Home Sales Rise as Affordability Improves

Existing-home sales increased last month as buyers responded to improved housing affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August. Home sales are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains.

Click here to read more.

Don't miss The Hasson Company's 8th Annual Suit Drive sponsoring Dress for Success starting Saturday, November 1st. Take this opportunity to support your local community.

Dress For Success Oregon, a non–profit organization, promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
The Hasson Company opens its doors November 1–9 to donations of clean and professional women's attire. Please bring suits, separates, like–new fashionable accessories and handbags, jewelry and brand new pantyhose to any of our offices listed below. Winter coats and plus–size clothing are in dire need.

Dress for Success also accepts cash donations on-line at www.dressforsuccess.org/oregon or by check made payable to "Dress for Success Oregon."

**Tax receipts will be available for clothing and financial donations.

Drop your donation between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm Monday thru Friday, or between 10 am and 4 pm Saturday and Sunday.

Our offices are located at:
Broadway - 2173 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232 (503) 335-9898

Lake Oswego - 15400 Boones Ferry Rd Lake Oswego, OR 97035 (503) 635-9801

East Metro - 12809 SE 93rd Ave Clackamas, OR 97015 (503) 652-9801

West Metro - 9755 SW Barnes Rd, Suite 155 Portland, OR 97225 (503) 643-9898

Uptown - 25 NW 23rd Pl Portland, OR 97210 (503) 228-9801

Vancouver - 19120 SE 34th St, Suite 103 Vancouver, WA 98683( 360) 816-2600

South Metro - 8900 Citizens Dr Wilsonville, OR 97070 (503) 218-4567 This branch is closed on weekends.

Lower Home Prices Does Not Mean Lower Property Taxes

Tax bills won't drop for most property owners, even as home values slide in the worsening economy.

"It might be a rude awakening for folks," said Tom Linhares, executive director of the Multnomah County Tax Supervision and Conservation Commission.

The explanation can be found in Oregon's property tax limits, particularly Measure 50, adopted by voters in 1997.

The measure divorced property taxes from market value, setting the assessed value of properties at their 1995 value, less 10 percent. The assessed value can increase 3 percent a year, plus new construction. Property owners pay based on the assessed value or the market value, whichever is smaller.

As Oregon homeowners watched their property values climb rapidly during the past decade, boosting their net worth and borrowing power, their property taxes didn't keep pace, rising only modestly.

"Now, they don't get a break as they fall," Linhares said. "It's the other side of the coin."

To read more click here: Something stable in the economy: Oregon property taxes; Oregonlive.com

Understanding Short Sales

As foreclosure rates hit record levels, more sellers are turning to short sales as a way to avoid foreclosure. So, how does it work? In a short sale, the seller arranges with their mortgage lender to accept a price that's less than the amount they owe on the property. As part of this arrangement, the lender typically agrees to forgive the rest of the loan. As a result, the seller doesn't have to go through a foreclosure, the buyer picks up a property at a discount, and the lender avoids taking on the burden of unloading the property.

Sounds good right? Well, sellers need to know that a short sale may damage their credit, though probably not as much as a foreclosure. Also, lenders generally will only agree to a short sale if the seller is many payments behind and has received a default notice. Buyers may get a great property at a discount, but they also will need to go through some extra paperwork too. Not to mention, they also need to be prepared to roll up their sleeves if that new property needs fixing up.

In the Portland area's distressed-property marketplace, buyers with financial stability, guile, a little available cash and patience (lots of patience, in some cases) are finding deals that would have seemed impossible just a year or two ago. Short sales are an increasingly popular mechanism for avoiding foreclosure, but successful short-sale purchases require patience, homework and negotiating skill.

The complexity and length of the average short-sale transaction means that many potential deals fall through because 30- to 60-day financing locks expire, or buyers simply lose patience with unresponsive mortgage holders and walk away. A short sale generally takes at least 60 days -- and can often take 120 days or more to conclude.

If you have any questions about buying a short sale or if you are interested in selling your home and you think you might be in a short sale situation, please contact me for more information.

Source: Realestate.aol.com and Oregonian Home Section, October 12, 2008

September Portland Real Estate Update

While sales activity in the Portland metro area continues to slide, the slope of the decline leveled off a bit in September.

From August to September, closed sales have averaged a 12.9% decrease over the last five years. This year, however, closed sales only fell 7.3% (1,640 v. 1,770) from August to
September. Pending sales dropped 10.6% (1,705 v. 1,908). New listings
also decreased 4.5% (4,200 v. 4,398).

Similarly, comparing September this year with September 2007, pending sales are down 11.7% and closed sales dropped 12.1%. That’s less than half the drop we saw at the same time last year.

At the month’s rate of sales, the 17,006 active residential properties
would last approximately 10.4 months.

Third Quarter Report
In the third quarter of 2008, there was a 15% decrease in new listings
(14,089 v. 16,573) when compared to the same period a year ago. Closed
sales fell 26.4% (5,409 v. 7,351), while pending sales dropped 18.5% (5,471
v. 6,711).

Sale Prices
The average sale price for September 2008 was down 5.6%
compared to September 2007, while the median sale price dropped 5.8%.

Month-to-month, the average sale price and median sale price are
both down when compared with August levels; the average sale price
dropped 4.8% ($315,300 v. $331,300) and the median sale price was down
4.6% ($267,000 v. $280,000).