We have 32 properties on tour tomorrow in Lake Oswego. For you out-of staters… this will be a sunny Sunday with temperatures in the 80’s after our heatwave of 90’s & 100+ What a day for a stroll through some beautiful homes!
Here is what’s Open Sunday per RMLS:
Here in Lake Oswego last week the real estate market had 18 new listings, 15 pending sales, and 15 closed sales.
Here is your weekly update (see below the tables for additional notes):
NEWLY LISTED (June 28-July 4, 2010)
Address
List Price
BR
BATHS
SF
Prop Type
3930 LAKE GROVE AVE
$122,000
2
1
952
CONDO
4000 CARMAN DR
$122,500
1
1
836
CONDO
4000 CARMAN DR
$129,000
2
2
834
CONDO
86 KINGSGATE RD
$130,000
2
2
849
CONDO
15209 QUARRY RD
$174,900
2
1
1,210
DETACHD
668 MCVEY AVE
$185,000
1
1
636
CONDO
18305 FERNBROOK CT
$299,999
3
2
1,500
DETACHD
4201 COLLINS WAY
$307,500
3
2
1,230
DETACHD
1228 MAPLE ST
399000
3
2
1,894
DETACHD
17055 CRESTVIEW DR
479900
5
3
2,575
DETACHD
730 SW BRIERCLIFF LN
495000
5
3
3275
DETACHD
5580 KILCHURN AVE
549900
4
2 + .5
2,286
DETACHD
18006 GIMLEY CT
549900
5
4
3225
DETACHD
12 SCARBOROUGH DR
574900
4
2 + .5
2,892
DETACHD
611 IRON MOUNTAIN BLVD
575000
2
1
1,322
DETACHD
18212 WESTVIEW DR
598900
4
2 + .5
3464
DETACHD
17874 BLUE HERON WAY
599900
4
4
3,200
DETACHD
17618 CRESTLINE DR
1575000
4
3 + .5+.5
4,666
DETACHD
PENDING SALES (June 28-July 4, 2010)
Address
SPID
List Price
SQ feet
BR
BATHS
Prop Type
CDOM
47 EAGLE CREST DR
$74,100
1009
2
1
CONDO
104
222 RIDGEWAY RD
$125,000
756
1
1
CONDO
13
4372 WOODSIDE CIR
$219,000
1178
2
2
ATTACHD
165
16200 PACIFIC HWY
$230,000
1208
2
2
CONDO
120
1005 SOUTHSHORE BLVD
$249,900
2196
4
2
DETACHD
74
139 TOUCHSTONE CT
$279,900
1846
2
2 + .5
ATTACHD
11
4321 WOODSIDE CIR
$289,000
1532
3
2
ATTACHD
14
406 8th ST
$315,000
2437
3
1 + .5
DETACHD
323
595 6TH ST
349000
893
2
2
DETACHD
3
5 EL GRECO ST
479000
2455
4
2 + .5
DETACHD
7
444 6TH ST
899000
4541
4
4 + .5
DETACHD
213
245 CHANDLER PL
950000
3733
4
2 +.5+.5
DETACHD
6
1425 CHANDLER RD
978000
3384
4
3
DETACHD
43
18820 GREENBLUFF DR
1395000
5382
4
4 + .5
DETACHD
99
13777 Cameo CT
1550000
7300
4
5 + .5
DETACHD
570
SOLD (June 28-July 4, 2010)
Address
Orig/Price
Close/Price
CDOM
SQ FT
Prop Type
BR
BATHS
3433 SW MCNARY PKWY
$153,000
$120,000
98
1,008
CONDO
2
2
100 LEONARD ST
$184,900
$175,000
164
1,364
CONDO
2
2
13 ERASMUS ST
$214,500
$210,000
45
1,414
ATTACHD
2
2.5
4610 LAMONT WAY
$247,500
$232,500
17
1,750
DETACHD
3
2
17141 SW BRYANT RD
$364,900
$317,000
307
1,228
DETACHD
3
2
454 5TH ST
$350,000
$350,000
156
1,092
ATTACHD
2
1.5
15547 PARTRIDGE DR
$389,900
$390,000
214
2,266
DETACHD
3
2.5
12409 SHELBY CT
$449,900
$428,000
12
2,238
DETACHD
3
2
676 9TH ST
$525,000
435,000
327
1,850
DETACHD
2
1
15266 CANDLEWOOD CT
$464,988
455,000
88
2,569
DETACHD
4
2.5
13460 SNOWBERRY CT
$582,500
525,000
61
3,327
DETACHD
3
2.5
15422 BOONES WAY
$798,000
675,000
645
2,586
ATTACHD
4
2.5
17212 CHAPIN WAY
$850,000
725,000
314
2,541
DETACHD
3
2.5
1580 BONNIEBRAE DR
$849,000
840,000
50
3,800
DETACHD
4
3
1340 CHERRY LN
$1,348,000
1,200,000
5
5,922
DETACHD
4
4.2
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.
