Home Buying Tips

Market Action Report- April 2018

Closed sales saw an upswing this April in the Portland metro area. There were 2,523 closings, a 13.7% increase over April 2017 (2,219) and a 6.4% increase over last month in March 2018 (2,371). New listings (3,990) saw gains as well, outpacing April 2017 (3,759) by 6.1% and March 2018 (3,648) by 9.4%. Pending sales, at 3,008 in April, fell 2.6% short of the 3,088 offers accepted last year in April 2017 but edged 3.9% over the 2,894 offers accepted last month in March 2018.

Inventory increased by a fraction of a month in the Portland metro area in April, ending at 1.8 months. During the same time, total market time decreased to 42 days. There were 4,469 active residential listings in the Portland metro area this April.

Comparing the average price of homes sold in the twelve months ending April 30th of this year ($436,000) with the average price of homes in the twelve months ending April 2017 ($406,400) shows an increase of 7.5%. In the same comparison, the median has increased 9.1% from $355,300 to $387,500.

Wick’s Tips- Considering a Tiny Home in PDX?

Wick: Hi all. Wick here! Today’s topic is tiny homes. Have you ever thought of owning a small house on wheels and renting it out? Otherwise known as the “tiny American Dream”:)? Today we are going to chat with someone who has done just that. This might help you decide if you want to get on the “tiny house train” or not!

Wick: Joining us is James -owner and proprietor of James’ and her husband Ryan’s tiny home. James, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with us today!

James: My pleasure! Happy to be here:)

Wick: James, at first glance I can’t believe I’m in a tiny home. This is so nice!

James: Thank you! Yes we love it a lot. We viewed several homes before we bought and when we saw this one it really clicked. We knew this was the one.

Wick: Where do you look for tiny homes? Craigslist (all over the west coast), Tiny House Listings, Ebay

James: That’s exactly right! We got really lucky– Portland Craigslist is where we found ours.

Wick: Ok. Gotcha! Correct me if I’m wrong but we are not only sitting in your tiny home but we are also sitting in your back yard!

James: That’s right we are! As you know tiny homes are required to be on wheels. The truck driver just backed it up the driveway. It was a tight squeeze next to the house but now here it sits. It’s integrated with our house with a new connected deck.

Wick: So cool! How about a quick tour?

James: Sure! Do you have 6 seconds to spare? Ha ha. We are now sitting in the living room. Here’s the dining room. Upstairs is the loft with a queen size bed. Here’s the kitchen with a propane range (it has an oven, too). And the bathroom with shower and composting toilet.

Wick: That reminds me – how are the utilities hooked up?

James: Power comes from the house via an extension cord. Since the tiny house runs on a 30amp system, we have a converter that we plug into an existing outlet in our basement. Eventually, we plan to hard wire so we don’t have to use a converter, but for now this works just fine (only one popped circuit so far)! Water is from our hose. There’s no plumbing hence the composting toilet and gray water sinks and shower. The water line goes straight to the tankless water heater in the closet, and then gets piped to the fixtures.

Wick: Gotcha. Good to know! I’m sure you’re aware that Chloe Eudaly, Portland city commissioner, is a big fan of tiny homes. She is a champion of renters rights and urban density.

James: That is true! City code states you are allowed one tiny home per residential property. There are some guidelines to follow but nothing too difficult to figure out.

Wick: James do you mind if I ask what everyone is wanting to know?

James: I’m ready.

Wick: How much did this tiny house cost?

James: Well … for the footprint, craftsmanship, layout and amenities, we got a steal of a deal at $28,500. We bought it from a woman who designed, built, and lived in it full-time for 2 years prior to selling it to us. We invested an additional $1000 in the toilet and another $1000, give or take, in decor (including a daybed that folds out to a king-sized bed for additional guests).

Wick: How much do you rent it for?

James: We currently have it set up as a short-term rental and we charge between $60-75/night. When we eventually rent it long-term, we plan to rent it for around $900 including utilities.We currently make about $1000 per month, on average.

Wick: Lastly, what are the pros and cons of owning a tiny home?

James: We haven’t seen any cons. Yet! The pros are it’s a good investment over time. It will probably be paid off in 4-5 years, depending upon how we utilize it in that time. It’s producing income. And we have a nice place for extended family to stay when they visit. We both really like using the tiny house as a vehicle and opportunity to make new connections with people and build community. There are so many reasons that we are proud of our city, and even just our home, and this is a chance for us to show and share!

Wick: Cool cool. Any last tips for someone considering joining the tiny home culture? Do your research! Learn the ins and outs of city and county codes, find a tiny house-friendly lender, take a class (there are several in town– including one through PCC!), talk with fellow tiny home enthusiasts, and get excited!!

James: Yes! It’s a great idea to run the idea by your neighbor first. It’s not required but it is a courteous thing to do. We did and it was a nice start to the whole project. They were and are very supportive. It helps to spend a bit of time thinking through what could be some overlooked aspects, like a neighbor’s view obstruction, possible noise issues, and possible impacts on street parking.

Wick: Great tip!! As I’ve said before, make allies out of your neighbors, not enemies:) Ryan thanks again for your time today and for shedding some light on this gray area of tiny homes:)

James: My pleasure Wick! Thanks for having me:)

Wick: If you have more questions about tiny homes as always please give me a ring or post a question on our social media. Thanks for watching!!

