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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5 Things You Didn’t Know about Parkrose, Portland

September 23, 2019

Nestled in Northeast Portland, close to the hip Hollywood District and a short commute to downtown, Parkrose has just about anything a homebuyer could want in a Portland neighborhood. But what is it, exactly, that sets Parkrose apart as a real estate hot spot in 2019? 1. It’s even more affordable than you think. This summer, we did the research and brought you the ten 10 Most Affordable Neighborhoods to buy a home in Portland. If you haven’t read that blog post yet, here’s a spoiler alert: Northeast Portland, especially the Parkrose, Parkrose Heights, Hazelwood and Argay neighborhoods, are the most affordable in the whole city right now. Zillow estimates the median home value to be around $330K for this...

How Many Real Estate Agents Are There? 2019 Update

September 20, 2019

Number of Real Estate Agents in the United States According to the National Association of Realtors 2019 Monthly Membership report, membership hit a historic high in August of 2019 at 1,393,186 Realtors. Now Realtors are real estate agents who are members of NAR and adhere to the NAR code of ethics and pay their membership dues. I cannot find any number on the count of real estate agents (licensed with their state) that are also not actually Realtors, but I imagine the number is less than 1%. For the 16 years I’ve been licensed I’ve never met a single one. Every Realty company I’ve run across makes NAR membership, Realtor membership a requirement for the licensed real estate agents in...

Only 74% of Homes Close Escrow on Time.

September 16, 2019

When real estate is bought and sold, in Portland or anywhere else, it doesn’t happen instantly. There’s a period of time known as the “closing”, and there are a number of things that need to happen in this 30-45 day (average) window. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, 74% of sales ended up closing on time. The other 26% closed after the expected closing date. Delays can be costly for everyone. It is costly to maintain your current home while you’re waiting for it to sell or be purchased, both sides could be keeping household items in storage, or the buyer or seller could be living out of hotels. Then there’s the hassle of rescheduling...

Portland Real Estate Market Research Guide

September 13, 2019

As a real estate professional, numbers are my secret superpower. Numbers paint a picture of the Portland real estate market, allowing our team to effectively market your home, or, for buyers, closely match the offer we write to what the seller is willing to accept. These days, it’s possible to find numbers measuring Portland real estate market activity for each neighborhood or suburb of Portland, and they change daily. Even if you understand what all the numbers mean, they can vary from source to source — the RMLS, Zillow, etc. — so who do you trust? We’ll get to that in the second part of this post, but first, here are the basic metrics to track if you want to...

Home Improvements that Lower your Home Value

September 9, 2019

Redecorating? Installing new kitchen countertops? Thinking of adding a pool? Not all home improvements in the Portland real estate market increase your home’s value. Consider the following: The average homeowner hangs on to their home about 10 years. When it comes time to sell, some improvements done in that time will retain value, but others will actually detract from it. Our team of top real estate agents came up with a list of eight ways that home improvements could send buyers running (or cause them to submit a lower offer). Neglecting accessibility. Let’s face it: Portland home buyers are aging. Many baby boomers are now empty-nesters, and they want to downsize and/or retire in Portland. But giving up square footage...

My Home is Not Selling. What can I do? – 2019 Update

September 6, 2019

Portland Real Estate Market, Then and Now For the greater Portland metro area home prices have been increasing across the board from 2012 to 2016. In 2017 things changed. High priced homes and some high-end luxury properties started to decrease in value, but most of the residential housing market still increased in value. In 2018, high-end and middle value condos decreased in price and a significant portion of the Portland luxury market decreased in price. In 2019, the majority of condos decreased in price, nearly all homes over 600,000 decreased in price, and only lower priced homes, say under 400,000 actually saw appreciation in the Portland real estate market in 2019. Portland Real Estate Market, The Future We just completed...

2020 Portland Real Estate Market Forecast

August 30, 2019

Here is our first 2020 Portland real estate market forecast. We will follow up with a final forecast in January. Below are early housing market forecasts from other sources about the entire country’s real estate market in 2020 and Portland Oregon’s housing market specifically. There are not a lot of early predictions, which is why we will follow up with a final forecast in early Jan. for 2020. National Real Estate Market 2020 Predictions Zillow Housing Forecast = +2.2% CoreLogic Housing Forecast = +5% Portland Real Estate Market 2020 Predictions Zillow Portland Forecast = -2.1% My prediction = -3% Will my Portland Home Value Increase or Decrease in 2020? First we have to determine what type of Portland home you...

portland affordable neighborhoods housing

Top 10 Affordable Portland Neighborhoods – 2019 Update

August 26, 2019

Growth has been the story of the Portland real estate market almost since it was established as the endpoint to the Oregon Trail. Back then, a home could be purchased for a few hundred dollars, but where are we now? Overall, less affordable — it’s true. The average cost of a square foot of home in Portland is $295, a fact that has driven many to the surrounding suburbs. However, compare Portland to other west coast hotspots like the San Francisco bay area ($498/square foot) and Seattle ($521/square foot), and suddenly our city looks like a much better investment. Within the Portland real estate market itself, of course, there is great variability. Affordability varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. Overall, the...

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...

Selling a home in Portland? Check these 5 Media Tips

August 19, 2019

Real estate is all about connections — and lucky for those who buy and sell homes, we live in a very connected world these days. But constant connection with friends and strangers alike can have its drawbacks as well. Here are our quick tips for taking advantage of social media’s benefits when selling a home in Portland, while avoiding the pitfalls. 1. Don’t share it all. Public posts on social media about accepting offers or starting the moving process are fun for your friends and followers. They’re also a goldmine for anyone who would take advantage of your home’s vacant status. Criminals may be watching. Even if you think nobody is listening on Twitter or Instagram, if it’s a public...

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Stephen FitzMaurice

Real Estate Team