Along with a few open houses, this Sunday will bring us Lake Oswego’s annual 4th of July festivities:
7am to noon, Lake Oswego Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfast. George Roger’s Park. $6 for adults and $4 for children, in includes pancakes, sausage, coffee, orange juice and milk.
1pm, Star Spangled Parade, A Avenue to Millennium Plaza. Wear your patriotic colors, decorate your wagons, and march in the parade! Led by an authentic Fife and Drum Band, the parade includes antique cars, veterans, boy scouts, bikes, strollers, pets—you name it.
1pm, boat parade on Lakewood Bay
1:15 to 5pm, Centennial Star Spangled Celebration at Millennium Park, includes presentation of colors, a chicken barbeque (put on by Lake Grove Lions) face painting, Fife and Drum performance, and live music, including Huge Sally and Southern Nights.
9:45, The Annual fireworks Display will be held over Oswego Lake. Fireworks are shot off from a barge on the lake. Best viewing is from Lake Grove Swim Park on Lakeview Blvd between Southshore and Summit. Arrive early to get best viewing and to find parking. Remember that most roads around the lake are closed or have limited access during the fireworks display, so plan accordingly.
Here are Sunday’s Open Houses, according to the RMLS:
Every community looks to find it’s claim to fame and Lake Oswego’s, beside beautiful homes and top-notch schools, can be found in one of its most famous residents, William Stafford.
William Stafford, born in 1914, lived in Lake Oswego from 1957 until his death in 1993. He was a professor of English at Lewis and Clark College and was world renowned as a poet. In 50 years of writing poetry, which he didn’t begin doing until his 40’s, he is estimated to have written 22,000 poems of which 3,000 were published. In 1970 he was named Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position that today would be the equivalent of being the U.S. Poet Laureate. In 1975 he was named the Poet Laureate for the State of Oregon.
You will find tributes to William Stafford throughout Lake Oswego. In the various parks around town you will find inscriptions of his poems, a walkway named after him, and lovely renderings that pay tribute to his creative genius. I am a huge fan of his work. Absolutely one of my favorite places is the William Stafford path in Foothills Park that culminates in the stone circle that bears his work.
Today I want to introduce you to William Stafford and share with you a few of his poems:
Why I Am Happy
Foothills Park, William Stafford Path
Now has come, an easy time. I let it
roll. There is a lake somewhere
so blue and far nobody owns it.
A wind comes by and a willow listens
gracefully.
I hear all this, every summer. I laugh
and cry for every turn of the world,
its terribly cold, innocent spin.
That lake stays blue and free; it goes
on and on.
And I know where it is.
Little Rooms
I rock high in the oak-secure, big branches-
at home while darkness comes. It gets lonely up here
as lights needle forth below, through airy space.
Tinkling dishwashing noises drift up, and a faint
smooth gush of air through leaves, cool evening
moving out over the earth. Our town leans farther
away, and I ride through the arch toward midnight,
holding on, listening, hearing deep roots grow.
There are rooms in a life, apart from others, rich
with whatever happens, a glimpse of moon, a breeze.
You who come years from now to this brief spell
of nothing that was mine: the open, slow passing
of time was a gift going by. I have put my hand out
on the mane of the wind,
William Stafford thoughts
to give it to you.
And, finally, my favorite: The Way It Is
There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
Thanks for letting me share William Stafford with you. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.
