Portland Real Estate Blog

This is a top 100 real estate blog in the world according to Feedspot.com. In particular, this is a local real estate blog written by a top 1% real estate agent in the U.S., Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor. Stephen regularly reports on the greater Portland metro area’s real estate market including annual housing forecasts and best time to sell or buy a home reports. He gives home selling and home buying professional advice. He also writes informative articles on Portland neighborhoods and suburbs as they relate to the real estate market. Finally, he writes to inform the general public about real estate agents, such as annual average real estate agent commission reports and more.

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portland home prices rising

Going Up: New Apartments, Portland Home Prices

March 20, 2012

The average price of a home in Portland is up and the total number of residential properties on the market remains low, according to the most recent Market Action Report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service. Good news for sellers, but with the city’s population climbing at a steady rate, where is the needed housing to come from? Enter the apartment developers. In 2012, 21 new apartment projects will open around the Portland area, according to a recent report in the Portland Business Journal. Those projects will alleviate the tight the rental market in the city, which saw vacancy rates fall from 5.6 percent in 2009 to 3.6 percent last year. Many of these new apartment buildings are selling out...

landscaping tips

Sell Your Portland Home: Landscaping Tips

March 2, 2012

Spring is here, the perfect time to make some improvements to your property to boost your curb appeal to Portland home buyers. A well maintained outdoor area speaks volumes to potential buyers about the quality of the home and the neighborhood they’re investing in. If you’re even considering putting your home on the market this year, start now to save yourself time and money in getting your landscaping up to snuff. Here in Portland, Oregon, we’re known for our luxurious outdoor spaces. It’s not hard to establish one for your listing even if you only have a few months. Shop early for good deals on small trees and shrubs that will add dimension and character to your landscape. Look for...

picking a mortgage lender

How to Pick a Mortgage Lender in Portland Oregon.

February 22, 2012

How do I pick a Mortgage Lender in Portland? There are three basic choices when you are ready to find a lender for your Portland home. 1. Brick and Mortar bank: This refers to a Wells Fargo, US Bank, Chase, etc. that has a local presence and services the public’s checking and savings and well as many of their loan options. 2. Credit Union: Similar to a brick and mortar bank, these banks provide all encompassing financial services, but they are non-profit institutions and tend to provide a higher rate of return for their members (instead of their stockholders). 3. Direct Lending Mortgage Company: These companies focus exclusively on real estate lending. They often have a physical location, but not necessarily (like...

loan modifcation

Portland Short Sale or Try for a Home Loan Modification?

February 8, 2012

This is a serious question for many Portland Oregon home owners who are underwater in their mortgages: Should I Short Sale my Home or Try for a Home Loan Modification? For your consideration, I will tell you a common and very sad experience I have regarding folks who try for Portland home loan modifications. Too many times, the bank has suggested that the Portland home owner stop making payments while proceeding with the modification. The modification then takes 6 months to over a year to process. At the end of that time the bank rejects their modification attempt and all of the sudden they get a notice that the bank is going to foreclose in a week or two! These...

portland market statistics

What sells in PDX: Short Sales, REOs, or Traditional Home Sales?

January 20, 2012

2011 Portland MLS market statistics. Foreclosures in Portland: In rough terms, nearly 100% of foreclosure properties in Portland, also known as REOs, sell in a 6 month period. If you are looking to buy or make an offer on a Portland foreclosure, know this: it won’t stick around for long. Banks do not take low ball offers, in general they sell the property site unseen. I have found banks will typically lower the sales price in Portland by 3% every 60 days or so. This means that they will eventually bring the foreclosure to a price that demands the market’s attention and gets the home sold in short order. It is common for a Portland foreclosure to sit for a...

Portland Home Staging Works

Home Staging in Portland. Does it work?

January 6, 2012

I often find people assume spending money on Portland home staging and professional photography is a waste of time and money. It is not for at least four reasons. First, the Portland market is completely online-driven these days. 94% of buyers find the home they are going to buy online. The number one reason homes sell online is good pictures. Staging sets the scene for just the right picture to peak the buyer’s interest and convince them to schedule an appointment to see the home. Second, unless the home is owned by someone with amazing artistic abilities, chances are a home staging professional is going to be able to improve the look of your home. Third, after homes are viewed online and...

zestimate accuracy

Zillow Zestimates, are they accurate?

December 26, 2011

These days many folks check out their home online, or a property they are looking to purchase, to find an estimate of value. Zillow provides these national in a format they copyrighted and call Zestimates. If you read the Zillow forums on Zestimates you’ll find a lot of angry home owners disputing the value. Recently I went to a seminar held by Zillow themselves to try to get an answer. Zestimates were the very first topic of discussion at the seminar, and from a Zillow representative I heard these words, “Zillow Zestimates are wrong by more than $30,000 dollars 30% of the time.” Now, most people will agree this is not an accurate enough figure to make any kind of...

Earth Advantage Broker

Earth Advantage Broker

December 19, 2011

Also called Sustainability Training for Accredited Real Estate Professionals (S.T.A.R) this designation comes straight from additional education earned from Earth Advantage Institute. The training focuses on green materials for new construction and remodeled homes accenting the lifestyle benefits, costs, and rewards. I earned this real estate agent designation in 2011. Let me use my experience as an Earth Advantage Broker in Portland to help you find your new home! See all of my twelve designations here. Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor

Trulia Pro in Portland

Trulia Pro

December 19, 2011

Trulia gives out its PRO status to those agents who pay to feature their listings on Trulia.com. Currently the second most visited real estate website, it is crucial to feature your listings on Trulia. See my entire listing package here. In my opinion, Trulia is one of the friendliest websites to use, but I prefer my own Portland home search site to theirs (it is more accurate and even easier to use). I have a reviews on Trulia and Zillow.com and all of them on my website. Stephen FitzMaurice, Realtor See all of my twelve designations here.

zillow 5 star agents

Zillow 5 Star Agent, Premier Agent, & All-Star

December 19, 2011

Zillow loves to give out awards and I think I have them all! Zillow gives out rewards for helping out visitors to their site who ask questions (they used to, this feature has since disappeared) and also for contributing to their site – recording a lot of sales (they used to, this is also gone). Zillow gives out awards to agents who feature their listings on Zillow (Premier Zillow Agent), an important thing to do considering Zillow is currently the number one visited real estate website (again, they used to do it this way, but things have changed, keep reading). We are still able to get way more views on our client’s listings on Zillow than most of our competitors...