The Latest News About Portland's Real Estate Market and Information About Foreclosures and Short Sales
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Direct: (503) 484-3166
Office: 503-282-4000
RE/MAX Signature Properties
2717 NE Broadway
Portland, OR
503-282-4000
Super cute condo – only a block or two from the yellow MAX line. It’s a short sale, but it’s pre-approved for $130,000. Click the picture below for more information about this property. Then call Ron to set up a showing!
3124 NE Fremont Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
Come for the charm and stay for the views! This quiet home has southern exposure and a ridge location that allows for maximum sunlight and vista views off both decks. Enjoy features like French doors, sun room, wood fireplace, formal entry and open staircase. Hardwoods on main and nicely updated kitchen. Upper bedroom/office has deck with views of city lights.
3 Bedrooms – 2 Bathrooms
Living Room with French Doors and Wood-burning Fireplace
Hardwood Floors on Main Floor
Sun Room with Southern Exposure
Nicely Updated Kitchen with Gas Stove
Large Deck for Great Entertaining
1852 Square Feed of Living Space
3rd Bedroom with Deck and Views of City Lights
Formal Entry with Open Stair Case
Unfinished Basement with Tons of Storage
New AC and Electric Panel in 2007
Click here to see a quick web clip with lots of pictures: http://idx.imprev.net/03782F07/37/52437/787585/index.ipv
Call Ron to set up a showing
Ron Milligan
RE/MAX Signature Properties
2717 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 282-4000 office
(503) 484-3166 mobile
RonMilligan@remax.net
No big surprises in the market stats for October. Last month we were expecting to see a decline in the number of closed sales from September and that’s what we saw (7.7%). We were also expecting to see an increase in the number of pending sales and we saw that as well (3%).
Comparing October 2009 to 2010, (like last month) our numbers look pretty dismal but this isn’t a very good read on the state of the market. In October of 2009, we were looking forward to the expiration of the (second) First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit and seeing a flurry of activity from buyers. We’ll be seeing similar comparisons next Spring when we approach the anniversary of the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit extension.
Since the expiration of the third credit, our inventory of months jumped up but has remained somewhere between 10.5 and 11 months. No big changes here.
Our running (month-to-month) average and median sale prices decreased by 1.1% and 2.7%, respectively. These numbers bounce around from month to month. At the end of the year we’ll see a better comparison (12 months vs. the previous 12 months), which doesn’t have the same vulnerability to seasonal bouncing.
Looking Forward to Next Month
Next month I think that we’ll see a slight increase in the number of closed sales vs. October. I’m feeling a fair amount of activity on the market right now, but I’m not sure that this will be enough to counteract the typical holiday lull we see this time of year. Even if we do see a decline in the number of pending and closed transactions, I think that it’ll be a lot better than what we were expecting from November and December 6 months ago. For the first time in a number of years, I’m starting to feel positive about the real estate market. More on that in another post.
-Ron-
From RMLS “Market Action” October 2010
October Residential Highlights
Comparing October 2010 to October 2009, closed sales decreased by 35.7%. Pending sales and new listings also fell by 21.5% and 9.4%, respectively. The number of closed sales and new listings are the lowest they have been in October in a comparison of the past three years.
A comparison of October 2010 with the previous month, September 2010, shows closed sales
decreased by 7.7% (1,292 v. 1,399). Additionally, pending sales grew by 3% (1,632 v. 1,584), and new listings fell by 12.1% (3,119 v. 3,549). At the month’s rate of sales, the
13,805 active residential listings would last approximately 10.7 months. Inventory in October 2010 rose by 4.2 months compared to October 2009 (6.5 months).
Sale Prices
The average sale price for October 2010 declined 2.4% compared to October 2009. The median sale price also fell 4.7%. On a month-to-month basis, compar ing October 2010 to
September 2010, the average sale price went down 1.1% ($276,800 v. $279,900) and the median sale price also dropped 2.7% ($233,500 v. $240,000).
Year-to-Date
When comparing January-October 2010 with the same period in 2009, closed sales increased 3.7%. Pending sales were 3.4% lower, but new listings were up 4%.