Dianne
I think the most common question I am asked is “How’s business?”, which I think really means “What’s the market doing?” In my circle of friends, homeownership is the norm. And in today’s economy, everyone is hoping that their home is holding it’s value. For my clients, they are wanting me to give them insight into the buying/selling climate. So staying on top of trends is pretty critical. Today I am going to break down the Lake Oswego market and give you some specifics.
First, some good news: Lake Oswego, according to the latest market action report from the RMLS, has done the second best job of holding value in the metro area comparing May of ’09 to May of ’10. Values are down in Lake Oswego, year over year, 7.8%. The only part of the metro area that did better was North Portland with a loss of 6.3%. The worst faring area was Yamhill County, which is down 13%. Wow, did I really just call that good news? We are down 7.8%! Perhaps the better way to see it is that this is less bad news than it could have been.
The average sales price in area 147, which is Lake Oswego and West Linn combined, is $443,500. The total days on the market is averaging 153 days.
I think it is important to do this analysis by price range. Watching our weekly market action reports, it is pretty obvious that the houses priced in the less expensive range, such as $600,000 or less, are selling much more actively than the houses in the higher prices. Here is a breakdown by price:
Price
Currently for Sale
Sold in Last 6 Months
# Per Month
Length of Inventory
$1,000,000 +
105
15
3
42 months
$900,000-$1,000,000
19
4
1
28 months
$800,000-$900,000
50
6
1
50 months
$700,000-$800,000
42
12
2
21 months
$600,000-$700,000
53
21
4
15 months
$500,000-$600,000
74
35
6
12 months
$400,000-$500,000
79
43
7
11 months
$300,000-$400,000
60
60
10
6 months
$200,000-$300,000
29
36
6
4 months
$100,000-$200,000
3
2
0
9 months
At a glance, the idea is that the lower the length of inventory, the stronger that part of the market is. And that makes it easy to see that the lower the price on the house, the stronger the market. There are also two surprising quirks. Notice that the market inventory is actually worse in the $800,000-$900,000 price range than it is in the houses priced at $1,000,0000+. Why? I am thinking that part of the market is competing with the houses that are at $1,000,000 plus and that when buyers get up that high in price, it is still easy to justify pushing the purchase up just a bit more to get what they really want. In other words, there still is not enough of a value difference at $800,000 vs $1,000,000. However, that idea is just my speculation. I also think at $800,000 you are seeing a lot of older homes. They do have a hard time competing against the newer homes, which there are lots of, that have the soaring ceilings and palatial kitchens and baths. Second, the houses priced under $200,000 just aren’t selling fast either. I am quite certain that this is because at that price the house is pretty much a tear down and in such rough shape that the value is in the land. That means the buyer is going to be a builder and the builders are still sitting on so much inventory that they aren’t buying up the land.
I also have to say that the market is very balanced between buyers and sellers in the homes valued $300,000-$400,000 and even up into $400,000-$500,000. This part of the market is moving well with homes coming onto the market and selling respectably within reasonable periods of time. If you are buying in this part of the market, and the house is in nice condition, be aware of values. If it’s priced right, it’s going to sell and your buying power is not as strong as it would be in the higher price ranges.
And for those of you in the upper pricing, you are still in a very strong buyer’s market. Sellers are still competing with way too many other houses. You should be able to negotiate hard on price and terms.
Affordable Houses: LO vs Sellwood
I periodically like to compare affordable houses in Lake Oswego to the same houses in Sellwood, a neighborhood I used to live in not too far away in SE Portland. I like to do this because I remain convinced that Lake Oswego is often overlooked by buyers who are seeking affordable housing. This is because of LO’s reputation as a wealthy community. Time and again I have been able to prove that there are more homes to choose from in LO than in Sellwood that are affordable. Today is no different. Affordable, by my definition, are homes price below $350,000.
As of today, there are currently 61 homes for sale in Lake Oswego priced below $350,000. The least expensive is a 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath house with 1000 square feet and a single car garage that was built in 1957. It is actually in pretty nice condition,although close to I-5, and it is priced at $189,000. In Sellwood there are 19 houses priced under $350,000. The least expensive is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house with a single car garage that was built in 1920. It has 838 square feet + 810 square feet in an unfinished basement. It’s priced at $234,500.
