Category: General

All About Lake Oswego, Oregon real estate topics

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Sweet Condo in Mountain Park

(Pics below) Every once in awhile a little gem comes along and we like to spotlight it for our readers. This one is situated in Mountain Park with high & vaulted ceilings and soaring windows in a wooded setting. It’s just a couple steps down from your deeded parking space to a cozy porch with a view, or enter through your attached garage. Two stories with the bedrooms on the main level and the airy living space downstairs. The Owner just updated nearly all the flooring, and the light hickory wood floors are such a gorgeous break from all those dark plank ones we see so often! Really brightens everything up and the walls of windows don’t hurt either. There is a deck off the dining room and a balcony off the huge primary bedroom with double closets and a sink in the suite itself. The other bedroom is lofted and has french doors, so it could serve either as a bedroom or a really sweet home office. The views out each window are just so peaceful, and the kitchen with it’s marmoleum floors has a pantry and an eating bar, with a laundry room off of it. All of that and a fireplace for curling up on those wintry evenings. Check it out! ML# 22181391 – 213 Cervantes, Lake Oswego 1216SF $329,000

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Radon and Granite Countertops

At Oregon First we have a gmail group called Haves and Wants. A recent discussion happened about the topic of radon and granite countertops.

Radon comes from granite. When you purchase a home, you should alway do a radon test to see if the radon levels in the house are higher than the EPA limit of 4.0 picocuries. (The World Health Organization recommends a level of not more than 2.7 picocuries.) Generally speaking the granite is in the form of boulders underneath the house, in the ground. You just don’t know whether the house is built over granite boulders or not, so you always test the radon levels.

So if radon comes from granite, what about granite countertops?

This subject came to my attention about 15 years ago. So I dialed up my favorite radon mitigation company and asked if I should be concerned. I was told that, generally speaking, the radon given off by granite countertops was not at a level high enough to be concerned.

Here is the offical EPA information. Click here.

White kitchen design features large bar style kitchen island with granite countertop illuminated by modern pendant lights. Northwest, USA

The bottom line is that you should be concerned about the possibility of radon in a house. Always get it measured. Even if you aren’t buying a house. If you live in a home where you have never measured it, get it measured. You can buy a do-it-yourself test at your local home improvement store, and there are numerous companies who perform this service. The cost to test is $60-$150. Cheap for the peace of mind. If radon is found, the cost to mitigate it is $1500-$3000, generally speaking. Again, cheap for the piece of mind.

I also think that when planning a remodel, don’t assume that just because it is available for purchase it has no issues. Do your research. There are alternatives to granite that are also gorgeous.

I hope that you find this useful. Thank you for reading the blotter.

Dianne

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News & Notes ~ Dec 2021 + Year-End Comparison

Every year I like to add in a comparison at the end of the year to the year prior being as the December report offers a unique opportunity to look at just that. So, below you’ll find our usual monthly overview & Neighborhood Report along with a comparison; 2021 to 2020.

As always, Lake Oswego info for Dec 2021 is broken out below as well.

Overview/Fluctuations ~  Market Data Dec 2021 (+2020):    

Inventory is now at a stunning 0.6 months of supply in the Portland area for December. Our supply has simply never been this low… a little more than 2 weeks of Inventory available. Rates as of this writing are hovering around 3.5%, and the Fed is signaling that rates will be rising.                                      

The twelve months of 2021 compared to 2020:

–New Listings, (40,531) increased 5.4%. –Pending Sales (35,405) increased 7.8%, and –Closed Sales (35,182) increased 9.8%.   ***By Comparison, Twelve months of 2020 (to compare to 2021 above) from last year’s December report read: -New Listings, (38,442) decreased 5.2%, -Pending Sales (32,849) increased 7.9%, and -Closed Sales (32,031) increased 7.8%.

LAKE OSWEGO:

63 Active Listings (Nov 92)
71 New Listings  (Nov 99)
82 Pending Sales (Nov 124)
134 Closed Sales  (Nov 127)
Average Sale Price for Nov: $1,024,400 (Nov $964,300)
NOTE: Higher-Priced vs Lower-Priced Homes Sales can skew the “Average” in any given month.  Lake Oswego has quite a variety, so this tends to be a less meaningful stat, generally speaking, in this niche.
29 Days on the Market   (Nov 36)

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The Best of the Holidays To You!

