Tag: real estate

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News & Notes

Community Shred Day – Lake Oswego and EFI Secure Shredding holds another shred day geared toward helping citizens get rid of sensitive documents. This one will be held at the West End Building in the rear parking lot. Three boxes to a person will be allowed. Hours are 10AM – 1PM on April 30th.

Walk for Water – A 1-mile loop returning to Foothills Park seeks to bring awareness to the issue of a dire need for clean drinking water in developing countries… and strollers are welcome! You are invited to simulate the trek of villagers in Zambia who walk for their water twice every day. The walk will be held April 30th and begins at 9AM in Foothills Park.

Lake Run – Speaking of exercise… The much-anticipated annual “Lake Run” is coming up fast- May 7th starting at Millenium Plaza Park! Runners and walkers of all ages are welcome. There will be a 12k run, a 5k walk/run where strollers will be included, and a 1/2 mile kids-dash (11 and under). For registration Click Here. For more information including maps, approximate times runners will pass through various neighborhoods, and traffic changes click Here for 12k, and Here for 5k.

Tidbits from PMAR (Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors) –

– Americans appear to be more confident about home-ownership and the stability of home prices than they were at the beginning of 2010. This is per Fannie Mae’s latest national housing survey. Nearly 80% of all respondents including homeowners and renters surveyed anticipated prices holding steady or increasing in the next 12 months- Up from 73 percent in January 2010.
Click Here for more detail.
– Portland is ranked among the top ten cities nationally where it is best to buy rather than rent according to Forbes.com. Click Here for more detail.

Remodeling Costs Recouped – Realtor Magazine and Remodeling Magazine came up with a list of the most cost-effective remodeling projects. You can click Here for info on the Portland metropolitan area and download the 12-page report.

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Market Activity April 18-24, 2011

Last week Lake Oswego had 16 new listings come onto the market, 18 houses go into pending status, and 12 closed sales. Of note: 3 of the pending sales were at $1,000,000+ and one was at $999,000.

NEWLY LISTED (April 18-24, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq FT BR Baths
15240 Boones Way Condo $164,900 1180 2 2
480 S State St Condo $235,000 1659 2 2
6016 Bonita Rd Detached $239,000 1978 4 2
5311 Tualata Ct Detached $249,000 1387 3 1.5
1637 Laurel St Detached $389,000 1792 6 1
4160 Chapman Way Detached $389,900 1800 3 2
2681 Greentree Rd Detached $395,000 2291 4 3
1580 Woodland Terr. Detached $549,900 2127 4 2.5
19240 Megly Ct Detached $579,900 3633 5 3.5
17658 Brookhurst Dr Detached $589,000 4198 3 3
5542 Dunmire Dr Detached $599,900 3204 4 2.5
5515 Dunmire Dr Detached $629,900 3287 4 3
1541 Maple St Detached $729,000 3215 4 4
16818 Sylvan Ct Detached $849,000 3209 4 2.5
13048 Knaus Rd Detached $875,000 3715 4 3.5
18143 Siena Dr Detached $898,950 3350 4 3.5

PENDING SALES (April 18-24)

Address Type Price Sq Ft BR Baths CDOM
200 Burnham Rd #203 Condo $129,000 1160 2 1 1302
4425 Thunder Vista Ln Condo $149,900 1518 2 2.5 110
4281 Cobb Way Detached $249,900 1626 3 2 7
7 Bloch Terr. Attached $285,000 2062 3 2.5 191
1 Hidalgo St Detached $349,900 2489 2 2.5 253
1766 Fern Pl Detached $365,000 1937 3 2 18
510 5th St Attached $375,000 1524 2 2.5 53
19 Grouse Terr. Detached $419,900 3383 3 2.5 283
6132 Summer Woods Detached $489,900 2778 4 2.5 10
1643 Village Park Ln Detached $639,900 4505 4 3.5 440
1088 Westward Ho Rd Detached $648,000 1837 2 2 226
1930 Indian Trail Detached $669,000 3260 3 3 332
5160 Woodcrest Ln Detached $691,488 3575 4 3.5 0
17614 Blue Heron Detached $797,500 3150 4 3 42
425 Northshore Rd Detached $999,000 3270 4 3 450
14066 Goodall Rd Detached $1,050,000 4220 4 3.5 66
2778 Glenmorrie Dr Detached `$1,150,000 6263 5 4.5+.5+.5 471
1956 Cheryl Ct Detached $1,295,000 5173 4 4.5+.5 16