I think the most burning question today is what is going to happen to the market now that the tax credit is over. I do think that there was a huge boost in the market by people trying to get into escrow by the end of April. I also know that May was slow for me, as far as new business. However, June has got my phone ringing and I am very busy. So my personal observation is that our normal spring/summer upswing is happening. Time will tell.
There were a whopping 22 New properties entering the market, 14 going to Pending status, and 16 Sold during last week’s Monday – Sunday period according to RMLS.
Here’ your weekly update (see below the tables for additional notes):
NEWLY LISTED (June 7—13, 2010)
Address
List Price
Prop Type
# Beds
# Baths
Total SF
List Date
6447 MCEWAN RD
$209,900
DETACHD
2
1
912
6/7/2010
65 GREENRIDGE CT
$319,000
CONDO
2
2
1314
6/10/2010
17845 SARAH HILL LN
$417,000
DETACHD
4
2.1
2970
6/9/2010
1646 DEVON LN
$424,500
DETACHD
4
2.1
2130
6/11/2010
95 TANGLEWOOD DR
$429,900
DETACHD
4
3
2285
6/10/2010
17778 MARYLCREEK DR
$459,900
DETACHD
3
2.1
2741
6/11/2010
1899 WOODLAND TER
$500,000
DETACHD
5
3.1
3031
6/10/2010
19319 SW DOGWOOD CT
$519,900
DETACHD
5
2.1
3105
6/8/2010
4089 MELISSA DR
$524,900
DETACHD
4
2.1
2710
6/8/2010
1885 CREST DR
$549,000
DETACHD
4
2
2120
6/10/2010
2 MORNINGVIEW CIR
$549,000
DETACHD
3
2.1
2954
6/9/2010
5758 CHARLES CIR
$549,900
DETACHD
3
2
2371
6/10/2010
10 SCARBOROUGH DR
$575,000
DETACHD
4
3
3537
6/7/2010
18263 ANDUIN TER
$625,000
DETACHD
4
3
3100
6/8/2010
2415 PARK RD
$749,900
ATTACHD
4
2.2
2581
6/13/2010
5287 LANGFORD LN
$750,000
DETACHD
3
2.1
2972
6/8/2010
658 1ST ST
$795,000
DETACHD
4
2.1
3359
6/7/2010
17884 KELOK RD
$898,500
DETACHD
4
3.1
4124
6/7/2010
3155 DOUGLAS CIR
$985,000
DETACHD
5
3.2
4517
6/9/2010
19460 EASTSIDE RD
$995,000
DETACHD
4
3.2
4521
6/10/2010
1715 EDGECLIFF TER
$1,730,000
DETACHD
4
4.1
4929
6/11/2010
3328 LAKEVIEW BLVD
$3,750,000
DETACHD
5
5.2
6675
6/7/2010
PENDING SALES (June 7-13, 2010)
Address
List Price
Prop Type
# Beds
# Baths
Total SF
CDOM
100 KERR PKWY
$59,900
CONDO
1
1
617
131
3433 MCNARY PKWY
$125,000
CONDO
2
2.1
1136
25
1018 HEMLOCK ST
$349,900
DETACHD
4
2
1950
8
5275 ROSEWOOD ST
$359,000
DETACHD
4
2.1
2096
36
2104 WEMBLEY PARK RD
$429,900
DETACHD
4
3
2052
102
18238 TAMAWAY DR
$479,000
DETACHD
5
3
5504
110
13 WINDSOR CT
$495,000
DETACHD
3
2
2212
19
3188 S GLENMORRIE DR
$519,750
DETACHD
3
3
3066
35
14158 KIMBERLY CIR
$530,000
DETACHD
5
3
3648
40
15422 BOONES WAY
$698,900
ATTACHD
4
2.1
2586
645
17281 LOWENBERG TER
$839,900
DETACHD
4
3.1
3709
494
1592 BAY VIEW LN
$859,000
DETACHD
4
4.1
4087
87
17281 KELOK RD
$1,195,000
DETACHD
3
3
2682
265
3114 DOUGLAS CIR
$1,350,000
DETACHD
4
4
55420
577
SOLD (June 7-13, 2010)
Address
List Price
Prop Type
# Beds
Total Baths
Total SF
CDOM
100 KERR PKWY
$77,500
CONDO
2
1.1
823
66
38 CERVANTES CIR
$99,900
CONDO
2
1.1
912
230
287 CERVANTES
$195,000
CONDO
3
1.1
1144
67
18420 DON LEE WAY
$210,000
DETACHD
3
1
924
25
2320 GLEN HAVEN RD
$279,900
DETACHD
3
1.1
1346
54
1559 WORTHINGTON ST
$349,900
DETACHD
4
2
2016
43
18640 TUALATA AVE
$349,900
DETACHD
4
3
2076
77
25 CHURCHILL DOWNS
$385,000
DETACHD
4
3
2195
0
827 5TH ST
$425,000
DETACHD
3
2
2124
86
1025 C AVE
$408,950
DETACHD
3
2
2261
371
1436 GREENTREE CIR
$474,000
DETACHD
4
2
3072
10
1055 COUNTRY CLUB RD
$449,000
DETACHD
2
2
2528
8
17622 BROOKHURST DR
$493,000
DETACHD
3
2.1
2909
42
561 2ND ST
$589,000
CONDO
2
2
1561
67
13278 ROGERS RD
$695,000
DETACHD
3
2.1
2964
177
2557 SOUTHSHORE BLVD
$1,690,000
DETACHD
3
3.2
3604
299
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.