Portland Center Stage is having some fun functions at the Armory Theater for the big shopping weekend after Thanksgiving. The theater will be open on Saturday the 27th as a shopping oasis in the middle of all the shopping chaos.
Stop in for free 15 minute chair massages and a drink. Among other things, they’ll have a gift wrapping station and live jazz music a couple times throughout the day.
PCS is promoting their upcoming play A Christmas Story. Click here for the full scoop and schedule of activities: Holiday Oasis
-Ron-
In our new real estate market of foreclosures and bargain basement pricing, one of the questions I get asked the most by buyers is, “Will these taxes go down after I buy this place?” My answer is, “Probably not.” The inevitable, “Why not?” is frustrating because I don’t know the reason 100%. This is because Oregon’s property taxes are generally not connected to market value. How’s that for an answer?
Last week I went to a class put on by Scott Phinney of Prime Property Tax Negotiation. He gave me some of the answers that my clients and I have been looking for. Mr. Phinney is a pro who has been dealing with the property tax question for over 20 years and probably knows Oregon’s property tax structure better than most people in the assessor’s office.
Assessed Value vs Market Value
Your tax statement should have two values for you to look at: the assessed value and the market value. The market value is the County Assessor’s estimate of the actual market value of your property and this amount is determined by the assessor’s office every year on January 1st. How do they determine market value? It depends on which county you live in. Every county does this in their own special way.
The assessed value is set by Measure 50, which passed in 1997. Measure 50 took your property’s value in 1995 and subtracted 10%. For each year after 1997, the assessed value should have increased by 3% regardless of what happened to real estate values that year.
How Taxes are Calculated
To make things more complicated, there are two ways to calculate your taxes. The first way is to take the current tax rate and multiply it by your current assessed value (Measure 50).
The second way to calculate your taxes is determined by Measure 5, which was passed in 1990. Measure 5 limits property taxes to 0.5% for education and 1.0% for government. That is, you take your market value and multiply it by 1.5% to get your property tax due.
In both methods of calculating taxes, any additional levies and assessments are added after the tax is calculated.
Your property tax for that year should be the lesser of these two methods of calculation. My property taxes are currently calculated using the Measure 50 method, and I’m guessing that this is the case with most people in the metro area. When I did a quick check to see if my property taxes would be lower using the Measure 5 method, and they weren’t. I picked a value for what I thought my property was worth on January 1st of 2009 and I came up with a property tax burden of at least $800 more that what I’m currently paying, and I still needed to tack on all of the levies and special assessments.
Red Flags on Your Tax Statement
There are lots of reasons to challenge your property taxes and errors are made all the time. Mr. Phinney gave us some red flags to watch for:
1. Did your assessed value go up by more than 3% in a year where you made no improvements to your property? Changes in zoning or being incorporated into a municipality can affect this as well.
2. Did your market value (on the tax statement) jump up by a big percentage?
3. Is the market value on your tax statement more than what your property was worth as of January 1st of that year?
4. Compare your special assessments and levies to the previous year. Is there something new or way out of line with the previous year?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you might want to contact Mr. Phinney to see if anything that can be done and determine whether it’s worth your time and energy. Consultations (as of November, 2010) are free of charge.
Challenging Your Taxes
If you think there might be an error in you property taxes, the first step in the appeal process is pretty easy and it’s free. Go to your county’s Board of Property Tax Appeals and file an appeal by December 31st. You can probably get an appeal from the county web site and filing an appeal is free. Some time after January 1st, you’ll go before the board, plead your case and hope for a favorable decision. The nice thing about dealing with the Board of Property Tax Appeals is that they cannot raise your taxes. They can only reduce them.
If this doesn’t work for you, then there is a further appeal process, but at this point I would recommend getting help from a professional.
Last up, if you’re in a condo complex that is dealing with structural defects, call me! I’ll give you a good earful and send you off to Scott for some good advice. His contact information is below.
-Ron-
Scott Phinney
Property Tax Negotiation
(503) 427-1645
Avg. Sales Price: $289,800
Avg. Days on Market: 121
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