Author: Dianne Gregoire

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Home Energy Scores

There are a couple of reasons I feel prompted to talk about home energy scores. First, it’s the middle of January and heating bills are affecting our budgets. Second, the City of Portland’s new requirement for home energy scores went into affect January 1st, 2018. Here in LO we don’t have a requirement for home energy audits to sell a home, but I think what the City of Portland is doing will affect all of the suburbs in the metro area.

A home energy score is an audit done by a licensed and certified professional. It costs about $125 and results in a standardized score of 1 to 10 and also includes an estimation of the energy costs for a particular home. If you live within the city limits of Portland and intend to sell your house, you have got to provide this score to prospective buyers. This is going to make the home energy cost question easy to obtain and to use in comparing homes to buy. I think homes with high scores, meaning very energy efficient, will be in greater demand than homes with low scores. To overcome this, homes with low scores will simply be priced for less to overcome this deficiency. As buyers get used to the availability of this information, I think they will begin to demand similar information outside of the city limits.

With this in mind, I thought it would be helpful to offer you a few simple, and relatively inexpensive ways to save home energy costs. I obtained this list from the Alliance to Save Energy, a National non-profit that was founded in 1977 and brings together professionals from government, business, environmental, and consumer communities. I have limited this list to items you can physically do to your house prior to selling it.

1. Install a programmable thermostat
2. When buying appliances, look for the Energy Star label
3. Install low-flow faucets, shower heads, and toilets
4. Install new, clean air filters
5. Reduce the water heater temperature to 130 degrees
6. Seal off air leaks
7. Insulate attic, walls, and floors.

Alliance also provides some tips for living in the house that will save you money.
1. wash clothes in cold water
2. use window shades to keep the sun out in the summer to cool the house, and to let the sun inside in the winter to heat the house
3. Change light bulbs to be modern halogen incandescent, LED, or CFLs. Notice I don’t recommend these bulbs at the time you are marketing the house. These bulbs often take time to “warm up” and fully illuminate. Unless you leave your lights all on for every showing, these bulbs will not brighten up quickly enough to illuminate a room if it is being shown without the lights already on. You want lots of light when you are marketing your home.

To read the full Alliance recommendations, click here.

A word or two about windows
I am a big fan of architecturally significant and older homes. I think that there is a fine line between updating an older home and ruining an older home. For instance, the beveled glass edges in fine old homes that are often in the living room and dining room of these old homes. What to do? I believe these windows should be preserved. You could consider putting a storm window in front of them, or even just leaving them alone and allowing them to be single pane.

Insulated windows do not provide as much energy savings as is often claimed. The Federal Trade Commission was warned or filed charges against more than a dozen window manufacturers to force them to be truthful in their advertising. Having said that, there is no argument that a double pane window, whether it is via sealed-insulated window, or an old-fashioned storm window, is going to be more energy efficient than a single pane window. Not too mention that single pane windows get condensation on the inside during the winter that can cause water staining and mold. NPR wrote a good article on the subject that you can find by clicking here. The point is, new insulated windows are expensive. If you are on a budget you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck with other measures, like the ones I have listed above.

As always, thanks for reading the blotter.
Dianne

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Market Activity Dec 25, 2017-Jan 7, 2018

Being the first posting of the new year, I am happy to say that things are starting off with a bang. The last 2 weeks have brought 21 new listings onto the market, 19 houses have gone into pending status, and 21 properties that are closed/sold. Most exciting is that 1900 Twin Points has gone pending. This is one of Lake Oswego’s most prestigious homes. It on the lake with it’s own small bay and is known for its Asian inspired blue tile roof. Priced at $6,999,000, it’s been on the market for 535 days. Now the curiosity will be watching to see what the final sales price is.

