Lake Oswego Real Estate Blog
All About Lake Oswego, Oregon real estate topics
Last week we saw 5 New Properties hit the market in Lake Oswego, so New Listings are slowing a bit seasonally, as is always expected. 28 properties moved to Pending status, and 25 Closed/Sold. All in all there are currently 139 properties available in Lake Oswego right now.
NEW Oct 26-Nov 1, 2020
PENDING Oct 26-Nov 1, 2020
SOLD Oct 26-Nov 1, 2020
Today I want to share with you something personal, and yes, it does have to do with real estate. You see, my Mom passed away on October 16th. If you have ever worked with me, you’ve heard me talk about my Mom. So this isn’t new to you. But if you haven’t worked with me, I feel a need to tell you about the best Realtor I have ever known.
My Mom got her real estate license in 1976. She was raised in an era when she wanted to major in business at Oregon State, but as a woman she had to major in “Secretarial Sciences”. Seriously. But she had a head for business. She hung her license at Shelter Properties on Boones Ferry Rd in Lake Grove. There she got her feet on the ground and at one time, after listing an entire new subdivision, got chewed out for besting a more prominent agent, a bit of a diva, for beating her out with most new listings for the month.
She moved on to Professionals 100. In 1987, after the birth of my daughter, I was agonizing over having to put my baby into daycare 5 days a week. I had a back ground in sales. I had actually been a sales trainer for a health club organization. My Mom’s business was booming. She was the leading sales agent in the metro area for Great Western Savings and Loan. She was handling their foreclosure properties and she had just been handed about 20 properties to list and sell. She needed help. She called me up and asked if, perhaps, my husband would consider coming to work for her. My reaction? My husband, what about me? That’s when I started my real estate career. It was 33 years ago. I’ve never looked back.
At first, I was her assistant. As I gained experience, we became a team. Then, as she approached retirement, she became my assistant. It’s probably the best possible circumstance in which to be in this business. You see, real estate has a lot of moving parts. So many people are involved: the buyer, the seller, the inspector, the appraiser, the lender. This means that it’s complicated and no two transactions are the same. As Realtors, we need sounding boards, people we respect and rely on to help us navigate complex circumstances so that we can give our clients the best advice possible, for their benefit, not for out own.
About the time that my Mom retired, I met Linda. She and I have known each other for at least 15 years. She calls me, I call her, she filled that void that opened up when my Mom retired. I don’t know how anyone can be in this business without a confidant.
So yes, I’m grieving. But I’m grateful. How lucky am I to have had Mom who, along with giving me life and raising me, gave me a career?
Today I want to salute my Mom. Oh what a wonderful woman she was!
Dianne
Here is your look at the most recent data for the entire Portland area (Sept 2020) and how Lake Oswego fits in to this picture just below.
Inventory is now basically lower than its ever been. That’s a big deal. Listings have dropped substantially from August, and Pending Sales (transactions in progress) are up a whopping 36.4% over Sept 2019, which reflects how the activity locally was pushed way farther into/through the summer than is usual.
This time of year I still say “Fall is for Buyers” as Sellers are generally more willing to negotiate heading into winter, but this year it is good to be a Seller too, as there is just not much out there in terms of competition.
Rates are still very good, around 2.875 today.
According to the RMLS Market Action Report for the Portland Metro Area, Sept 2020:
Neighborhoods: September’s Average Sale Price + 12-month Appreciation:
LAKE OSWEGO:
The combined areas of Lake Oswego and West Linn for the month of September 2020 reported:
Last week we saw 11 New Properties arrive on the market, 30 move to Pending status, and 26 finalized sales move to Closed status. Hurray for all these new or soon-to-be-new Lake Oswego residents! Right now there are 156 beautiful homes available in Lake Oswego. The following is the activity per RMLS during the last week:
NEW: Oct 12-18, 2020
PENDING: Oct 12-18, 2020
SOLD: Oct 12-18, 2020
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.
Here are my picks for things happening this week!
Mon, Oct 12, 2020– 12:00-1:00PM – Lunch 2 Go! ~ Dining Room is obviously problematic during COVID, but this service continues M/W/F with drive-up service! They love to see your faces! $4.00 over 60 and $5.00 under 60. Adult Community Center – 505 G Ave – Info & Ordering: CLICK HERE
Tue, Oct 13, 2020 – 4:00-5:00PM – Cook the Books Book Group~Join via Webex every week to eat and talk about food! Enjoy recipe exchanges and trying out recipes from a variety of cookbooks. – Info & Registration: CLICK HERE
Wed, Oct 14, 2020 – 6:30-7:00PM / Ages 2-12- All About Cats (Virtual Class) ~ Each week kids explore and learn all about the world of cats! – Presented by CCP~ Info & Reg: CLICK HERE
Thu, Oct 15, 2020 2:00-3:00 – Healthy Eating Every Day ~On Mondays and Thursdays learn how to adjust your eating during these challenging COVID times. Get back in the swing of healthy eating! ~ Presented by Adult Community Center – Info & Registration: CLICK HERE
Fri , Oct 16 2020: 9AM-9PM, Video Postcards from Your Librarians! ~ Check in every Friday for new stories, songs and general levity “till we can all be back together again”. Available online 24 hrs/day. Refreshed weekly. Presented by Lake Oswego Library.- Info: CLICK HERE
Sat , Oct 17 2020: 10:00AM, Storyline Online ~Every Saturday enjoy celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Fresh videos are featured weekly on the Lake Oswego Library’s Kids Page. Info: CLICK HERE
Sun, Oct 18, 2020– 1:00-3:00PM – Stewardship Work Party at Iron Mountain Park ~ Help restore 50 acres of treasured natural habitat. Bring a shovel, pruners, gloves and a container of water. – Iron Mountain Park, Parking: Off Glen Eagles Rd – Info & Registration: CLICK HERE
Last week in Lake Oswego we saw 16 New Properties come on the market, 22 move to Pending status, and 28 Closed Transactions. There are currently 170 properties to choose from in Lake Oswego!
