How is COVID Influencing the Market?

Do you find yourself using your home in ways you never anticipated you would? Join the club.

Millions of people are spending more time at home than ever before, and this change is influencing buyer perspectives. This article offers excellent insights into how the Real Estate market is changing and ways to add value to your home while considering these shifting demands.

There is valuable data here about costs vs. ROI, so dig in and let us know if we can help.

RMLS Market Action Report

All I can say is "Wow". We are down to 1.5 months of inventory and you can feel it. There are still good deals to be had on the edges of the market, but if you want a single-family home in the urban core between $300-550K the competition is fierce.

One exception is the higher end condo market. Demand for close quarters is waining, and the demographic that was seeking out luxury condos has been largely absent. Check out the details in the report.

Please let us know if you have questions about any specific area and/or price range.

COVID Update

Many of you have reached out to ask how we are responding to the fluctuating restrictions related to the pandemic. The simple answer is: with caution. In alignment with the real estate industry, we decided early on to develop practices and protocols that centered the safety of our clients and team members without compromising on the quality of service we provide. 

While it would be great to get back to familiar practices like open houses and walking through properties side-by-side with our clients, we have found new ways of interacting and vetting properties that have made us more nimble as a team. 3D virtual tours and customized video walkthroughs offer a way for clients to preview properties safely and ultimately to make better use of the time they have to view properties in-person. Sometimes this looks like riding our bikes through a neighborhood to highlight its tree-lined streets, recording walkthroughs of available properties to share with buyers, or hosting live open houses like this one.

Whether you are a seller that wants to make sure we highlight your home to the wider world while you stay socially distant, or you're a buyer who wants to see that new house that just got listed from the safety of your couch.

Have questions? Give us a call!  

If I Don't Call the Police Who Do I Call ?

Calls of protesters to #defundthepolice have many of us reconsidering the role of police in our community. I've spoken with a number of clients who feel that we're asking too much of police to respond to everything from encounters with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis or homelessness to domestic disputes and hate crimes.

Here are two resources offering alternatives to calling the police for a variety of situations: 

CAREpdx (Community. Advocacy. Readiness. Education.) has Before You Call the Police education and resources. 

Portland Street Response, a campaign by Street Roots, compiled this Spreadsheet, that contains context and contact information for organizations you can call instead of the police.

I encourage you to store these numbers in your phone so you are ready the next time you need them.

How the Portland We Love Came to Be

We know why you moved here. We know why you never left. We know because you tell us all the time–and we agree with you!

I feel like I live in a park. I have access to the arts and culture of a big city, but I still get that small-town vibe. I can ride my bike most of the time. The local food is incredible. I can be in the mountains or on the coast in 90 minutes.

We love it too, and when we think about how Portland came to be like this, we love it even more.

We are beneficiaries of hard work and tough negotiations that happened through the 1960s and 70s in our communities and the state legislature. Oregon Senate Bill 100 (SB100) is a landmark piece of legislation that established our state's unique perspective on land use planning that would serve residents and industry while preserving not only the natural resources but also our environment. The legislation includes 19 specific goals (14 original, plus a few amendments) for land-use in all of Oregon.

Whether you remember Oregon's land-use goals from your childhood or this is the first time you've heard of them, we encourage you to read them now. Oregon's land-use planning goals are not designed to maintain a specific look and feel in our cities, neighborhoods, or even agricultural areas. The fundamental aim is to ensure that lands are designated and preserved for various uses–living, recreating, commerce, agriculture, open space–based on factual data and the predicted needs of communities statewide. 

The current moment is showing us, in no uncertain terms, that democracy is a living, breathing system that becomes vulnerable without regular nourishment and development. We believe that understanding our history–how we got to where we're standing today and we did harm along the way–is critical if we want to evolve as a community. As a result, In the coming weeks, we are going to share information and resources to learn about a few powerful bills that created the framework for the Portland (and Oregon) that we love.

We believe in all residents having access to the best of what Portland has to offer, and the goals set by our legislators, with input from organizations throughout the state, are still viable navigational guides to achieving that. Just like the current moment is asking us to change our ways, SB 100 and more inclusive and equitable urban planning will ask us to amend our expectations of our city and our neighborhoods.

The roadmap for a stronger, more equitable Portland not only exists, but it also lives within our State laws. Now it's time for us to step up and navigate our way through that map.

Image credit: Oregon Historical Society

COVID 19 Weekly Market Update

Not surprisingly, given our consistently low inventory, pending sales continue to outpace new listings.  As we predicted in our last update, the pending trend line surpassed new listings in all categories up to $1.4M. Typically, as we move into the heavy listing season, new inventory begins to gain on pending sales. That trend may be in the offing but, as of now,  the market pace is relatively stable.

Quality inventory in the entry-level price points, under $500K, continue to attract multiple offers often substantially over full price. The pending trend line in the mid-range price points, $500-$1M, has now surpassed new listings. In another surprise move, pendings now outpace new listings up to $1.4M! As in-migration continues, phones are ringing, inboxes are full of questions and inquiries from buyers sensing the time is finally right to make the move to Portland! 

You can view the market data we are tracking here or download the report. We will keep you posted as new data comes in and let us know if you have questions about any specific area and/or price range.