Dianne and I wish you the very best of the season as you hopefully get a chance to slow down a bit and enjoy the people and things you love. We’ll be taking some time off from the Blotter during the holidays and will be back very soon to fill you in on all the latest happenings in the Lake Oswego real estate market!

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News & Notes ~ October 2021 Numbers

Here is your look at what’s been happening in the overall Portland area including individual areas of the metro, and with Lake Oswego broken out below:

Overview/Fluctuations ~  Market Data Oct 2021:                                                                                            We’re definitely watching the typical fall/winter slowdown across the board, BUT, in general we’re seeing improvements over the same 10-month period in 2020. Inventory which had started to rise slowly but steadily did take another slight dip in October. Listings increased 6.6% over 2020 during this time period, Pending Sales rose 9.0% and Closed Sales were up by 12.5%.

Rates: “Rates are at around 3.25% right now, however we are seeing continued upward pressure as the Federal Reserve takes steps to combat inflation.”     Gary Boyer, Regional VP, Directors Mortgage                                                                                                                    

According to the RMLS Market Action Report  for the Portland Metro Area, Oct 2021:

  • There were 3,232 New Listings in Oct 2021, down 8.1% from Oct 2020’s 3,515 and also down 14.0% from the previous month/Sept’s 3,760.
  • At 3,129, Oct 2021’s Closed Sales are down 0.8% from Oct 2020’s 3,155, and also down 1.2% from the previous month/Sept’s total of 3,167
  • At 3,187, Oct 2021’s Pending Sales decreased 0.4% from Oct 2020’s 3,199, and increased 0.5% from the previous month/Sept’s total of 3,170.
  • The Average Sale Price in Oct 2021 of $575,200 is up $58,700 from last year/Oct 2020’s $516,500, and up $3,700. from the previous month/Sept’s $571,500.   
  • The “Median” Sale Price (the price smack dab in the middle of all sales) in Oct 2021 of $516,000 rose $56,000 from last year/Oct 2020’s $460,000, and was also up $6,000 from the previous month/Sept’s $510,000.

LAKE OSWEGO:

138 Active Listings (Sep 154)
146 New Listings    (Sep178)
152 Pending Sales (Sep 170)
142 Closed Sales    (Sep 168)
Average Sale Price for Sept: $853,200 (Sep $975,700)
NOTE: Higher-Priced vs Lower-Priced Homes Sales can skew the “Average” in any given month.  Lake Oswego has quite a variety, so this tends to be a less meaningful stat, generally speaking, in this niche.
 27 Days on the Market   (Sep 24)

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History of Labor Day

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894 under President Grover Cleveland.

Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter and labor union leader and Matthew Maguire were the two who who came up with the idea for Labor Day. They thought American workers should be honored with their own day. Peter was the vice president of the American Federation of Labor and Matthew was secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Some stories say these men with similar last names were actually brothers. In any case, they chose a date midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. The weather would be ideal for parades and picnics, two events we still enjoy on Labor Day today. They proposed his idea to New York’s Central Labor Union early in 1882, and they thought the holiday was a good idea, too. This holiday was in response to a series of worker strikes in the late 19th century as workers protested against unfair working conditions.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

***Data from: earthsky.org, history.com, americaslibrary.com, Wikipedia, NY Times

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3D Printed Houses

This is a bit of a divergence from the usual posts that Linda and I write where we try to focus on Lake Oswego Real Estate. Instead I decided to share something that I find just fascinating: 3D printed houses.

A company in Texas, ICON, is 3D printing houses. The company set a goal of finding a way to build houses that are more affordable, resilient, and that can be built faster. Their first house was built in 2018. it was 350 square feet and took 48 hours to print out. It was built in Austin, Texas, a place with very strict building codes. The house was fully permitted.

The printer is quite large, as you can imagine. It’s called a Vulcan II. It extrudes a cement compound called Lavacrete. It pours out 5-7 inches per second. Today, a 400-500 square foot house can be built in 24 hours.

Today, houses can be built up to 2000 square feet.

I say “built”, but I think that is a rather a loose term in this enstance. Once the shell of the house has been “printed”, it is set on a foundation and the components, like windows, doors, plumbing, etc., are added.

The printer can do more than build square boxes. It can be programed for things like curved walls and vaulted ceilings.

The cost savings is approximately half of a traditional stick built home. Partnering with Mobile Loaves and Fishes, ICON is working to build housing for the homeless.

I just love the inovation and found this entire concept intriquing. For more information, click here.

I hope you found this as fascinating as I did, and, as always, thanks for reading the blotter.

Dianne