Susan Marthens

Principal
Real Estate Broker
CRS  GRI

Phone
(503) 497-2984

ABOUT SUSAN

Working Together
Testimonials
Contact Susan

MOVING TO
PORTLAND

Find a Home to Buy
Rental Information
Find a Job
Moving Helps
Free Newsletter
BUYING A HOME
IN PORTLAND
First-Time Buyers
Home Styles
New Homes
Green Homes
Portland Home Prices
Home Inspections
Landslides
Real Estate Law
Property Taxes
Measures 37 & 49
CONDOS
List of Condos
Downtown Condos
River Front Condos
So. Waterfront Condos
Other Condo Projects
SEARCH FOR HOMES
Search by Metro Map
Search by Neighborhood
Featured Listings
Search by Listing No.
Quick Search
Search Guide
Login
MORTGAGES
Mortgages
Mortgage Rates
Calculators
SELLING A HOME
 IN PORTLAND
Selling a Home
How I Sell Your Home
Moving Helps
PLACES TO LIVE
 IN THE CITY
Neighborhood Guide
Close-in
> Goose Hollow
> Pearl
> Nob Hill/Northwest
> South Waterfront
West Hills
> Arlington Heights
> Forest Park
> Hillside/King's Heights
> SW Hills/Portland Heights
Southwest
> Bridlemile
> Hillsdale
> Multnomah
> So. Portland/Lair Hill
> Sylvan-Highlands
Southeast
> Eastmoreland
> Hosford-Abernethy
> Mt. Tabor
> Sellwood-Moreland
> Sunnyside/Hawthorne
Northeast
> Alameda
> Beaumont-Wilshire
> Concordia
> Grant Park
> Irvington
> Laurelhurst
North
> Boise
> Piedmont
> University Park
PLACES TO LIVE
 IN THE SUBURBS
Beaverton
Lake Oswego
Tualatin
West Linn
PORTLAND
The City
Geography
Weather
Praises for Portland
Buses & Trains
Commuting to Work
Planning for Growth
Outdoors
Portland & Pets
Portland Links
Portland Views
FOOD
Food & Drink
Farmers Markets
Dining Out
VISIT PORTLAND
Visitors Guide
Hotels & Eating
What To Do
House Hunting
Beyond Portland
SCHOOLS & KIDS
Public Schools
Private Schools
Preschool
Oregon Tests
National Tests
SAT Scores
Report Cards
No Child Left Behind
Evaluate Schools
Oregon Colleges
Tested Toys
OREGON
Oregon
Geography & Climate
Oregon Outdoors
Oregon Taxes
Oregon Golf
Oregon Links
OTHER
Search
Site Map
Feedback
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use Policy
 

 

 

Find a Home
in Portland

Looking for a home to buy?
Use our
Search for Homes Tool

Neighborhood Search
or
Metro Map Search

 

Custom "Oregon Trail" plate - the last "Trail" plate was issued in 2001.

Oregon standard "tree" plate that has been issued since 1989.

This blue-on-yellow baseplate was introduced in 1975 and was issued through 1987 - you still see the plate on a few Oregon vehicles today.

Custom salmon plate.  The extra proceeds from sales are used for the following: Litter Patrol Fund, Governors' Watershed Enhancement Board, and State parks.

1947 Oregon plate.

Custom Crater Lake National Park Centennial plate - released in 2002.  The extra proceeds are distiributed to the Litter Patrol Fund and National Park Foundation.

 

Susan's Online Guide to Portland

Let me Help You Find a Home and a Neighborhood

Welcome to my Web site about the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area.  It's my way of helping you become acquainted with the neighborhoods and communities of the Portland metro area and to inform you about the Portland area housing market. Your comments and suggestions about my Web site are always welcome.

If you have questions or if you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Portland area, contact me online or call me at (503) 497-2984.

Susan Marthens
Principal Real Estate Broker/CRS GRI


Real Estate Market Trends

Real Estate Market Chart by Altos Research www.altosresearch.com Real Estate Market Chart by Altos Research www.altosresearch.com

Case-Shiller numbers show improvement in Portland   July 28 − Portland's residential real estate market did slightly better in May than in prior months, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index released Tuesday. On both a year-over-year and month-to-month basis, Portland showed improvement, according to the newly issued numbers. The Portland index improved 0.7 percent from May 2009 to May 2010, and 1.2 percent in May compared to April. The S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-city index showed considerably more robust activity, posting a 4.6 improvement in May 2010 over May 2009. San Francisco, San Diego and Minneapolis all showed double-digit percentage improvements in May. Officials warned against reading too much into the numbers, saying national housing prices moved mainly sideways over the last 12 months. Plus, the May numbers may be skewed somewhat by a residual impact from the homebuyers' tax credit.  Read more...

Follow the Portland metro area housing market and subscribe to Susan's free monthly newsletter...