SOLD (April 18-24, 2011)

Address Orig. Price Sold Price Type Sq Ft CDOM
668 McVey Ave #82 $109,250 $120,000 Condo 992 46
4 Touchstone #136 $174,950 $159,500 Condo 1351 822
5530 Bonita Rd $295,000 $200,000 Detached 1200 64
103 3rd St $349,900 $242,500 Condo 1006 317
3165 Douglas Circle $325,000 $265,000 Detached 1764 3
4342 Woodside Circle $285,000 $285,000 Attached 1643 2
18929 Indian Springs $435,000 $405,000 Detached 3380 51
1692 Fircrest Ct $450,000 $450,000 Detached 2569 0
5434 Rosalia Way $559,000 $477,000 Detached 2600 245
17754 Treetop Ln $550,000 $535,000 Detached 3668 7
2757 Lakeview Blvd $725,000 $675,000 Detached 3321 540
444 Ridgeway Rd $850,000 $810,000 Detached 2099 541

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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Open Houses for April 24, 2011

It’s a beautiful day in Lake Oswego. We may get a lot of rain, but boy do we appreciate the first perfect days of spring!
Tomorrow there are 6 houses being held open. Enjoy.

Address Type Price BR Baths Open
16090 SW Kimball Ave Detached $329,995 4 1.5 1 to 3
19443 Kikanee Ct Detached $474,700 4 2.5 12 to 4
19487 Dogwood Ct Detached $479,900 4 3 10 to 5
19285 Megly Ct Detached $539,900 5 3 10 to 5
19200 Megly Ct Detached $569,900 6 3 10 to 5
5542 Dunmire Dr Detached $599,900 4 2.5 10 to 5
17884 Kelok Rd Detached $668,000 5 3.5 2 to 4
5533 Fieldstone Ct Detached $668,950 4 2.5 1:30 to 4
5321 Amberwood Ct Detached $669,900 4 3 1 to 3
5320 Southwood Dr Detached $695,000 4 3 1 to 3
15622 Fieldstone Dr Detached $698,950 3 2.5 1:30 to 4
5115 Denton Dr Detached $719,000 3 2.5 12 to 3
18222 Siena Dr Detached $1,189,000 4 3.5 1 to 3
2572 Glen Eagles Pl Detached $1,895,000 5 4.5+.5 1 to 3
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Basements

Photo courtesy of Google Images
One of the most frequently asked question I hear when I am working with buyers who are relocating to Oregon from other states is why don’t our newer homes have basements? It’s simple really. It’s because we have such a mild climate that our frost line is not very deep below the surface. House foundations need to be footed below the frost line to prevent the building from shifting during the freeze-thaw cycle. In really cold climates such as you find in the mid-West or back East, the frost line is quite deep. Because the builder has to take the foundation down so far into the earth, it makes economic good sense to utilize the space created by also putting in a basement.

In the earlier days of housing in Oregon, pretty much prior to about 1940, the people building homes often had come West and were building what they were familiar with. So in the Portland area, and even here in Lake Oswego, the houses built prior to 1940 usually do have a basement. But homes built later than 1940 rarely do.

Basement of Chillon Castle Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
The exception is a house built on a lot that slopes down from the street. Even in today’s new homes this sort of a lot is usually taken full advantage of by building a “daylight” basement. A daylight basement is different from a traditional basement in that it has at least one side that is fully above the ground. So you can have full size doors to the outside as well as full size windows.

Finished vs Unfinished
In many parts of the country basement square footage is not included in the total square footage of the house unless it is finished as living area. In Portland I think this was the case about 20 years ago. Gradually, as Realtors and sellers included unfinished basement square footage in the total square footage of the house, this became acceptable. So if you are looking at a house with a basement, you’ll want to figure out if the basement is finished or not.

Unfinished basements do have value. They are great areas for storage and utilities. But they are also great as a space that can be used roughly: for exercise, play area, and hobbies. Do they have the same value as living area that is above the ground? No. I put the question directly to an appraiser early in my career. He told me he felt an unfinished basement had about half the value per square foot as finished living area above ground. A finished basement can equal the value of the living area above ground if it is done with quality and if it has ceiling height, plenty of light, and windows that are large enough and close enough to the floor for safe exit in a fire.

