Yesterday was a momentous day as the Lee Davies Staff gathered in the conference room of our new boutique branch at 25 NW 23^rd Place in Portland.  The space is beautiful, the signs are up, fresh flowers are in place and excitement was in the air as passersby from the neighborhood and nearby shops smiled and waved to see activity inside.  This location is perfect for us to build on the success we’ve already achieved in Portland Heights, Forest Heights, the Alphabet District and the Pearl and provides a convenient location for our broker experts in these areas to conveniently connect with their clientele.

Uptown Office

By Matt Krantz, USA TODAY - The powerful rally on Wall Street reached a significant milestone Thursday after the Dow Jones industrial average pulled its chin over the 9,000 mark for the first time since January. A better-than-expected report of a 3.6% rise in existing home sales in June from the National Association of Realtors Thursday is just the latest sign telling investors that the economy’s worst may be over.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2009-07-23-stocks-thursday_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

By Pete Carey with Mercury News.

The number of previously owned single family homes sold in Santa Clara County jumped 31 percent in June in another sign that the market has hit bottom, helped by the greater availability of mortgages.

The median sale price of a previously owned single-family home in the county reached $485,000, up from $475,000 in May, the fifth consecutive monthly increase since home prices bottomed in January, according to a report released today by the real estate information firm MDA DataQuick. But the market has a long climb before a recovery is proclaimed — that average price is still down 27.6 percent from the median price of $670,000 a year ago.

Still, there was plenty of activity. Buoyed by foreclosures and short sales, 2,090 homes and condos, both new and resale, changed hands in the county last month, up from 1,626 in June of last year.

The brisk activity mirrored increases throughout the Bay Area, according to DataQuick. Bay Area sales of single-family homes and condos were at their highest level in almost three years, with 8,644 of them changing hands, a 20 percent increase over June of 2008. That makes 10 months of steady year-over-year increases, the company said.

The sales were boosted by improved mortgage availability and a perception that prices have bottomed out, the company said.

Tough standards for mortgage lending appear to be easing, said DataQuick President John Walsh. “There’s still a long way to go, but it

looks like the worst of the grind is over,” he said in a news release.

The Bay Area’s median price for previously owned single-family homes was $360,000.

While the real estate market has suffered, homes sales are down, and large companies such as ReMax and John L. Scott are consolidating offices, Lee Davies Real Estate sees the opportunity ripe for expansion.  “It was not our intention to expand so early on, but, between our sales success and a unique window of opportunity to enter the downtown niche market, we have determined there may never be a better time to grow than now”, says Lee Davies.

Opening a second office in the Downtown market to better cater to Portland Heights, the Alphabet District, and the Pearl District, was always in our 3-5 year plan, but with Hasson Company’s recent decision to close their 17 year old office in the Uptown Shopping Center on NW 23rd Place, the opportunity could not be more enticing to seize the opening.   There are three remaining players in the city market, all of which are large firms and none west of NW 23rd.  As a result, LDRE will be opening a beautiful boutique office at the Uptown Shopping Center adjacent to the former Hasson location and the Westerly.

The Lee Davies Real Estate boutique model will appeal to a distinct niche of buyers and sellers who prefer a “hands on” locally-owned firm.  The beauty of this location for our clients, as well as our economies of scale, is that our present marketing and advertising program already reaches this audience.  However, city and heights dwellers prefer working with a Realtor with a “bricks and mortar” location in their immediate community, and now LDRE will be in the neighborhood.

In addition to the locally owned boutique appeal, the innovative Lee Davies Real Estate model provides each client with a Lead Broker and up to two supporting brokers to ensure the customer always has a point of contact available seven days a week who is actively familiar with their business.   The model also dictates that the same high quality marketing and advertising plan be implemented on each home to ensure that all clients receive a consistent standard of excellence when it comes to how their home is presented and they are represented. 

The new office will be open on August 3rd, 2009.  We welcome you to stop in for a visit. 

Office Photo Uptown

from NW Mortgage Group 

As of July 16, 2009 (1% loan fee applies)

Conventional Programs are based on purchase price of $500,000 with a 20% down payment and loan amount of $400,000.  Credit scores of 720 for a 30-day rate lock and 1% loan origination fee.  Jumbo program based on purchase price of $750,000 with a 20% down payment and loan amount of $600,000.  Credit scores of 720 for a 30-day lock and 1% loan origination fee.  Contact Jeanine Roe or Brian Page of NW Mortgage Group for more information 503.439.9191.

Click on the image below to see the full RMLS report in PDF format:

Market Action Report

The good news: The Portland-area housing market didn’t get worse in June.

The rest of the news: It didn’t get much better.

The region’s tumbling median home price has leveled off this summer and hovered in June around $250,000, down 17 percent from its peak, according to a Regional Multiple Listing Service report released Wednesday.

The inventory of unsold homes — the key measure of supply and demand — improved more than usual in June. Thanks to an uptick from record-low sales this winter, the inventory dropped from 19 months in January to eight months in June.