Community News

Arkasha Stevenson/The OregonianNovelist, truckers find common ground in Troutdale on literary truck stop tour   July 31 − It's peak dinner time at the Buckhorn Restaurant, and seriously loud. Diners raise their voices over the sizzle, bang and clang of the open kitchen. An intercom occasionally drowns out everything else, and the truckers stop talking, thinking about the next dropoff, or home. It's a scene 67-year-old trucker James Krueger  knows well. Sporting a broad-brimmed cowboy hat and handlebar moustache, he hits the Troutdale TravelCenter of America, and the Buckhorn, every two weeks. On Thursday night the scene changed, and in 40 years on the road Krueger's never seen anything like it. Just after 7 p.m. a woman stood up -- petite, with a fashionable outfit -- holding a book. "I'm Barbara, I'm a novelist, and I'll be reading and chatting with you tonight," she said.   Read more...

Hawthorne Bridge will close to motor vehicles at 5 p.m. Saturday for party    July 31 − The Hawthorne Bridge will be closed to motor vehicles from 5 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday for the PDX Bridge Festival's "LIFT 100: Hawthorne Centennial Party" celebrating the bridge's centennial. TriMet buses will detour to the Morrison Bridge during the closure. The Hawthorne's lift span will be closed to river traffic from 6 p.m. Saturday to midnight.  Read more...

1905 Portland world's fair helps explain slew of centennials today   July 31 − If Portland were a person, you could say the city started shedding adolescence after the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905. The world's fair attracted anywhere from 1.5 million visitors to twice that. Not bad for a city that barely had 100,000 residents at the turn of the century. The fair was supposed to commemorate the centennial of the explorers' stay in Portland, but it turned into a glitzy summerlong celebration of light, technology and commerce. It was the first such celebration held in Western state.  Read more...

News from Portland neighborhoods   July 31 − Kurt Spak, a chef and owner of popular Alba Osteria & Enoteca, is combining history and Italian-style coffees, quiches and panini at his newly opened Caffe Autogrill two doors down at 6446 S.W. Capitol Highway. The two businesses share a nearly century-old building with beauty salon. The structure, known as the Bertha Station complex, was once a popular stop along the Red Electric's train route from Portland to McMinnville in the 1910s and '20s. "I've wanted this space for a long time because I love history and, of course, it's close to our restaurant," Spak said. "I also wanted another reminder of Italy."  Read more...

Cindy Hason/Oregon Coast AquariumOregon Coast Aquarium in Newport presents your new friend, the shark   July 31 − Here's how Brian Fodness calls the sharks at the Oregon Coast Aquarium when it's time to eat: First, he climbs to the top of the tank and turns on the lights. Next, he turns off the water spraying over the top and hooks a plastic "target" over the side. Last, he impales a frozen Pacific Mackerel on a rod, swishes it in the water and yells, "Dinner!" OK, that last part isn't true, but to the sharks swimming below, that's exactly what this ritual says. And it's not long before Miss Piggy, at about 250 to 300 pounds and 7 feet long -- the biggest of the broadnose sevengills -- swoops in for a bite. Next comes Bull, the largest of the male sevengills, followed by a handful of leopard sharks and spiny dogfish, who poke their faces from the water, hoping to sneak off with the meal meant for their bigger tank mates.   Read more...


Home & Health

Portland brothers teach Living Building by example   July 30 − After first targeting the world’s toughest green-building certification for a house being constructed on Southeast Woodward Street in Portland, brothers Dustin and Garrett Moon have now decided the lessons they’ve learned, and hope to teach, are much more important than any certification. In July 2008, with the help of family members, Dustin and Garrett set out on what they believed would be a yearlong process of deconstructing the old house and building a new one in its place. And as the project developed, it looked more and more likely that the home would qualify for Living Building certification. The Living Building Challenge is a three-year-old worldwide certification program that challenges builders to construct structures that produce all of their own energy on-site.   Read more...

CYNTHIA HOVINDThe Heritage Home Tour opens the door to a range of Portland architecture   July 29 − This Saturday, the Architectural Heritage Center hosts a tour of homes sprinkled throughout Portland that show the wide array of architectural styles found in the city's housing stock. The homes showcase work by some of Portland's most notable architects, and offer a peek into the various architectural styles captured through the years. "The makeup of local architecture is as eclectic as that of its people, an amalgam that makes our landscape as unique and diverse as our people make our neighborhoods and communities. This tour is a chance to view some of the more spectacular homes that make our neighborhoods the distinct and interesting treasures they are," says Barbara Pierce, marketing manager for the center.  Read more....


