According to local Realtors, Portland, Oregon offers a mild climate with less rainfall than Houston or Atlanta or Baltimore, and plenty of things to do, making it an attractive relocation destination.
"Portland, Oregon is a wonderfully liveable city with mild climate, friendly people and a wide variety of things to do," says Realtor Anne Kadin. "The Portland Oregon Visitors Assn. (POVA) calls Portland 'the city of books, beer, bikes and blooms.' But that overlooks the Portland Trailblazers, the symphony and art museum. Portland is located 78 miles from the ocean and 65 miles to Mt. Hood. The population is approximately 510,000 within the city limits and 1.8 million within the metro area. We have a bad reputation in Portland for always having rain. But the average precipitation is 37" per year--less than Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston or Seattle."
Explains Kadin, "The average sales price is $212,500 for the Portland metro area. The median sales price is $176,000. --Unbelievable--these home prices have more than doubled since I became a Realtor in 1987! Portland is currently in a seller's market for homes priced under $300,000. This is partly because interest rates so low, buyers are snatching up homes in Portland at near record rates.
"There are currently 2,363 homes for sale priced between $130,000 and $300,000," continues Kadin. "This includes new construction, homes on acreage and homes in lovely, established Portland neighborhoods. In the past month 825 homes have sold. The homes available for sale divided by the homes sold means all available inventory would be "absorbed" or sold in only 2.9 months. This means Sellers have the advantage right now. In the entire Portland Metro area the median sales price appreciated 4.1 percent in the last 12 months to $176,000 and the average sales price appreciated 6.1 percent to $212,500."
Says Realtor Rob Levy, "We are noticing brisk sales with a 12 percent increase in price in the starter homes ($125k - $165k), and brisk sales in the older (1940-) homes with views ($450k-1m) but everything in-between is very slow. I've recently sold a few homes in the 350k-450k area, newer in the "burbs" for 40-50k less than what they paid for them. The good news is for buyers - there has never been a better time. There are some deals to be had (not every home) and with rates where they are, it's amazing what the buying power is. I just calculated a $170k loan is $400 a month cheaper at 5.5 percent than it is at 9 percent which wasn't a bad rate just four years ago!"
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Published: March 10, 2003
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