Portland may have more rain than Seattle, but lately the town has been the rainmaker for real estate in surrounding burbs.

Gresham, Troutdale

"The market remains somewhat "neutral" in terms of buyer vs. seller but the inventory remains down, so there is definitely a shortage of homes for sale, especially in the more affordable price ranges," says Realtor Diana Allmer. "For the entire Portland Metro area, comparing second quarter of 2002 to 2001, closed sales are up 0.8 percent and pending sales are up 1.9 percent. For the same time period, the number of new listings is down 2.1% and average marketing time has dropped from 73 days to 66 days (-9.6%).

"Our board cautions us that these are only trends and should not be looked at as exact statistics, since during each time period, the homes for sale are always different," she explains. "Overall, sales prices are fairly stable but we are seeing good appreciation in some areas and yet almost no appreciation in others. The average sales price in June for homes in the Gresham/Troutdale area was $175,100 and average days on market was 59. For the 12 months ending June 30th, the appreciation for this area was 0.7 percent for average. For the whole Portland Metropolitan area, median sales price year to date as of 6/2002 was $172,000 and average sales price was $205,000, up 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent respectively."

Tualatin

Says Realtor Anne Kadin of Tualatin, "It's a great suburb of Portland with good schools, lovely neighborhoods and parks, and easy freeway access to all parts of the Portland area."

She notes, "There are currently 48 homes for sale priced between $130,000 and $250,000. This includes new construction, homes on acreage and homes in lovely, established Tualatin neighborhoods. In the past month 17 homes have sold. The homes available for sale divided by the homes sold means all available inventor would be "absorbed" or sold in 2.82 months. This is a seller's market."

Bend

"According to a 2001 market study the average price for a Bend home has risen steadily since 1993 - from about $115,000 to more then $200,000 last year," says Realtor Ruben Garmyn, "the region's continuing desirability is seen as a major reason for a continuing surge in the construction and real estate industries with downtown and west side areas of Bend the real estate hot spots.

"Central Oregon's red hot real estate market seems a great investment, as stock market moguls wrangle over the price of high-tech shares, new homeowners in Bend are finding their real estate investment firmly in place," he continues. "The average price of homes in Bend has appreciated about 10 percent each year over the last 8-10 years The leading cause of inflation in Bend outside of materials and labor is the cost of the land. Prices for lots has doubled in the last 4-5 years. Also take into account changes in consumer buying trends . People are moving more often so the useful life of a house is declining .

One reason new homes are more attractive is that older homes are priced at the same as new homes. This seems true in Bend where older homes are on the market have been known to sell for more then a new home on the market, depending on the area.Someone who purchased a small fixer upper on Bend's West side for $23,000 before the 1990 real estate boom, today could sell for as much as $140,000 .

The houses are between 800-1000 SQFT. The result has been a market drawn to newer homes with more square footage that incorporates the latest building materials, fixtures, designs and technology. It is important to note that not all homes in every price range will experience the same rate of appreciation. Homes under $250,000 are appreciating more than more expensive ones right now.And remember the old real estate adage Location , Location , Location!

Traditionally homes in more desirable areas will likely see a greater return on appreciation."

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Published: August 29, 2002

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