Keep It Dry
The biggest issue with a basement is that it can be prone to water intrusion. Is there such a thing as a basement that will never leak? Perhaps today with codes that are better and if the proper measures are taken to ensure dryness. Probably the single most important thing to keep a basement dry is to keep gutters on the roof clean and working properly. This will take water away from the house and keep it from saturating the ground next to the foundation. The next consideration to a dry basement are drainage systems around the foundation and perhaps even the installation of a sump-pump to take water away from the house. Leaky basements can be fixed.

I really love basements. My own home has a finished basement that has been a great rec room over the years for everyone in the family. It stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And when my kids were teenagers, it was the neighborhood hangout. I was one of the Moms who liked having all of the kids over because I had a place they could hang out.

Let me know if you have any questions.
Dianne

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Market Activity Report ~ April 11-17, 2011

Check out the details from this last week! See below for further details according to RMLS:

NEWLY LISTED (April 11-17, 2011)

Address List Price # Beds # Baths Total SF Prop Type
91 GALEN ST $65,000 1 1 680 CONDO
100 KERR PKWY 42 $80,000 2 2 822 CONDO
246 RIDGEWAY RD 178 $125,000 1 1 753 CONDO
20 CERVANTES CIR $136,500 2 1.1 912 CONDO
4281 COBB WAY $249,900 3 2 1626 DETACHD
18690 DON LEE WAY $259,900 3 2 1136 DETACHD
16870 FERNWOOD DR $289,000 3 1.1 1412 DETACHD
17607 ARBOR LN $315,000 3 2 1906 DETACHD
680 TIPPECANOE CT $339,500 4 2.1 1900 DETACHD
5065 FIRWOOD RD $349,900 4 3 2664 DETACHD
17948 TUALATA AVE $353,000 3 2 1660 DETACHD
14423 ORCHARD SPRINGS RD $379,900 3 2.1 1730 DETACHD
13125 VERMEER DR $395,000 4 2.1 2046 DETACHD
29 BECKET ST $417,500 3 2.1 2354 DETACHD
1991 GREENTREE RD $429,000 3 3 2655 DETACHD
4734 LAKEVIEW BLVD $439,950 3 1 2787 DETACHD
6132 SUMMER WOODS $489,900 4 2.1 2778 DETACHD
491 COUNTRY CLUB RD $559,000 3 2 2486 DETACHD
5148 Woodcrest LN lot 4 $606,900 4 4 3110 DETACHD
75 HIDALGO ST $659,999 4 3.1 4036 DETACHD
17642 UPPER CHERRY LN $1,085,000 4 3.1 3806 DETACHD
17960 CRESTLINE DR $1,375,000 4 3.1 3251 DETACHD
17521 RIDGEVIEW LN $1,400,000 4 3.1 4813 DETACHD

PENDING SALES (April 11-17)

Address List Price # Beds # Baths Total SF Prop Type CDOM
3930 LAKE GROVE AVE 4A $109,000 2 1 952 CONDO 11
1723 CONIFER DR $249,900 3 2 1602 DETACHD 578
1925 MAPLELEAF CT $389,900 4 3 2096 DETACHD 3
1416 CHERRY CREST DR $419,900 4 3 2792 DETACHD 45
40 CONDOLEA CT $485,000 3 3 2958 CONDO 17
19319 SW DOGWOOD CT $499,900 4 2.1 3105 DETACHD 307
3931 BASS LN $699,000 4 3.1 3310 DETACHD 284
3648 LAKEVIEW BLVD $1,650,000 4 3.1 4000 DETACHD 267

SOLD (April 11-17, 2011)

Address O/Price Close Price # Beds # Baths Total SF Prop Type CDOM
33 CRESTFIELD CT 33 $79,000 $44,900 1 1 689 CONDO 418
54 GALEN ST $119,485 $105,000 2 2 995 CONDO 346
4948 MEADOWS RD $259,900 $186,000 3 2 2491 DETACHD 214
837 OAK ST $295,000 $290,000 3 2 2006 DETACHD 3
535 B AVE $399,000 $393,000 2 2.1 1691 ATTACHD 592
17760 OVERLOOK CIR $476,500 $412,000 4 3 2357 DETACHD 247
19263 MEGLY CT $559,900 $529,900 5 3 3213 DETACHD 174
3056 WEMBLEY PARK RD $695,000 $680,000 4 2.1 2611 DETACHD 120
1600 COUNTRY COMMONS $1,195,000 $940,000 4 3.1 5389 DETACHD 266

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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Open Houses ~ April 17, 2011

There are 28 properties to be held Open Sunday in Lake Oswego according to RMLS.

A really great selection this time and…. sunny, spring weather maybe??  : )

Enjoy!

