Realtor Anne Kadin notes, "Portland, Oregon, is a wonderfully livable city with mild climate, friendly people and a wide variety of things to do. 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 approx 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."

She continues, "Portland continues in a Seller's Market for homes priced under $500,000. The average sales price is $275,700 for the Portland metro area. The median sales price is $230,000. These home prices have tripled since I became a Realtor in 1987! There are currently 2,480 homes for sale priced between $150,000 and $500,000. This includes new construction, and homes in great, established Portland neighborhoods. In the past month 1,424 homes have sold. The homes available for sale divided by the homes sold means all available inventory would be "absorbed" or sold in 1.7 months. This is about the same inventory level as last month. This is great for sellers."

Realtor Helen Hoyt says, "East Portland is the cheaper side of town -- the older, historic area with the wood floors, cool old houses etc. There are some awesome areas in East Portland, especially close in NE and close in SE, like Laurelhurst, Hawthorne, Alberta Arts, Sellwood, East and West Moreland. A lot of the houses have been redone and are absolutely gorgeous! They are close to little coffee houses and shops so people can walk everywhere. There are very few new houses in these areas. They are highly sought after areas!"

She adds, "Portland is HOT! And it is getting hotter each day! Houses are selling almost as soon as they hit the market, and many are getting bid up! Some people may think it's a bubble, but Portland is doing the right things to make it's city a wonderful place to live. All over the city you can see and hear the hammers banging as all the classic old homes are being fixed up! And as each neighborhood develops, shops, cafes, natural foods stores, and all kinds of cool restaurants are moving in! Each neighborhood has it's own special flavor."

Published: October 13, 2005

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