Living Green

Solar manufacturers struggle to meet demand   July 30 − Manufacturers are producing solar modules as fast as they can, but not fast enough to meet demand. Manufacturers and solar installers say demand for modules is increasing because of low prices, new feed-in tariff programs and greater public awareness. Now, some people are predicting that a module supply shortage could be on the horizon. “We are starting to see signs that the pendulum is shifting in the direction of less product,” said Andy Noel, Northwest regional manager for REC Solar, which has an office in Portland. “I am not suggesting that (solar module) prices will be going through the roof. But with more demand and less product, prices could go back up.”  Read more...


Sports and Outdoors

RANDY L. RASMUSSEN/The OregonianVisitors can make like Tarzan at Tree to Tree Adventure Park near Gaston    July 31 − Fifty feet in the air, David Bowles  and his sons swung from tree to tree, navigating a labyrinth of ladders, wobbly bridges, tightropes, tunnels, zip lines and rock walls, without falling once. "You know you're perfectly safe, but you don't want to be the guy dangling from the safety wire 40 to 50 feet in the air if you fall. I tried not to look down," Bowles said. The Bethany resident spent Father's Day with his three sons, ages 16, 18 and 20, at the newly opened Tree to Tree Adventure Park, a five-acre aerial obstacle course woven amidst the trees near Hagg Lake. "There's something for everyone," Bowles said later. "It was a good bonding experience. I don't know if they thought their dad could do it," he added with a laugh. The park grew from an idea Marissa Doyle had three years ago, inspired by a friend's park, Adirondack Extreme, in New York.  Read more...


  • Bookslut  Who among us has not wished for a literary concierge? Someone to tell us, “Read this, skip that”? Fortunately, there’s Bookslut to help us from wading through the drivel.

  • Bright Neighborr  A social networking Web site that helps Portland communities thrive.

  • Burnsider  Stories and pictures from the Burnside Bridge, Portland, Oregon.  The e bloggers live near the bridge and walk across it as part of their commute every day.

  • Documented Lifee  Planet Earth as seen from Portland Oregon.

  • Community & Parents for Public Schools in Portland  They seek to redefine parent and community involvement in Portland Public Schools.

  • Discovering Portland  Two women flee California for Oregon to ask if Portland is the city they've dreamed of.

  • Ever Day is a Miracle  A blog about families, kids, politics and current events, travel, books, and living in Portland.

  • Good Stuff Northwest  Kab is a  writer and designer who loves living in Oregon with its combination of urban style and down-home friendliness. lots of recipes on Kab's blog.

  • Home Ownership  A blog about the "Neighborhood Housing Program" sponsored by the Portland Development Commission.

  • Kids in Portland   This site provides a resource for parents to come together and find out all of the attractions, restaurants, activities, ideas, issues, art, music, for kids in the area.

  • Oregon Fly Fishing  Fishing reports, conservation news, fishing advice, and hot fly patterns.

  • The Oregonian Neighborhoods  Covers Portland metro area neighborhoods and communities.

  • Pat's Blog  Whatever ticks Pat off or tickles his fancy: politics, news and society, music, movies, books, cooking, autism, and anything else bright and shiny in the world of ideas. And Pat does it with humor.

  • PDX.FM  In Portland, the city with quirks, pdx.fm fits in perfectly.

  • Portland Architecture  If you're interested in buildings, this is the site to visit.  RSS feed and newsletter.

  • Portland Blogs  A list of bloggers who call Portland home.

  • Portland Dog Blog  For people who exercise their dog at Portland parks.

  • Portland Housing Blog  Real estate and economic discussions.

  • Portland Metblogs  Written from the perspective of people who live, work, and play in Portland every day.

  • Portland Upside  A volunteer-driven publication that is dedicated to finding and printing the positive stories of the Portland, Oregon, metro area.

  • Radio23  Cascade Community Radio is changing the way we listen to music.

  • Republic of Cascadia  If we Oregonians, Washingtonians and Northern Californians were in charge, what would we do? We'd leave the United States to its own self-created woes and build Ecotopia, our independent utopian society.  Maybe British Columbia would join us.

  • SheSue Experience  Shelley blogs about events, restaurants, attractions, outdoor activities, curiosities and more.

  • Trimet Confidential  A bus driver's story of life behind the wheel.

  • Upper Left Coast  Thoughts on politics, faith, sports and other random topics from a red state sympathizer in indigo-blue Portland, Oregon.

  • Walking in Portland  This blogger walks around Portland with his wife and dogs taking photos and making notes about living in Portland.

  • Oregon Newspapers  Links to over 100 newspapers in Oregon. This includes community weekly papers check out the stories in smaller towns like Astoria and Pendleton.



(866) 368-7878

Susan Marthens
Principal Real Estate Broker
CRS, GRI

(503) 497-2984
Fax (503) 220-1131


6443 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway
Suite 100, Portland, Oregon 97221
(503) 297-1033


© Copyright 2000-2010  All rights reserved
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy policies
If you have comments, write Webmaster

Web by Dasan Design   ●   Telephone (503) 819-0011