even went down in 2019, wouldn’t it make sense that your property taxes would also go stay the same or go down? Unfortunately, it often doesn’t work that way in Portland. How Portland Property Taxes are Figured To understand why Portland property taxes go up every year nearly regardless of real estate values, let’s take a quick look at how taxes are usually calculated. The standard way is to multiply the value of your home by the property tax rate for your...

5 Best Cities (Not Suburbs) Near Portland – 2019 Update

November 5, 2019

Aren’t all suburbs cities? No! Driving around Portland’s metro area, it can be difficult to tell where one city ends and other begins. What some home buyers don’t realize is that some suburbs of Portland aren’t even cities at all. Should that matter to home buyers? We think so! Governance has a huge impact on quality of life and will impact your real estate investment down the road. City governments are local and tend to have better responsiveness for their citizens. Taxes collected locally will go directly back into the community. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should avoid buying a home in an unincorporated community, but there are some things to be aware of. Unincorporated communities (also known as...

Top Home Colors and Trends – Portland Real Estate 2019

November 1, 2019

Color, materials, placement: Whether you just purchased your Portland home or are staging to sell a home in the Portland real estate market, the fresh look you’re seeking is possible with some know-how and inspiration. Read on for our top Portland real estate agent tips for designing and decorating your interior space this year. In Portland, should you go Minimalist or Maximalist? For the past several years, the “look” has been all about clean lines and grey or neutral tones. Inspired by Scandinavian design, people went overboard with whitewash and grey, accented by copper furnishings and fixtures in pointy geometric shapes. Now, the decor trend is moving away from such minimalism toward “maximalism” — think rich colors, mixed patterns and...

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Stephen FitzMaurice

Real Estate Team