RMLS Market Action Report

The market continues to stall due to affordability. With the rise in interest rates from mid-2s to high 7s in just 36 months, we have not seen a commensurate drop in prices.  Although new listings have also dropped, we are sitting on the highest inventory since COVID began due to the drop in pending sales. This means there are Sellers out there who are ready to sell, and Buyers are seeing some opportunities if they are willing to hunt. 

Homes in good condition and priced appropriately are still moving, and if they have the "special something," we are even seeing multiple offers. It's an odd market; we are here to help you interpret it!

View the most recent market action report here>>

Zucchini: Boon or Burden?

Clearly, as this image shared by one of my clients demonstrates, zucchini has a reputation as a bit of a problem in the family vegetable plot. "Death by Zucchini" is the creative genius (and possibly an act of artistic protest) of some North Portland neighborhood kids.  

Too much zucchini happens to the best of us. In fact, many wonderful people I've known during my decades in Portland have tried to pawn gargantuan zucchini off on me when things got out of control in their gardens. In an A to Z guide to vegetables, a McSweeney's writer offers a shrewd warning, "Zucchini has friends. Don't get on its bad side." 

If you are facing down adult-human-calf-sized fruits, do not lose hope. There are many ways to eat zucchini–fritters, roasted spears, carpaccio-style, zoodled, pickled, baked into bread, muffins, or cake–and you can always shred and freeze it to make some of those things in the depths of winter. 

I've got one special recipe that you'll have to try to believe: Zucchini Panini (aka zucchini grilled cheese). If you're also under the thumb of your tomato plants, make a soup, then grill up some sandies and start dipping.

Send me your favorite zucchini recipes...just in case>>

Best Time to Check Your Furnace Is???

Before you need to use it! Although we are enjoying a gentle transition into sweater weather, now is a great time to have a professional out to your property to evaluate your heat source and air filtration systems.

Overall life expectancy for a home furnace is 15-20 years–if you keep up with maintenance. What does that mean? Annual checkups, filter cleanings, and possibly replacing parts. Once your furnace is over ten years old, you may want to bump up service appointments to twice a year.  

Servicing your home's critical infrastructure, like your heat source, is something you want to include in your annual budget because if your furnace is going to fail, it will happen when it's working the hardest (aka when you need it the most). 

Please reach out if you need a reputable referral>>

Leave the Leaves (at least the ones in your yard)!

Straight from the USDA's lips to your tidy neighbor's ears: "Rather than the tedious task of raking and bagging leaves and taking them to the landfill, the best way to reduce greenhouse gases and benefit your garden is to leave the leaves!" Leaf litter provides habitat for many critters–bugs, frogs, lizards– that are critical for our gardens and also become a food source for birds.

Fallen leaves protect soil from erosion caused by rain, help regulate the moisture content of the soil, and transfer organic matter to the soil as they decompose. Of course, we know that fallen leaves can also clog storm drains, so removing them from streets and gutters is essential. If you live in a neighborhood with old, established street trees and have an abundance of leaf litter, use what you can as mulch in your yard and offer the remainder to Portland's Leaf Day composting program instead of tucking them into a landfill in plastic trash bags. 

Find out if you live in a Leaf Day district here>>

Learn how to buy Leaf Day compost (from the 5,000+ tons of leaves collected annually) here>> 

Photo by Susan Jones on Unsplash

SCRAP Creative Reuse

We could not agree more with this organization's motto:
Because creative expression shouldn't break the bank or the environment.

SCRAP is a non-profit focused on keeping goods out of landfills that could, with some creativity, be repurposed or reused for another function. They were founded in 1998 by a group of teachers who wanted to find a home for leftover materials from their classrooms. Today, SCRAP diverts over 140 tons of usable, creative material from becoming waste.

They accept donated goods from the public, sell them at bargain prices, and offer affordable workshops and educational opportunities to teach new skills to people of all ages. This model is so great that reuse enthusiasts across the country have followed suit, creating SCRAPs in their communities.

Support SCRAP>>

Learn about creative reuse in one of their workshops>>

RMLS Market Action Report

As you can see, the trend in pending and closed sales continues to fall, but prices are proving to be pretty slow to drop in response to the increased lack of affordability. One of the more affected markets is condos. As you can see, there is a significant differential between inventory and sales. This situation will get even more dramatic as the lenders develop stricter guidelines for underwriting condos this month. 

There are going to be many buildings that no longer qualify for financing until they clean up their books and take care of low reserve accounts. If you have any questions about how this may affect a property you own or are considering, please call us.

View the most recent market action report here>>