Following is the breakdown for you according to RMLS:

New on the Market (Dec 25, 2017-Jan 7, 2018)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft
86 Kingsgate Rd #C202 Condo $175,000 2 2 924
668 McVey Ave #46 Condo $274,900 2 1 863
4462 Thunder Vista Ln Condo $314,000 2 2.5 2040
4340 Beasley Way Detached $409,900 3 1 1384
156 Kingsgate Rd Detached $434,900 2 2 2020
8 Sherwood Ct Detached $629,200 3 3.5 3212
33 Hillshire Dr Detached $699,950 4 2.5 2757
17423 Oak Meadow Ln Detached $749,000 3 2.5 3125
3413 Royce Way Detached $769,000 3 2.5 2753
3106 Rosemary Ln Detached $775,000 3 2.5 2717
5693 Victoria Ct Detached $790,000 4 2.5 3540
160 Iron Mountain Blvd Detached $825,000 4 3 3090
15620 Village Dr Detached $995,000 4 2.5 3324
3144 Glenmorrie Dr Detached $998,900 3 2.5 2582
3100 Westview Ct Detached $1,100,000 4 3.5 3725
4743 Upper Dr Detached $1,175,000 4 2.5 3079
4731 Upper Dr Detached $1,195,000 4 2.5 3208
4749 Upper Dr Detached $1,235,000 4 2.5 3285
4660 Wildwood St Detached $1,349,900 4 4 3709
13615 Westlake Dr Detached $1,350,000 4 4.5 4050
893 Cedar St Detached $1,375,000 4 3.5 3740

Pending Sales (Dec 25, 2017-Jan 7, 2018)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft CDOM
48 Cervantes Cir 3-C Attached $235,000 2 1.5 1368 4
200 Burnham Rd #304 Condo $239,000 2 2 1305 144
668 McVey Ave #84 Condo $239,900 2 1.5 976 117
1470 Boca Ratan Dr Townhse $360,000 3 2 1867 0
4236 Woodside Circle Attached $395,000 3 2 1524 16
918 Lake Front Rd Detached $455,000 2 1 921 3
4978 Galen St Attached $459,000 2 2.5 1552 78
520 2nd St Condo $499,000 2 1.5+.5 1520 24
17380 Marjorie Ave Detached $509,000 4 2 1816 5
5524 Langford Ln Detached $550,000 2 2 2038 96
21 Masaryk St Detached $585,000 4 2.5 2773 59
3220 Duncan Dr Detached $639,000 4 2.5 3042 188
643 Ash St Detached $674,900 4 2.5 2200 3
13265 Fox Run Detached $689,900 4 2.5 2614 34
5925 Sunbrook Dr Detached $699,000 3 2.5 3160 10
17429 Schalit Way Detached $699,900 4 3.5 2823 150
17184 Carlson Ct Detached $720,000 4 3.5 3318 36
830 Cabana Ln Detached $1,249,000 4 3.5 3029 202
1900 Twin Points Rd Detached $6,999,000 5 3.5+.5 6776 535

Sold/Closed (Dec 25, 2017-Jan 7, 2018)

Address Type List Price Sold Price Sq Ft CDOM
100 Kerr Pkwy #59 Condo $194,900 $189,900 823 24
4085 Jefferson Pkwy Condo $309,900 $303,400 1,302 60
1784 Bonniebrae Attached $339,000 $325,000 1,393 19
16724 Roosevelt Ave Detached $399,900 $401,200 1270 112
668 McVey Ave #61 Condo $475,000 $465,000 992 342
17736 Cardinal Ct Detached $535,000 $535,000 2280 29
14307 Camden Ln Detached $599,900 $545,000 1932 116
804 4th St Detached $575,000 $553,000 1396 6
3854 Tempest Dr Detached $575,000 $568,900 1953 43
1625 Fernwood Dr Detached $629,000 $592,500 2182 82
19180 Indian Creek Ave Detached $599,900 $599,900 2392 7
14377 Camden Ln Detached $679,900 $620,000 2530 141
999 Oxford Dr Detached $679,000 $630,000 3118 93
17040 Summer Pl Detached $639,000 $639,000 3186 71
4725 Firwood Rd Detached $675,000 $695,000 2557 3
555 Atwater Rd Detached $925,000 $775,000 4016 127
812 Country Commons Detached $950,000 $860,000 3740 140
910 A Ave Detached $999,000 $920,000 3324 21
14405 Pfeifer Dr Detached $969,900 $921,500 3853 134
5303 Amberwood Ct Detached $999,999 $985,000 3634 15
17656 Kelok Rd Detached $1,238,000 $1,163,000 3290 275

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

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Happy Holidays!

