Comments for move2westlinn

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — March 1-7, 2010 by dj

dj — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:49:22 +0000

I forgot to mention that last month, 1900 Hall St. was listed at $380K. It sold for $390K. Looks like there were multiple bids on the property and the bank came back with a best-and-final offer on the home, which pushed the price up to $390K. Most likely this was a cash transaction. Good price for the buyer. But not sure what condition the property is in if they couldn’t get offers higher than $81/sqft. Anyone seen this property ? Mold issues ? Water damage ? Stripped to the studs ?

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — March 1-7, 2010 by dj

dj — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:31:36 +0000

“Bargain hunters ruled the week with 4 properties sold at discounts over 25% of the original list price.” With the exception of 1900 Hall St. @ $81/sqft, I wouldn’t categorize the other homes as bargains. Rather, I would say they sold for fair market value, and that the original list prices were overly optimistic and inflated. But, it does seem that the market has stabilized. I hope this is sustainable.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market — Monthly Home Sales by dj

dj — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:18:13 +0000

Stuart, I agree with you. Prices are definitely a key factor, but I also think the upcoming expiration of the tax credits are encouraging people to get off the fence and take action. 30% price drops from the peak, low interest rates, expiring tax credits and the beautiful weather we’ve been having – it’s all contributing to increased sales activity. Buyers are looking for value, and if they see a property that is priced right, they will act. REO’s are part of the equation and sellers cannot ignore the fact that they are competing against these bank-owned properties. One take-away for me when I look at Ron’s data is that if the home is priced right, it will sell. As a seller, if you are not getting any offers within 3 weeks of putting your home on the market – start cutting your price. Eventually you will find a price-point where your home will sell. Otherwise it is better to take the home off the market until things improve, if you can.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — February 22-28, 2010 by dj

dj — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:08:50 +0000

What’s interesting this week is that in the “Closed Sales” category, the discounts are minimal when compared to the original price. We haven’t seen this in a while. Looks like the market is stabilizing and we may have hit a bottom. With pending sales also increasing, looks like we’ll see a lot of activity in the next 2 months.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market — Monthly Home Sales by Stuart

Stuart — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:59:32 +0000

“First-time homebuyer credits? Pent-up demand? Your thoughts?”

How about the simpler answer?: Lower prices.

The fundamental reason houses don’t sell is the price. You can argue about repairs, painting, location, square footage, etc. etc. but the ultimate reason a house doesn’t sell is because it’s overpriced. Used to be a time where you could overprice it and some sucker from out of State would come in and push the comps even higher. The mortgage company wouldn’t care, because they were banking on more suckers being around to borrow even more money to buy the property again and again.

But now the banks are actually starting to seriously appraise the real “worth” of homes and the ability of the borrowers to safely manage and pay back those loans (crazy concept, I know.)

In 2009, I’d hazard a guess that we saw far more REO sales than 2008, at prices that were (in some case) very attractive. So that helped push the volume up. There were also some higher end properties sold very cheap, which may serve to push the median and average pricing up, but are not necessarily representative of the realities of the broad market.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market – 2009 Final Statistics by dj

dj — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:08:56 +0000

Very funny Stuart

Hi Ron, thanks for putting this data together. I’m sure it’s a lot of work and we appreciate the effort you put into sharing this with us. Buyers clearly are in the dominant position, and I’m convinced that if they see value, they will buy. Sellers need to price their homes below other homes in the neighbordhood in order to have a serious shot at selling in less than 6 months. Hopefully 2010 will be the year we see an upturn in sales activity, shorter DOM and price stabilization.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market – 2009 Final Statistics by Stuart

Stuart — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:16:32 +0000

In more shocking news for West Linn Residents. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GM-to-end-Hummer-after-sale-apf-4080154550.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode=

Ah well, at least there’s still the Tahoe, Escalade, and Suburban to keep us going in those assaults on the Safeway parking lot speed bumps

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — February 15 – 21, 2010 by dj

dj — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:02:45 +0000

For those of you who are regulars to this site, it looks like 3292 Nomie Way may be the new Bland Circle home for 2010 at $114/sqft. Will it ultimately beat Bland’s $112/sqft sale last year ? 4407 Calaroga is an absolutely stunning home, but it’s a $725K home in a $200K-$400K neighborhood, so this particular home is really for the most discriminating buyer only. I’m betting there’s more activity in March & April given the upcoming expiration of the tax credit and the fear of rising interest rates. Homes that are ‘priced right’ and sub $400K will be the ones that get snatched up before April. Ron, when does the spring buying season typically start ?

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — February 7 – 14, 2010 by Ron Ares

Ron Ares — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:19:30 +0000

Seems like a thin review of the Fed’s housing report. Not sure how he draws the conclusion that rampant, California-proportion foreclosure activity is just around the corner.

Comment on West Linn Real Estate Market Activity — February 7 – 14, 2010 by dd

dd — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:04:05 +0000

1900 Hall St – If you look back, you’ll see that the bank had listed it for $599,900 in May 2009. Photos show that it’s not the greatest house inside. But definitely not trashed as you might think. This sale will show how low banks have to go to unload their REO’s.