Address L/Price # Beds # Baths Total SF Prop Type OPEN
20 CERVANTES CIR $136,500 2 1.1 912 TOWNHSE 1-4PM
1400 BONNIEBRAE DR $160,000 2 1 864 TOWNHSE 1-3PM
19420 MARLIN AVE $259,000 3 1 1166 DETACHD 2-4PM
2061 BONNIEBRAE DR $275,000 3 2.1 1687 TOWNHSE 1-3PM
16870 FERNWOOD DR $289,000 3 1.1 1412 DETACHD 1-3PM
19250 MAREE CT $294,000 3 2.1 1519 DETACHD 1-4PM
18715 INDIAN CREEK DR $353,725 3 2 1976 DETACHD 1-3PM
5866 RIDGETOP CT $375,000 3 2 1866 DETACHD 1-3PM
1820 KILKENNY DR $379,000 4 3 3040 DETACHD 2-4PM
14423 ORCHARD SPRINGS RD $379,900 3 2.1 1730 CONDO 1-4PM
16266 INVERURIE RD $399,900 3 2 2503 DETACHD 12:30-3:30PM
2360 Greentree RD $429,000 3 2.1 2207 DETACHD 2:30-5:30PM
36 NORTHVIEW CT $429,000 3 3.1 2573 TOWNHSE 3-5PM
6 WESTRIDGE DR $465,000 4 2.1 3169 DETACHD 12-3PM
17360 HUNTER CT $478,500 4 2.1 3322 DETACHD 1:30-3:30PM
3815 SOUTHSHORE BLVD $548,000 4 2 2638 DETACHD 2-4PM
3240 WESTVIEW CT $575,000 4 3.1 3121 DETACHD 1-3PM
8 DEL PRADO ST $585,000 5 3 3637 DETACHD 12-2:30PM
5511 FIELDSTONE CT $658,950 4 2.1 3037 DETACHD 2:30-4:30PM
5533 FIELDSTONE CT $668,950 4 2.1 3115 DETACHD 2:30-4:30PM
5321 AMBERWOOD CT $669,900 4 3 3315 DETACHD 1-3PM
5320 SOUTHWOOD DR $695,000 4 3 3646 DETACHD 1-3PM
15622 FIELDSTONE DR $698,950 3 2.1 3113 DETACHD 2:30-4:30PM
18231 SIENA DR $899,900 4 3.1 3459 DETACHD 12-2PM
4256 LAKEVIEW BLVD $990,000 4 3.1 3117 DETACHD 1-3PM
18209 SIENA DR $994,000 5 3.1 3839 DETACHD 12-2PM
18222 SIENA DR $1,189,000 4 3.1 3998 DETACHD 12-2PM
1870 CREST DR $1,450,000 4 3.1 4598 DETACHD 1-3PM
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News & Notes

 

Streetcar – The Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Project’s steering committee is recommending proceeding with this project.  The City Council is considering their recommendation at their hearing on April 19th in council chambers.  Citizens are encouraged to provide written input prior to the meeting.  The meeting will be televised at TVCTV at 6 p.m. on Channel 23.

Art in Lake Oswego –  Lake Oswego is soliciting participants for its First Art Market to be held at Millenium Park Plaza on June 16, 23 & 30 from 4-8PM. Applications can be filled out here.

Services & Amenities – Lake Oswego has so much to offer…  culture, arts, historical resources, quality schools, vibrant business districts and activities galore.  To find out more about the new Services & Activities Guide click here.

Luscher Farm Updates – Attend a meeting April 21st designed to inform about three site plan alternatives for the Luscher Farm Master Plan.  The event is an open format.  Stop in and look over alternatives for this valued park, farm and natural area…. and give your input!  Click here to learn more.

 

 

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Market Activity for April 4-10, 2011

Last week Lake Oswego had 23 new listings come onto the market, 14 properties enter into pending status, and 10 closed sales. When Linda and I do these reports, we check the property history to make sure the listing is in fact new (hasn’t been on the market in the last 30 days). What I found interesting this week is that of the 23 new listings, easily a third were in the market last fall, pulled off for the winter, and are now being relisted to participate in the spring market.