We here at the blotter want to wish you all the best of the season. Merry Christmas, Happy chanukah, Happy Kwanza, and just all good wishes to you and your family, no matter the holiday you are celebrating.

We also want to let you know that we are going to take this week and next to be with our family and so the next post will be the week of January 8th. The market activity report will combine two weeks. Please enjoy the respite, as I know that we will.

We may be taking a break from the blotter, but we are also still busy with real estate. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need help or have a real estate related question.

Thank you for reading the blotter. Here’s to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018!
Dianne, Linda, and Whitney

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Holiday Lights

I think my favorite part of the holiday season are the lights in the evening. It get’s dark by 5pm. The lights coming on actually gets me excited for the dark evenings. So today I thought I share some photos I took yesterday evening at Millennium Plaza Park.

I also highly recommend driving about to view the neighborhoods at this time of year. Probably the most well-known for light displays is Westlake. Edenberry Dr has been named by Redfin as one of the top 5 streets to view the Christmas lights in the Portland area. Then there is First Addition. The City of Lake Oswego is holding a light contest this year. Homes will be judged this evening starting at 5pm. They are giving a special medallion and a $75 gift certificate to the winning home.

I’m also enamored with the variety of lights that are now available. From the old-fashioned bulbs, to multi-striped icicles that flicker in a digital pattern. It’s lovely.

My thanks to the home owners who make the effort. You make the short days and long nights a pleasure.
Happy Holidays!
Dianne

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Market Activity Dec 4-10, 2017

Amidst the shopping, trips to the post office, parties, and general hubbub of the holidays, people are still putting their homes up for sale, looking at houses, and making offers. Last week in Lake Oswego there were 8 new listings, 18 homes that went into pending status, and 16 sold/closed sales.

Following is the breakdown for you according to RMLS:

New on the Market (Dec 4-10, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft
4 Touchstone #93 Condo $224,900 3 3 1351
5059 Foothills Dr G Condo $319,000 2 2 991
4 Adams Ct Detached $487,000 4 2.5 2287
520 2nd St Condo $499,000 2 1.5+.5 1520
4654 Auburn Ln Attached $624,900 3 3.5 2732
3665 Olson Ct Detached $695,000 4 3 2517
802 Clara Ct Detached $769,000 4 3 2857
18048 Eastridge Ln Detached $1,375,000 4 3.5 4336

Pending Sales (Dec 4-10, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft CDOM
100 Kerr Parkway #59 Condo $189,900 2 1.5 823 24
4 Touchstone #148 Condo $224,900 3 2.5 1351 27
204 Cervantes Condo $225,000 3 1.5 1138 27
1784 Bonniebrae Dr Attached $339,000 2 1.5 1393 19
5092 Galen St Detached $424,900 2 2 1178 3
52115 Bonita Rd Detached $495,000 3 2.5 1761 16
3290 Wembley Park Rd Detached $539,500 5 3 2656 62
5059 West Sunset Dr Attached $549,000 2 2.5 1734 73
14307 Camden Ln Detached $560,000 3 2.5 1932 116
804 4th St Detached $575,000 3 1.5 1396 6
8 Westminster Dr Detached $623,000 3 3.5 2258 169
339 6th St Attached $769,000 3 3.5 2258 81
2155 Ridgewood Rd Detached $775,000 4 3 3454 39
1976 Palisades Terrace Dr Detached $865,000 4 2.5 3898 260
14405 Pfeifer Dr Detached $925,000 5 3 3853 134
15800 Oswego Shore Ct Detached $1,155,000 4 3.5 4047 269
1350 Ridgecrest Dr Detached $1,175,000 5 3 3534 159
18137 Meadowlark Ln Detached $1,429,000 4 4.5 5306 90

Sold/Closed (Dec 4-10, 2017)

