It's Time to Open Our Hearts (and Our Wallets)

Willamette Week's Give Guide launched this week. We are proud to be a corporate sponsor of one of our favorite local non-profits: JOIN PDX. The lack of equitable housing options in Portland is an issue we care about deeply. JOIN's focus on partnering with those experiencing homelessness to address the obstacles they face in seeking permanent housing is one we believe in because it is both collaborative and effective. Learn more about their approach and programs here, and please consider supporting their efforts to make Portland a more just and equitable place for all residents.

Our sponsorship of JOIN means that we will match the first $2500 in donations!

Get on with the giving here>>

You Don't Even Have to Like Baseball

It's absolutely possible to not care at all about the game of baseball and still love this documentary about something magical that happened in Portland in the 1970s. A fun flick about a lesser-known piece of this city's history.

Yes, it's about sports, but we all know that sports are really about stories of belonging and believing-- and who doesn't need a little bit of that these days?

Check out the trailer and if you're into it, you can find the movie on Netflix>>

Hillsboro Joins the Home Energy Score Program (Yay!)

We are inundated with news about the impacts of climate change. The UN Report on Climate, stories of hurricanes, wildfires, and drought are persistent headlines. Oregon's Home Energy Score program isn't the solution to climate change, but it is a great first step towards awareness of our energy consumption.

Home Energy Scores help buyers estimate energy bills and understand the long-term costs of investing in a property to make it more energy-efficient. We're so glad that Hillsboro has joined this voluntary state-wide program!

Learn more about Home Energy Scores here>>

View a sample Home Energy Score sheet>>

Portland Greenways Get A Safety Update

Traffic calming infrastructure, that's how Bike Portland editor, Jonathan Maus, describes the new circular concrete barricades that have been installed in intersections along some of Portland's neighborhood greenways–slow residential streets that prioritize people walking, bicycling, and rolling.

Riding the momentum of PBOT's Slow Streets initiative, which worked to provide additional protection to existing neighborhood greenways during the pandemic, these barriers are sturdier and more effective replacements for the A-board signage encouraging traffic to slow down for cyclists.

To learn more about existing and planned Neighborhood Greenways and the progress on installation of these new barriers, check out PBOTs Slow Streets project map>>

Check out all PBOT transportation project plans on this map>>

Image credit: portland.gov

RMLS Market Action Report

There is mixed news in the latest Market Action Report–most notably the shocking numbers on appreciation. Comparing 2020 to 2021 through July, the average appreciation in the region was 19.4%. That number is daunting to those trying to get their foot in the door and reflects the boom in demand and lack of supply.

A more hopeful sign of the market coming to its senses is the increase in listings. The graph on page 3 shows 2021 listings in red, and it shows that we have been struggling with those numbers being in the low 2000's. However, you can see that the trajectory is rapidly increasing, and we are heading up to pre-pandemic figures. Again, we have experienced this most in the upper price ranges as things in the $800,000 plus category seem to be staying on the market longer and having more price reductions.

View the most recent report here>>

It's Not Raining Yet! Mask Up and Get Outside

We have shifted back into what I call a grey area of the pandemic, where it's harder to evaluate risk and balance the urge to get back into the swing of things with your tolerance for risk. I've heard from many of you that you're feeling the effects of decision fatigue (you're not alone there!)

There are still ways to have fun right now. Here are a few fun things to do around Portland, all outdoors, that might lift your spirits:

Oregon Symphony Waterfront Festival & Concert (Tom McCall Waterfront Park)

The Maize at the Pumpkin Patch (Sauvie Island)

Water Lantern Festival (Laurelhurst Park)

Great Sunrise Hikes in Portland