See below for further details according to RMLS:

NEWLY LISTED (April 4-10, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq FT BR Baths
4640 Lower Dr Condo $139,900 1170 2 1.5
750 1st St #32 Condo $152,000 985 1 1
1115 Laurel St Detached $299,900 1928 4 2
6317 Alyssa Terrace Attached $299,900 1560 3 2.5
3305 Upper Dr Detached $324,900 1484 3 2
12 Hotspur St Detached $325,000 1876 3 2
2745 Greentree Rd Detached $325,000 1219 2 2
335 Lake Bay Ct Detached $337,000 968 3 1
16266 Inverurie Rd Detached $339,900 2503 3 2
4908 Mulholland Dr Attached $399,900 2498 3 2.5
3601 Wren St Detached $425,000 2220 3 2.5
5008 Hampton Ct Detached $448,000 2446 3 2.5
8 Morningview Circle Detached $474,500 2206 3 2.5
962 Country Commons Ln Detached $499,000 1832 3 2
3815 Southshore Blvd Detached $548,000 2638 4 2
2063 Ridgewood Rd Detached $564,500 2532 4 2.5
13161 Twin Creek Ct Detached $574,900 3083 4 2.5
3240 Westview Ct Detached $575,000 3092 4 3.5
8 Del Prado St Detached $585,000 3637 5 3
5115 Denton Dr Detached $719,000 3069 3 2.5
629 Iron Mountain Blvd. Detached $745,000 1988 3 2
4169 Casey Ct Detached $749,000 3770 4 3.5
1956 Cheryl Ct Detached $1,295,000 5173 4 4.5+.5

PENDING SALES (April 4-10, 2011)

Address Type Price Sq Ft BR Baths CDOM
16250 Pacific Hwy #81 Condo $84,000 841 1 1 111
53 Oriole Ln Detached $250,000 2072 3 2.5 179
18462 Don Lee Way Detached $299,500 1904 4 2 17
3165 Douglas Circle Detached $325,000 1764 2 1 3
14251 Camden Ln Detached $349,000 2179 3 2.5 276
1851 Kilkenny Dr Detached $349,900 2654 4 3 182
12562 Orchard Hill Rd Detached $354,900 2574 4 2.5 133
775 Boca Ratan Dr Detached $414,900 2727 4 3.5 162
785 5th St Detached $445,000 2112 3 2 55
3718 Rivers Edge Dr Detached $529,900 2536 3 2.5 40
3435 Lake Grove Ave Detached $549,000 2751 4 3 3
13090 Knaus Rd Detached $749,900 3504 4 3.5 52
1600 Country Commons Detached $1,195,000 5389 4 3.5 266
882 North Shore Rd Detached $1,850,000 3842 4 4.5 6

SOLD (April 4-10, 2011)

Address Orig. Price Sold Price Type Sq Ft CDOM
79 Galen St $69,900 $70,000 Condo 995 208
48 Eagle Crest Dr 4E $208,000 $125,000 Condo 1489 723
19211 Marlin Ct $258,500 $258,500 Detached 2091 9
18 Summit Ridge Ct $299,000 $260,000 Attached 1548 321
14418 Orchard Springs $358,900 $345,000 Detached 1710 13
29 Walking Woods Dr $410,000 $404,000 Detached 2311 8
2705 Orchard Hill Ln $499,350 $405,000 Detached 2841 408
13991 Chelsea Dr $544,500 $529,999 Detached 3354 294
553 2nd St #208 $774,960 $620,000 Condo 1816 786
4700 SW Dogwood Dr $1,499,900 $1,225,000 Detached 5401 322

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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Open Houses for April 10, 2011

There are 29 scheduled open houses for Lake Oswego tomorrow. Enjoy!