Address Type List Price Sold Price Sq Ft CDOM
47 Eagle Crest Dr #8 Condo $175,000 $170,000 932 101
5225 Jean Rd #511 Condo $275,000 $275,000 1,400 9
100 Leonard St 2-1 Condo $429,000 $420,000 1,364 24
5907 Kenny St Detached $450,000 $456,000 1300 34
18971 Indian Springs Cir Detached $529,000 $495,000 1312 43
13606 Blazer Trail Detached $525,000 $515,000 1676 19
100 Leonard St 2-2 Condo $525,000 $562,500 2585 79
272 Greenwood Rd Detached $565,000 $562,500 1676 2
1682 Highland Rd Detached $649,000 $587,500 2234 111
624 Livingood Ln Detached $695,000 $685,000 2596 24
4006 Canal Woods Ct Detached $775,000 $768,675 3514 152
2983 Lakeview Blvd Detached $799,000 $786,000 2583 22
16610 Woodsman Ct Detached $799,000 $799,000 3462 8
4296 Sunset Dr Detached $800,000 $800,000 2600 0
17519 Brookhurst Dr Detached $859,000 $820,000 3758 46
12834 Alto Park Rd Detached $1,475,000 $1,365,000 3973 66

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

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Value Other Than Money

Owning real estate is a tremendous way to build wealth. Not only are you providing yourself or others a place to live, but you are very likely going to experience the growth of the value of the property over time. So when most of us think about real estate value, we are thinking about what the monetary worth of the property is. This value is extremely important. It will have a major role to play in decisions to buy and to sell. It is really the top priority when value is considered. But there are two other significant factors that also have great value.

Time
Timing is really important as well. Timing plays into things like the termination of a lease, the birth of a baby, relocation for a job. Your life will create circumstances that motivate you to make decisions about buying and selling and these circumstances will move you forward.

Timing is also a super big consideration if you own a home and want to move just for simple circumstances of change. You want a bigger/smaller/one level/bigger garage/different house. How do you coordinate selling one and buying another? Everyone prefers to just move once, and everyone wants to buy the perfect next house. How do you put this together? I counsel people that you have to choose which is of greater importance, the money or the time? If you want to maximize the highest sales price and the lowest purchase price then you need to make the money the priority. You need to put your house on the market and get it under contract before you make an offer on the new house. Then you make the offer on the new house with some negotiating power because you have got your prior house in escrow. This also means that you may not find the perfect next house right away, and you may have to find interum housing while you take time to house hunt. If the idea of selling before you find your perfect house scares you, then you are prioritizing time. You can go shopping, but you have to find a way to buy without having sold. You may end up floating two mortgages if you close on one house without having sold the other. Or you may have to make a contingent offer based upon the sale of your current home. To get the person selling the house you want to buy to give you a chance to do this, you are essentially going to have to make it worth their while. You present a risk to them because your current home may not sell right away. To entice them to take this risk you will likely have to pay full price (or even more than full price) for the next house. In addition, when you finally do list your current home, you are going to need to price it to get it sold quickly. This may be a list price below what you otherwise may have wanted to try.

Good Will
Good will is the reason that I wanted to write this post today. Good will goes a long way and is very beneficial to everyone involved.

Here is the scenario. This is based upon an experience I had about a week ago. I am going to mix up the details a bit to retain people’s privacy, but you’ll get the idea.

I represented buyers who made an offer on a house that has been on the market for 2 months. We offered $9000 below the asking price and asked for the washer, dryer, and refrigerator. The seller countered agreeing to just $4000 below the list price and not including any appliances. My buyers felt that this was in fact something similar to a full price counter offer because the appliances are easily worth $4000. They countered back agreeing that no appliances would be included, but wanting a price $6000 under the list price. We were now just $2000 apart. Then we waited for 2 full days. When we finally got a response, the seller had countered again at $4000 under the list price with no appliances. She had not budged. My clients agreed to these terms and we also realized that this home owner was pretty much tough as nails. Then we had the home inspection. It did not go well. The 9-year-old roof is leaking in multiple places, the furnace needs to be replaced, and the house has aluminum wiring. Each one of these items is expensive. My guess is $25,000 or so in needed repairs. We just didn’t want to negotiate these items with this seller. She agonized over her refrigerator and a couple thousand dollars. We just knew she’d want to nit pic the needed repairs. My buyers walked away. I honestly believe that if they felt like they had gotten more of a win in the negotiation of the offer they would have been motivated to at least attempt to negotiate the repairs.

