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July 2003 Newsletter
by Susan Marthens
Contributors Gail Mann and Teresa Kirsch
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In This Issue
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Portland Home Market - May 2003 Residential Highlights
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Cost of Residential Homes in the Portland Metro Area for Mayl 2003
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Long-Term Mortgage Rates
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Portland Weather
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Portland Blogs
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Buying Your First Home
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A P.S. For Those Who Read the Entire Newsletter
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Portland Home Market
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May 2003 Residential Highlights
New listings were cropping up almost as much as May flowers last month. The number of properties listed during May 2003 well exceeded the number listed in May 2002 (by 18.8%). Not only that, but May 2003 was the first month RMLS™ has ever recorded more than 5,000 new listings. Certainly sellers are primed and ready for the summer season, and it seems buyers are as well. Pending sales broke the 3,000 mark for the first time, closing out the month 8.7% ahead of May 2002. Closed sales stayed nearer familiar territory, but still climbed 0.9% from May 2002.
At May’s rate of sales, the 10,299 active residential listings at month’s end would supply inventory for only 4 months.
Year-to-Date Trends
Listing indicators are all showing substantial growth in the area’s residential real-estate market this year. New listings since January are up 5.6% compared to the same time period last year. Already 899 additional pending sales have been recorded—an increase of 7.1% over January-May 2002. Closed sales, like the rest, are more numerous—up by 5.2%.
Appreciation
Along with rising market statistics are rising prices. Average sale price during the last 12 months is up 5.2% from the 12 months preceding them ($214,200 v. $203,700). At the same time, median sale price is up 5.3% ($180,000 v. $171,000).
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Cost of Residential Homes in the Portland Metro Area
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For Period May 2003 |
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Area
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*RESIDENTIAL |
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| Current Month |
Year-To-Date
For Period Ended May 2003 |
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Average
Sales
Price
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Average
Sales
Price |
Median
Sales
Price |
Percent
Appreciated
**See note
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Portland |
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North
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159,600 |
152,800 |
146,000 |
6.4%
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Northeast
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207,100 |
203,100 |
175,000 |
5.7%
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Southeast |
183,100 |
179,000 |
159,500 |
7.9% |
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West
(Includes SW and NW Portland and part of Washington County) |
328,100 |
314,100 |
255,000 |
9.4% |
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Other Areas |
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Corbett, Gresham, Sandy, Troutdale |
188,900 |
181,900 |
167,000 |
2.3% |
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Clackamas, Milwaukie, Gladstone, Sunnyside |
212,200 |
209,000 |
186,500 |
7.0% |
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Canby, Beavercreek, Molalla, Mulino, Oregon City |
220,500 |
207,200 |
189,500 |
5.2% |
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Lake Oswego and West Linn |
328,600 |
307,900 |
257,000 |
5.5% |
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Northwest Washington County or Sauvie Island |
291,000 |
285,800 |
253,500 |
3.4% |
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Beaverton and Aloha |
188,500 |
194,400 |
173,500 |
3.0% |
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Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Wilsonville |
231,400 |
239,500 |
219,500 |
6.1% |
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Hillsboro and Forest Grove |
197,200 |
195,400 |
177,700 |
4.5% |
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Mt. Hood: Brightwood, Government Camp, Rhododendron, Welches, Wemme, ZigZag |
172,300 |
158,500 |
148,500 |
-5.9% |
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*Residential includes detached single-family houses, townhomes, condos, and plexes with four (4) or less living units.
**Appreciation percents based on a comparison of average price for the last 12 months with 12 months before (6/1/02 - 5/31/03 with 6/1/01 - /31/02)
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Rates Back to Mid-May Levels
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July 3, 2003
In Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.40 percent, with an average 0.5 point, for the week ending July 4, 2003, up from 5.24 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.57 percent.
The average for the 15-year FRM this week is 4.75 percent, with an average 0.5 point, up from last week’s average of 4.63 percent. A year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.03 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 3.49 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, slightly up from last week’s average of 3.45 percent. At this time last year, the one-year ARM averaged 4.58 percent.
(Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total cost of obtaining the mortgage.)
“Mortgage rates are back to the same level as they were in mid-May this year, with the exception of the 1-year ARM. Last week’s Federal Reserve Board’s policy statement led financial markets to expect that the economy should begin to pickup soon, and that caused bond yields to rise pretty steadily over the last number of days,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
“Given the current level of rates for fixed-rate mortgages, ARMs should look more attractive to homebuyers. For instance, a family can trim up to 2 percentage points off of their rate by taking out a one-year ARM,” added Nothaft.
Portland Area Mortgage Rates
In early July, Washington Mutual Bank was offering 5.50 percent for a 30-year FRM (APR of 5.53 percent) with zero points. Another lender, US Bank's rate in late May was 5.75 for a 30-year FRM (APR OF 5.83 percent). Both of these rates are for a $150,000 loan with 20% down.
You can learn more about mortgages by visiting Professor Guttentag Web site.
To check on local mortgage rates go to Bankrate.