How Long Will It Take to Close? This is an important question and factor in structuring your Offer and making plans around the Purchase of a new residence. You are lining up dominoes, and you want to know! Well, if you are selling your home to purchase the new one, then you are timing your own Sale’s closing date with the move-in/close of your Purchase. It used to be fairly standard to achieve a closing in around 30 days. What you need to know is that when you write this into the Offer, it becomes a “Time Is Of The Essence” feature of your contract (An accepted Offer is a contract… and that’s a legal term for: “You must meet this date.”). That means you need to be pretty sure you are going to be able to meet that time line, as it is contractual.The lender requires time to gather information, order & analyze your appraisal, successfully navigate underwriting, and draw up your documents. Are closing dates often extended? Yes. Does the Seller have to agree to extend you additional time beyond the “on or before” closing date set in your Offer? No. Now, most parties want the transaction to go forward, and so often agreement to do this is reached, but it is very important for you to know that your Earnest Money is in play… and should, let’s say, the Seller have another Buyer who has approached them during your transaction and, perhaps said “Hey, it’s too bad you sold your house to those Buyers because I really want it and I’d give you more money for it!” Hmmm… Would there be incentive for the Seller to perhaps be awarded your Earnest Money because you failed to “perform” per the stipulations of the contract? I’ll leave that for you to answer. Just remember- With the new RESPA guidelines that lenders must follow, there is potentially more time that needs to be built into the process, so instead of 30 days, it is prudent to allow around 45 days.
Rates: They are under 5% now for a 30-year fixed. We all know prices are down… Good combination eh? – More Detail: “Recent Employment data which fell short of Wall Street forecasts and uncertainty about the pace of the economic recovery caused investors to shift to relatively safer assets, including government insured mortgage-backed securities. This plus economic data indicating extremely low inflation resulted in declining mortgage rates over the last few weeks.” (Thanks to Pat Goodell from Academy Mortgage for this update.)
USDA Loans: Though these are back in the running now with funds having been declared available for Rural Home Loans, most investors haven’t given the “go ahead” to lenders to begin issuing commitments and closing those loans yet. We are told the details should be worked out shortly though, so get ready for this 100% financing option to re-enter the scene!
Do you know how many people are involved in a real estate transaction (minimum)? The answer is 13+ . Here’s the Breakdown (thanks to Naida Paris of Valley Mortgage for this!): Listing Agent, Selling Agent, Seller (s), Buyer (s), Loan Officer, Loan Processor, Underwriter, Document Drawer/Funder, Escrow Officer, Title Officer, Inspector (s), Insurance Agent, and Appraiser.
FHA is going to be dropping the amount a Seller can pay toward a Buyer’s closing costs, but the outlook for that to take effect is 2011. So, for now you can still take advantage of the current rule which is that a Seller can contribute 6% toward a Buyer’s closing costs. You’ll want to talk w/your Realtor & Lender about how much the closing costs will come to prior to writing this into the offer, however.