I want to also say that nobody is out to “get” the other party. Everyone in the sale is wanting the best for themselves, but it goes so much more smoothly when everyone approaches the sale with compassion. So I want to put it out there that good will is important and should be taken into consideration. Be good to one another and set a tone of cooperation. Everyone will win when this happens.

Thanks for reading,
Dianne

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Market Activity Nov 20-26, 2017

It has officially begun, the holiday market. Real estate activity has dropped back to just 6 new listings, 12 pending sales, and 8 closed sales last week in Lake Oswego. This is about a third of what the activity is like in the spring and summer, and about half of what is was just a month ago. But think about it, with all of the hectic activity of the holidays, there were new listings, pending sales, and closed sales. Real Estate is 365 days of the year. Happy Holidays!

Following is the breakdown for you according to RMLS:

New on the Market (Nov 20-26, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft
5058 Foorhills Dr A Condo $364,500 2 2 1252
18017 Tualata Ave Detached $379,900 3 2 1124
5215 Bonita Rd Detached $495,000 3 2.5 1761
2757 Lakeview Blvd Detached $925,000 4 3 2854
910 A Ave Detached $999,000 3 2 3324
1947 Summit Dr Detached $1,999,500 5 5.5 5570

Pending Sales (Nov 20-26, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft CDOM
100 Kerr Pkwy #27 Condo $121,900 2 1.5 832 7
200 Burnham Rd 3300 Condo $215,000 1 1 973 17
3433 McNary Pkwy #604 Attached $269,900 2 2,5 1136 7
14332 Sherbrook Pl Detached $450,500 3 2.5 1770 25
106 Greenridge Ct Attached $469,950 3 3 3198 4
210 Northshore Rd Detached $529,900 2 1.5 2050 56
385 Livingood Ln Detached $610,000 3 2 2083 8
1625 Fernwood Dr Detached $629,000 3 2 2182 82
3220 Duncan Dr Detached $649,000 4 2.5 3042 141
2983 Lakeview Blvd Detached $799,000 3 2.5 2583 72
14167 Taylors Crest Ln Detached $915,000 4 2.5 3675 177
5303 Amberwood Ct Detached $999,999 3 2,5 3634 15

Sold/Closed (Nov 20-26, 2017)

Address Type List Price Sold Price Sq Ft CDOM
4103 Jefferson Pkwy Condo $329,900 $322,500 1359 6
5526 Yorkshire Pl Detached $599,500 $575,000 2,449 26
653 3rd St Detached $574,999 $585,569 1,522 1
2810 Dellwood Dr Detached $564,900 $615,000 2278 7
1051 Forest Meadows Way Detached $1,850,000 $1,640,000 5505 162
1940 Highlands Loop Detached $1,698,000 $1,660,000 4080 250
12901 Goodall Rd Detached $1,995,000 $1,902,500 5333 414
1495 Oak Terrace Detached $2,795,000 $2,425,000 3983 86

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

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The Importance of Property Disclosure

First, a bit about disclosure law in Oregon. Our State has a property disclosure law that requires a person selling a house to tell what they know about the house, and in particular, any known defects. To accomplish this there is a 5-page form that sellers complete and then give to their buyer. Once the buyer and/or the buyer’s Realtor receive this form a clock starts ticking. The buyer has 5 business days to simply change their mind. They get their earnest money back and have no need to provide any justification. Think of it as being like the 3-day lemon law when you buy a car. Same thing. You can wake up one morning in the disclosure period and simply not want to buy the house. There are exemptions made for bank foreclosures, trustees, and essentially parties who have control of the property but no knowledge of the material condition of the property. There is also the possibility, very, very slim, that a seller would refuse to complete the disclosure form. They can actually do this. However, this means that the disclosure period does not end and a buyer can terminate with no cause at any time. What person selling a home would want to leave such an open ended way for a buyer to terminate? Also, what buyer would want to buy a house from a person who won’t tell them what they know? Even if a person selling a home refused to fill out the form, it does not relieve them of their legal obligation to tell what they know.