NEW Sept 28- Oct 4, 2020
PENDING Sept 28-Oct 4, 2020
SOLD Sept 28-Oct 4, 2020
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.
Pardon me for this brief post. We’re all very busy with real estate amidst the wildfire situations that are hopefully subsiding. Our beloved Lake Oswego was poised to be on alert, but has now been taken off that alert status. All of us are balancing normal lives with this additional set of circumstances. You can set yourself up to receive alerts at this link: CLICK HERE
For now we all are thinking of our friends and loved ones in less protected areas who have needed to evacuate. We’re grateful to only be dealing with the smoke and know that our blue skies are slated to return this week with some much anticipated rain.
Linda and I have been writing this blog for a very long time. I would say at least 10 years. When we started this blog we wanted to name it after something uniquely associated with Lake Oswego. We chose The Property Blotter, which was a reference to the column in the local newspaper, The Lake Oswego Review. The column was called the Blotter. It lists every call to the Lake Oswego Police from the previous week. Bear in mind that LO is famous for having low crime, and a very well funded police department. Thus, many of the calls are a source of light humor.
With this in mind, I thought I’d give you a taste of this week’s police blotter, now known as the Police Log:
8/7 1:36 p.m. A resident said she was concerned about her elderly neighbor who had to use a double key deadbolt to get out of the gate to her condo near the 30 block of Condolea Drive. She worried the neighbor wouldn’t be able to get out in an emergency.
8/7 2:37 p.m. A caller said a dog showed up on their porch near the 14000 block of Goodall Road.
8/7 2:55 p.m. Kids were seen boxing near the 15500 block of Waluga Drive.
8/7 4:35 p.m. A man was seen yelling at buildings while walking in a parking lot near the 5000 block of Foothills Road.
8/7 6:26 p.m. A woman wondered if she was allowed to park her boat in her driveway for the winter.
8/7 7:33 p.m. A resident said a man was standing in grass and staring at his house near Overlook Drive and Stafford Road. Apparently this was an ongoing issue, with the man standing there “for hours.” It turned out the man worked for a care facility and he went across the street to smoke away from residents.
8/7 11:57 p.m. A resident said a “fugitive” was in their backyard and under the deck at an undisclosed location. Police found no one under the deck, though they did notice bird seeds on the ground and evidence of rats. Under the deck, a vent leading to a crawl space was missing, and the noise could have been from rats or a raccoon.
8/8 4:06 p.m. A caller said a skunk was dying in his yard and it needed to be put down near the 800 block of Clara Court.
And so goes the high drama of life in LO. We have it pretty good here when we have a police department who will answer the call about a dying skunk. I do love LO.
Enjoy your week.
Dianne
https://www.facebook.com/oregonfirst/videos/978411115947262/?t=6
Most homes built before 1930 have basements. For Realtors and Appraisers, the existence of basements square footage is a bit of a conundrum. Should it be included in the square footage of the house? How valuable is it? Well, that depends…
First, some history on basements. I learned this from my favorite home inspector. A century ago when building was really booming in Oregon, the builders were primarily folks who had learned their trade back East, or from someone who had come from back East. The East coast has much colder winters than the Pacific Northwest. A house constructed in a location with really cold winters has to have a foundation that is deep enough that it is below the freezing depth of the soil. If it isn’t deep enough, the soil will expand when it freezes which can lift and damage the house. So in the East basements serve the purpose of getting the footing of the foundation deep enough. Then in about 1940 or so, builders in Oregon realized that our more mild winters meant that the foundations did not have to be that deep. Thus construction practices changed and builders quit building houses with basements.
It’s important to note that basements were not built with the intention of being water tight. They were built to protect the house from harsh, cold winters.
Now fast forward to today. When a house has a basement it is an asset to the property in that, even if leaky and unfinished, it is useful space. In a really bad basement storage can be elevated and it is a bit like a garage where you can put holiday decorations, paint, tools, stuff that you don’t need every day but want to keep around. Most basements are more than just a little bit useful and not all basements leak. Drainage systems can be installed and basements can be finished to be really great living areas.
So how do you value a basement. It truly depends on how well it is finished. If completely unfinished, I calculate the value of the house itself, above the basement. Once I know the value per square foot of that space, I give the square footage in the basement half the value per square foot of what is above it. If it is really beautifully finished, I will give it just about the same value as what is above it. But to get that kind of value it truly has to be well done with appropriate finish work, lighting, and an egress (a way out other than the interior stairs to get out in the event of a fire).
When I first got my real estate license I did not include unfinished basement square footage in the advertised size of the house. But over the years I came to realize that other properties with unfinished basements were including that space. To not include it made my listings sound small. So I now include it but I also clearly state whether the basement is finished or not and that it is included in the square footage.
There you have it, a bit about basements. Thanks for reading,
Dianne