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Portland Weather
Tracking the Moisture and Sunshine
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Water Year: October 1 - September 30
Portland's rainfall is measured according to the "water year" which is from October 1 through the end of September. Since we receive only a few inches in the summer months, the rain months are from October through May. Almost half of Portland's annual rainfall falls in November, December, and January. Our average water year precipitation is about 40 inches.
Water Year: Measurements From Portland Airport Weather Station
Water Year
(Oct 1 - Sep 30) |
Average
Precipitation
(inches) |
Actual
Precipitation
(inches) |
| Year-To-Date |
33.66
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33.71
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| October |
2.88
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.63
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| November |
5.61
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1.89
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| December |
5.71
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8.00
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| January |
5.07
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7.45
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| February |
4.18
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2.36
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| March |
3.71
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5.74
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| April |
2.64
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4.37
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| May |
2.38
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1.49
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| June |
1.48
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1.57
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June's Last Week Bring on Summer
The first week in June set records for high temperatures (mid 90s) and we thought summer has arrived early. But it didn't last and June turned into a typical month with many cloudy/cool days. Then the last week of June, summer caught up with Portland and the days turned warm and sunny.
Portland had six days in June when the temperature reached or exceeded 90 degrees, and four of those days broke high temperature records.
A typical summer day starts with a haze and by mid-morning, the sun is up and bright. Humidity is just enough to keep things pleasant without it being uncomfortable, usually in the low 40s. According to Raymond Hatton, co-author of The Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes, (Oregon State University Press), the maximum temperatures in July and August in Portland are about five degrees higher than in June and September.
One of my recent clients, who moved to Portland from Houston at the end of June, commented in early July that his two children spend most of their days outdoors. In Houston, they stayed indoors with the AC running full blast.
Rain in the Summer
We were in the mid-West the first part of July and experienced numerous thunderstorms where is rain 1-2 inches in minutes. In Portland, we may get the same amount of rain in July but it will take a steady rain for 3-4 days in order to hit the 2-inch mark.
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Portland Blogs
by David Nackerud, Webmaster for movingtoportland.net
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Since 95% of the subscribers to the "Moving To Portland" (MTP) newsletter are from out-of-state and always looking for information about Portland, we though we would lead them to a new source of information; Oregon and Portland-based blogs.
What is a Blog
I'm certain most of the MTP newsletter readers know more about blogs than I do but we'll give a brief introduction to blogs in case we have readers who have never tried a blog.
A blog is an online journal that details one's experiences. It is the personal made public. It's a new way to communicate, and it's catching on fast. The classic blog is fairly simple: a regularly updated Web page, with the most recent content at the top of the page, and each entry is date-stamped.
Blogs started in the aftermath of 9-11, when many New Yorkers living and working around the World Trade Center started keeping online journals that detailed their experiences. The combination of personal introspection and eyewitness accounts in these blogs drew millions of readers.
Types of Blogs
Blogs usually take the form of a notebook, which tends to feel like a journal or dairy, with essay-size entries. People interested in getting the word out about their situations like to write these, and major news organizations are starting to cite them as sources in stores, or at least as indicators of certain trends.
Another type of blog is the filter, which starts with a hypertext link to another page. Then the blog writer posts an opinion of the linked materials, which can be anything from a short tip of the hat to a long, angry treatise.
As a Web designer, I find that many of the blogs have appealing and interesting designs. I enjoy viewing the layout more than the actual content (i.e., words). We have many creative people in our fair city.
Oregon-Based Blogs
Below are some Web sites that track blogs by the state of Oregon. These sites are the
- ORblogs is a site devoted to keeping a list of links to weblogs written by people who live in the state of Oregon, USA. You can sort this one by where the bloggers reside (city) within Oregon.
- AboutItAll has 30-plus blog writers from Oregon.
- EatonWeb Portal has a couple of things going for it. First, it has a "clean look" to it. Secondly, you can read a few words about the blogs before deciding to enter. This portal seems to catered to the more literate blog writers.
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Planning for Your First House
August 2003 - Finding a Home to Buy. September 2003 - Remodeling a Home.
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In the June 2003 issue of the newsletter, we covered "home financing" and in this issue, we had planned to talk about about how to find a home but time has run out so we will delay this topic until the August issue. Topics to be discussed in August are scouting neighborhoods, making an offer, and home inspections. In September the subject is home renovation.
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A P.S. for Those Who Read the Entire Newsletter
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When we were driving back from a family reunion in early July, we stopped in South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore (it was fogged in during our last try). We went up the the park one early morning and walked through the column of state flags. We noticed a man taking a photo of the Oregon flag. While I walked on to see the carvings, my husband started talking to him, asking if he was from Oregon. Turns out that he was from Oregon, had lived numerous places in the USA during the last few years for medical school and work, and was moving back to Oregon.
I don't know how the subject of real estate came up, though my husband was in marketing years ago, but it seems that this young doctor had been studying up on Portland by following my Web site at movingtoportland.net. He especially liked the "average prices of homes" information in the neighborhoods pages. What fun! He made me feel like a celebrity!
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