Market Action Report- March 2018

New listings int he Portland metro area saw a slight gain compared to last year this March. At 3,648 for the month, new listings edged 1.2% over the 3,604 new listings offered last year in March 2017 and were 44.2% warmer than last month in February 2018 (2,530). This is the best March for new listings in the area since 2010, when 4,987 new listings were offered.

Closed sales (2,371) were 4.9% cooler than the 2,494 closings recorded in March 2017 but ended 31.3% warmer than the 1,806 closings recorded last month. Pending sales fared similarly, cooling 4.9% from March 2017 (3,043) despite a 23.8% increase over the 2.337 offered accepted last month.

Inventory in the Portland metro area decreased slightly to 1.6 months in March, with total market time decreasing to 55 days. There were 3,844 active residential listings in the metro area in March. Comparing the average price of homes sold in the 12 months ending March 31st of this year ($435,000) with the average price of homes in the 12 months ending March 2017 ($404,200) shows an increase of 7.6%. In the same comparison, the median has increased 8.8% from $353,800 to $385,000.

Market Action Report- Feb 2018

Closings had a strong month this February in the Portland Metro Area. There were 1,806 closed sales, a 8.2% increase over February 2017 (1,669) and a 10.9% increase over January 2018 (1,628). New listings (2,530) saw gains last month, outpacing February 2017 by 0.4% and January 2018 by 1.8%.

Pending sales, at 2,337, fell 1.4% short of the 2,369 offers accepted last year in February 2017 but inched 1.1% ahead of the 2,311 offers accepted last month in January 2018. Total market time increased by 9 days last month, ending at 69 days. Inventory decreased slightly to 1.9 months. There were 3,441 active residential listings in the Portland metro area this February.

Comparing the average price of homes sold in the 12 months ending February 28th of this year ($432,000) with the average price of homes in the 12 months ending February 2017 ($402,000) shows an increase of 7.5%. In the same comparison, the median has increased 9.4% from $350,000 to $383,000.

Market Action Report- Jan 2018

The Portland metro area saw plenty of pending sales and new listings in January. January 2018 pending sales (2,311) were 16.1% higher than January 2017 and 31.5% higher than December 2017. It was the strongest January for pending listings in the metro area since 2007.

There were 2,486 new listings in January, 12.4% higher than January 2017 and 52.7% higher than December 2017. Closed sales, at 1,628, were down 11.9% from last year in January 2017 and 30.7% from December 2017. Inventory rose slightly in January, ending at 2.2 months. Total market time increased by five days to end at 60 days. There were 3,518 active residential listings in the Portland metro area in January.

Comparing the average price of homes sold in the twelve months ending January 31st 2018 ($430,000) with the average price of homes in the twelve months ending January 2017 ($399,600) shows an increase of 7.6%. In the same comparison, the median has increased 8.6% from $350,00 to $380,000.

Wick’s Tip: The New Portland Home Energy Score (video)

Hi all! Wick here. Happy New Year! It’s 2018 and it’s time for some New Year’s resolutions. The Ashley’s decided not to buy anything for the month of January. Feel free to contact me mid month to see how that’s going:)

Portland has a new resolution! It wants to lower its carbon footprint. Or more precisely, it’s trying to get us to be more conscientious about our carbon footprint and motivate us to lower it. Enter the brand new Portland Home Energy Score. This affects home owners, buyers and sellers.

Joining us today to shed more light on this topic is Nick Phillips with New Paradigm Home Energy Scores (see the video at the end of this post for more info on Nick).

The Top 3 questions regarding the Home Energy Score:

1) What is the home energy score?

The home energy score is a measurement of the energy efficiency in a home based on an on-site evaluation of the physical characteristics of the house. The score is a number from 1 to 10. 10 being the most efficient home. And 1 being the worst. The bulk of US homes fall between a 4 and a 7 with the majority of homes being a number 5.

1a) This is a fun side question: Does the mythical unicorn score of 10 exist? Or is that a hopeful concept?

It’s the unicorn to chase but they do exist! Yes. There are even examples of homes here in Portland that are perfect 10’s. But even 10’s have room for improvement:)

2) Is this a required test for all Portland homeowners?

Not necessarily. This is primarily for single family residence homeowners (there are exceptions!) who want to sell their house. Your home assessment score will actually be seen on the RMLS listing. This will be another piece of information for buyers to consider when looking at your home.

3) How can you improve your score?

The test is based on several factors about your house. For example, how much insulation is in your attic? In your walls? Do you have an oil furnace or a gas furnace? Do you have double or single pane windows? Any item that you can think of that uses less energy and/or tightens the outer envelope of your home are areas for improvement. Painting your house a new color? That won’t help. Buying an energy star water heater will help. Got a tube of caulking lying around? Use that to seal up any air gaps.

If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to contact us or refer to our other Home Energy Score blog post with more detailed information. And remember, at your next cocktail party you can share your home score with the Joneses!

For more information on Nick and New Paradigm Home Energy Scores, check out the website here. For all you special ARW clients, Nick is offering assessments at a discounted price of $175 through the month of March. Get it while you can!

Thanks for watching!