Despite the seemingly upbeat signals, any soft landing in the housing market remains difficult to make out. If anything, the bottom is probably still months away. The state is saddled with the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate, mortgage lending continues to be tight and foreclosures are still popping up across Portland.

The modest signs of improvement are fueled in large part by buyers enticed by relatively low interest rates and the federal government’s first-time homebuyer tax credit. What’s tamping down expectations of better times is that high-priced homes continue to languish and a “shadow inventory” that could push the supply beyond buyers’ demand again. The “shadow inventory” comes from would-be sellers who are likely to jump back into the market at the first sign of a rebound.

“There’s likely an enormous amount of hidden inventory in the market,” said Tim Duy, a University of Oregon economist. “The market is so relatively weak to what people’s expectations are.”

Many of those potential sellers are waiting to list their homes until they think they’ll get a higher price, according to real estate brokers. Once the sellers plant their “For Sale” sign, the supply will expand again and could put pressure on prices to fall again.

For evidence of a “shadow inventory,” Duy points to the slower than normal growth in listings this summer.

The real estate market is cyclical, with slow winter months followed by spring thaw and a hot summer. During that cycle, the number of homes listed typically expands steadily from January to July.

In 2008, listings grew from January to June by 28 percent. In 2007, it was 40 percent, and in 2006, 52 percent.

This year, the rise is just 3 percent.

Economist Bill Conerly of Lake Oswego is more upbeat than Duy. He sees signs the market is bouncing back, pointing to a rise in closed and pending sales thanks in part to more affordable home prices. “People who had been on the sideline saying, ‘If I’m going to buy, this is the time,’” he said.

Duy, who tends to be more pessimistic than other Oregon economists, says Portland-area home prices are still too high compared with household incomes. He said he expects Portland-area home prices to fall another 10 to 20 percent.

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/housing_market_shows_positive.html

2009 was the third year that I have attended the Real Estate Summit hosted by the Oregonian and Summit Funding.  This year’s attendees are a “who’s who” list of Portland’s finest real estate professionals.  In addition to Lee Davies, attendees included Sherry Francis, Craig Reger, and Marcia Kies of the Hasson Company; Mary Jo Avery and Tim Hardy of ReMax; Billy Grippo of Windermere; Morgan Davis of Keller Williams Realty; Justin Harish, Becky Jackson, Sarita Dua, Kathy MacNaughton of Realty Trust; Rob Levy of Prudential NW Properties; and Brian Bellairs of Meadows Group Realtors.

The round table discussion was facilitated by Bruce Hammond, the editor of the business section of the Oregonian.  Here were some of the highlights from the discussion.

• Homeowners who have owned their homes for more than 5 years and have not taken their equity out through re-financing, are in an exceptional position to upgrade their home and capitalize on the falling home values.
• Trading homes has for the first time become a rather probable solution to allow buyers who need to sell first make the move.  By buying the more expensive home from a seller who wants to downsize; if a match can be made, the seller can purchase the buyer’s home and thus facilitate the whole process.  Lee Davies Real Estate has completed two such transactions like this in the past year.
• Closings are not longer easily completed in 30 days.  With today’s new underwriting standards and appraisal process prepare for most closings lasting upwards of 45 days.
• Present your client’s offer to the seller in person and build rapport with the cooperating broker.  Today’s transactions are tough and it takes teamwork and face to face meetings to give everyone the best opportunity for success.
• All of the downtown condominium talk is negative; however, the fact is there will not be more new high rises built for many years and today you can live in many of these exceptional buildings for less than the cost was to build the unit.  When one realizes that the next round of new construction will most likely boast a substantially higher cost to build; getting in a new project at today’s pricing will eventually prove to be a great investment.
• It’s tough to sell homes right now and one way to remove some barriers is by having sellers complete a home inspection prior to listing the property for sale and completing the repairs in advance.  By doing this, buyer’s have one less obstacle. 
• Short sales are a tremendous amount of work and a exhausting process for all parties.  That being said, it is better than having a foreclosure in one’s name, so homeowners in this position should work hard to see what can be accomplished before completely giving up.
• One way to make short sales potentially easier for lenders to strive to work faster is if the buyer is willing to risk the cost of their inspection and their appraisal, by having that work done prior to bank approval.  By doing this, the bank can be assured that if they fast track the approval process, the transaction could close within a week or two of their acceptance as the buyer has removed the financing, inspection, and appraisal contingencies.  Most short sales, buyers would not do this as they do not know if the will gain the bank’s approval; thus, once the bank does provide an approval, it will be a minimum of 30 days to complete the inspection and financing due diligence. 

Recently published in the Business Journal:
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/06/08/daily59.html

Enjoy these links to multiple articles that have recently been published in the New York Times about Portland’s people, culture and places.

Saved by Design in Portland

36 Hours in Portland Oregon

Frugal Portland

Portland on a Budget

Portland, Portland Style: Touring by Bicycle