For Sellers
Property disclosure is probably the single most important thing you are going to do when selling a house. Tell what you know. It is that simple. I recommend that you over disclose as opposed to under disclose. So if the kitchen sink leaked and you fixed it, tell about it. During the home inspection the home inspector will find the water stains, now dry, underneath the kitchen sink. If you haven’t told about it, it will create an element of distrust for your buyer who will want to know “how come they didn’t mention that?”

To fully disclose you will need additional pages. There is a form for this, or you can simply write it out, sign it, and have it attached to the disclosure form.

Don’t be afraid of disclosing. At the time the buyer receives the disclosure form, they have just experienced the excitement of getting their offer accepted. They are usually happy and ready to learn about their new home. They are mentally in a place where they will take news in a good way. This will probably not be the case a week or two into the transaction when the buyer is also coping with all that they learned in the home inspection.

Tell what you know. It is your most important responsibility and it is also the place that you are mostly likely to get into trouble if you don’t tell what you know. This knowledge is to the best of your ability on the day that you fill out the form. If you don’t know the answer to a question, that’s OK. You are not expected to go out and find the answer. It also means that after completing the form, if you do learn new information, you should amend the document to keep it current.

For Buyers
The disclosure period is a wonderful opportunity to allow yourself to take a deep breath and make certain that this is the house that you want to buy. It takes some of the pressure off when you make you offer, particularly in a really tight seller’s market. You can go into your offer knowing you’ll have this cooling offer period. Bear in mind that those exemptions are out there for properties like bank foreclosures.

When you receive the seller’s disclosure statement, you have a right to expect it to be completely filled out, with no unanswered questions, and with explanation for anything the seller tells you that raises concerns. If the roof has leaked, and the seller checked the box “yes”, but then says nothing more, you have the right to ask for a better explanation. I have sent property disclosure forms back to the listing Realtor and refused to accept them that were poorly completed. Doing this forces the seller to give it another go and to do so more thoroughly. That is an unusual step to take, but it may be necessary.

Ask questions. Even with a good explanation, perhaps you don’t have a full picture. It’s OK to ask for receipts or contact information for a contractor. The more knowledge you have, the better.

In General
Both buyers and sellers benefit from thorough property disclosure. We are lucky to live in a state that requires it.

Please let us know if you have any questions,
Dianne

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Market Activity Nov 6-12, 2017

While the market is slow as compared to June, it is still both strong and consistent. Last week Lake Oswego had 12 properties come onto the market, 22 received accepted offers and go into pending status, and 13 closed sales.

I have the belief that the greatest strength in real estate at this time of year is that people are motivated. They are buying or selling because they truly want to. There is much to be thankful for, including our healthy real estate market.

Following is the breakdown for you according to RMLS:

New on the Market (Nov 6-12, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft
100 Kerr Pkwy #59 Condo $194,900 2 1.5 823
4 Touchstone #148 Condo $224,900 3 2.5 1351
204 Cervantes Condo $225,000 3 1.5 1138
16250 Pacific Hwy #47 Condo $225,000 2 1 1305
5061 Foothills Dr A Condo $309,500 2 2 991
21 Masaryk St Detached $615,000 4 2.5 2773
1661 Woodland Terrace Detached $625,000 3 2.5 3178
4910 Lower Dr Detached $675,000 3 2.5 2151
5303 Amberwood Ct Detached $999,999 3 2.5 3634
16987 Alder Circle Detached $1,095,000 2 2.5 1991
3485 Upper Dr Detached $1,169,000 4 2.5 $3,332
4726 Upper Dr Detached $1,499,000 4 3.5 3962

Pending Sales (Nov 6-12, 2017)