Address Type Price BR Baths Open
6927 Montauk Circle Attached $129,000 2 1 1 to 3
4316 Botticelli Attached $209,000 2 2.5 2 to 4
17401 Hill Way Detached $249,900 3 2 11:30 to 1:30
8 Condolea Dr Attached $259,900 2 2 1 to 3
19420 Marlin Ave Detached $264,795 3 1 1 to 3
3305 Upper Dr Detached $324,900 3 2 11 to 1
1766 Fern Pl Detached $365,000 3 2 1 to 3
1830 Cloverleaf Rd Detached $367,000 5 2 12:30 to 2
1820 Kilkenny Dr Detached $379,000 4 3 12 to 4
1416 Cherry Crest Dr Detached $419,900 4 3 1 to 3
2360 Greentree Rd Detached $429,000 3 2.5 2 to 5
19443 Kokanee Ct Detached $474,700 4 2.5 12 to 4
12 Scarborough Dr Detached $479,900 4 2.5 1:30 to 4
7 Del Prado St Detached $479,900 4 3 10 to 4
1119 Oak St Detached $499,500 4 2.5 2 to 4
19319 SW Dogwood Ct Detached $499,900 4 2.5 10 to 5
19200 Megly Ct Detached $569,900 6 3 10 to 5
9 Abelard St Detached $599,000 5 3.5 1 to 3
1217 Tyndall Ct Detached $599,000 4 4 2 to 4
173 Furnace St Attached $619,900 2 2.5 1 to 3
17896 Kelok Rd Detached $668,000 5 5.5 2 to 4
17884 Kelok Rd Detached $668,000 5 3.5 2 to 4
5533 Fieldstone Ct Detached $668,950 4 2.5 1:30 to 4
5321 Amberwood Ct Detached $669,900 4 3 1 to 3
5320 Southwood Dr Detached $695,000 4 3 1 to 3
15622 Fieldstone Dr Detached $698,950 3 2.5 1:30 to 4
5115 Denton Dr Detached $719,000 3 2.5 12 to 3
18222 Siena Dr Detached $1,189,000 4 3.5 1 to 3
2572 Glen Eagles Pl Detached $1,895,000 5 4.5+.5 1 to 3
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Price Per Square Foot

Price per square foot is a handy tool when trying to calculate value for a house. It is commonly used by Realtors, home buyers and sellers, and Appraisers. It can also be a bit misleading. So I thought it was time to take a good hard look at it.

Two weeks ago I got an e-mail from a reader wanting to know if Lake Oswego had an average price per square foot that houses were selling for. Trying to be helpful, I went back into the previous week’s sold properties (3/7-3/13) and found that they had sold for an average of $133 per square foot. However, this lumped all of the solds together (condos and detached houses), and was only a 1 week snap shot. Wanting to delve deeper, I re-did this exercise and broke it up into condos, detached houses, and waterfront. Again, these are averages.

This snap shot reflects sales in the last 30 days:
Condos
18 condos have sold in the last 30 days. The least expensive per square foot was $68. The most expensive was $389. The average sold price per square foot was $158.

Single Family Homes
33 single family homes have sold in the last 30 days. The least expensive per square foot was $92. The most expensive was $279. The average was $174 per square foot.

The average/average (in other words both condos and detached houses) was $167 per square foot.

Now, some clarification. These are some widely swinging values. What separates the low values from the high values are variables such as age, condition, and location. A house that is brand new is generally worth more than a house that is 50 years old. A house in a high-demand location like First Addition is going to be worth more than a house on a busy street in Lake Grove. These averages do not take into consideration these variables.

When you value a house using price per square foot, you really need to be comparing that property to others that are as similar to it as possible. But averages are interesting. It kind of creates a lens through which to look. If the average for houses in LO is $174 per square foot, and you are looking at a house that is priced either greater or less, why is there the difference? Is it worth more because it’s a fantastic house? Are you getting a chance to get a screaming great deal?

Waterfront
I purposely left out waterfront properties from these averages because I think that they have their own unique valuation. We happen to have both a lake and a river in Lake Oswego, so waterfront is an important part of our market. To look at waterfront averages, I went back 6 months in order to have enough properties in the study to make it useful. I found a low per square foot of $73 (OK, that is just amazing!) and a high of $571. The average sold price per square foot was $287.

Then there is the issue of measuring
With all of this emphasis on value per square foot, one of the realities is that measuring a house is not an exact science. Two highly qualified professionals can measure the same house and arrive at different numbers. Do you count a staircase twice? After all it exists on more than one level. Yet, it really is only floor space that is used as a single level. Then there are tricky floorplans with cut outs and overhangs that can not be measured from the ground. To measure, you end up doing estimates based upon other measurements of either the interior or surrounding walls that can be measured. I am currently involved in a sale that is new construction. The builder, based upon architectural plans, has a measurement of 3650 square feet. The appraiser who was at the house last week found a measurement of 3823 square feet. Just using the average in LO as I calculated above, that’s an additional value of $30,000.

Ultimately my perspective is that looking at price per square foot can be helpful, but it needs to be taken with some understanding that it is not an exact science. As a buyer or a seller, you also need to factor in the obvious things like age, condition, and location, but also how much do you love the house. Is it worth to you what is being offered? Because ultimately a house is worth what a seller is willing to sell it for and what a buyer is willing to pay for it. These are human decisions and not scientific ones.

Thanks for reading. Send us your questions and allow Linda and I to address them here. We would so much rather be writing about things that are of interest to you. Again, thanks for reading.
Dianne