Address Type Price BR Baths Sq Ft CDOM
45 Eagle Crest Dr #415 Condo $199,500 2 1.5 1056 119
5225 Jean Rd #313 Condo $265,000 2 2 1200 63
88 Greenridge Ct #88 Attached $270,000 2 2 1314 24
4085 Jefferson Pkwy Condo $299,900 2 2.5 1302 60
17635 Deemar Way Detached $379,999 3 2 1488 172
17 Touchstone Detached $499,999 5 3 2569 70
13606 Blazer Trail Detached $525,000 4 2.5 2418 19
17323 Ashley Ct Attached $525,000 3 2.5 2117 0
5524 Langford Ln Detached $550,000 2 2 2038 44
18866 Indian Springs Circle Detached $619,900 3 3 2004 20
16 Bernini Ct Detached $620,900 4 3.5+.5 4642 22
18632 Deerbrush Ave Detached $624,900 3 2.5 1962 6
5418 Washington Ct Detached $679,900 3 2.5 2074 28
29 Del Prado St Detached $735,000 4 2 3037 7
2481 Marylshire Ln Detached $768,000 4 3.5 4091 241
4006 Canal Woods Ct Detached $775,000 5 3.5 3514 143
555 Atwater Rd Detached $799,000 5 3 4016 127
12750 Fielding Rd Detached $995,000 3 2 3018 41
18909 65th Ave Detached $1,050,000 4 2 4858 16
768 7th St Detached $1,300,000 4 3.5 2802 121
1940 Highlands Loop Detached $1,698,000 5 4.5+.5 4080 250
1000 Atwater Rd Detached $2,695,000 5 4.5+.5 6531 41

Sold/Closed (Nov 6-12, 2017)

Address Type List Price Sold Price Sq Ft CDOM
88 Cervantes Circle Condo $200,000 $197,000 912 5
16219 Bonaire Ave Detached $449,900 $421,000 1,594 101
13 Belmore Ave Detached $509,900 $457,500 1,844 69
1437 Greentree Circle Detached $624,900 $585,000 2400 96
655 8th St Detached $649,900 $610,000 1611 27
4361 Southshore Blvd Detached $695,000 $630,000 2406 54
5455 Langford Ln Detached $845,000 $820,000 3398 132
12808 Elk Rock Rd Detached $999,000 $887,500 3970 204
13526 Snowberry Ct Detached $905,000 $905,000 3,718 0
15476 Diamond Head Rd Detached $1,395,000 $950,000 3743 26
18639 Pilkington Rd Detached $1,400,000 $1,350,000 4148 118
16938 Alder Circle Detached $1,950,000 $1,750,000 3241 122
14050 Goodall Rd Detached $2,000,000 $2,000,000 6,714 0

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

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Featured Property: Lot 10 Sunny Slope

There is a rather magic area in Lake Oswego, Sunny Slope. It is relatively unknown to most because there are very few houses and very little traffic. It is about half a mile from Westridge Elementary School and tucked onto the South side of Cook Butte. Technically it is not in the city of Lake Oswego’s city limits. It is actually unincorporated Clackamas County, but it has a Lake Oswego address and Lake Oswego schools.

Lot 10 Sunny Slope is currently for sale. It has 3.27 gently sloping acres and is offered for $489,900. The property is served by a community well and has electricity at the street. To build a home a septic system will need to be installed. The road is paved and the terrain is beautifully forested. It is outside of the urban growth boundary and is not dividable. Surrounding homes are multi-million dollar properties of estate quality. To enjoy a video, drone tour, please click here.

As a Realtor in Lake Oswego I see builders buying existing homes, on much smaller lots, paying $400,000 or even more, tearing those houses down, and building beautiful new homes. Think about that. For pretty much the same land cost, a new home can be built on over 3 acres. Lot 10 in Sunny Slope just strikes me as a tremendous value and opportunity.

To see it, drive up Westview, turn right on Hillshire and follow it up and continue when it becomes Rivendell, turn right on Barton and then left on Hill Top Rd. The lot is almost at the end of Hill Top. You’ll see my for sale sign. The boundary of the lot is marked with bright orange survey tape tied onto trees. A new home built here will have a Hill Top Rd address so you can also use that in your GPS.

While the lot is currently forested, there are likely views that can be opened up to the East, the South, and the West.

Please contact me if you have any further questions. I can easily be reached at 503-803-6298 or diannegregoire@oregonfirst.com

Best regards,
Dianne