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Susan's Online Guide to PortlandLet me Help You Find a Home and a Neighborhood |
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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
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Real Estate Market |
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Portland home buyers out in force, but sellers a no-show in AprilMay 16 − Home buyers were out in force in April, signing more sales contracts than they have since a tax credit spurred a buying frenzy in early 2010. But Portland-area homeowners are still sitting by the sidelines. New listings aren't showing up, leaving would-be buyers fighting over what's on the market. "This is the time of year when we typically see inventory balloon," said Peter G. Clark, a principal broker with Keller Williams in Portland. "They're just not bringing homes on the market. There's a real scramble for the inventory that exists." April home sales numbers released Tuesday by the Regional Multiple Listing Service show a market where demand outpaced supply. That contributed to an increase in the median sales price, a sign of stabilizing home values. The month's median sale price was $225,000, 2.3 percent higher than a year earlier. The average, however, fell 1.8 percent to $262,400. Read more... Needy states using housing aid cash to plug the budgetMay 16 − Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide a little relief to the nation’s struggling homeowners is being diverted to plug state budget gaps. In a budget proposed this week, California joined more than a dozen states that want to help close gaping shortfalls using money paid by the nation’s biggest banks and earmarked for foreclosure prevention, investigations of financial fraud and blunting the ill effects of the housing crisis. California was awarded more than $400 million from the banks, and Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed using the bulk of that sum to pay the state’s debts. Read more... Builders break ground on 2.6 percent more homes in AprilMay 16 − U.S. builders started work on more homes and apartments last month and requested more permits to build single-family homes. The increases suggest the battered housing market is healing. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders broke ground in April at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes. That's a 2.6 percent increase from an upwardly revised March figure and near January's three-year high of 720,000. Construction rose for both single family homes and apartments. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell last month from a 3 ½ year high to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 715,000. But that was because of a 23 percent drop in the volatile apartment category. Permits for single-family homes rose almost 2 percent. Read more... |
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Homes & Health |
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Pearl living at its best
Rummer homes tourMay 16 —“If I could turn back time.” That’s a sentiment Cher sang famously, but most of us have had the feeling at one time or another. Well, the weekend of June 2-3 will be our collective chance to turn back time to the mid-twentieth century with a tour of Rummer Homes and a retro slide show by Americana kitsch-expert Charles Phoenix. The home tour and the slide show provide a double dip into an authentic mid-century style that predates Hipstamatic, Instagram, Mad Men or Dwell magazine. Phoenix’s slide show is chock full of Kodachromes – originals he’s found at thrift stores and yard sales, not smartphone photos digitally altered to look old. The Southern Californian pop culturist will be giving his appreciative, humorous take on favorite mid-century marvels of Americana, including his “Best of Portland” guide of local landmarks, legends and lore. Read more... Zidells unveil first South Waterfront proposal
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News |
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News from the Pacific Northwest Portal
Charlie Hales, Jefferson Smith to runoff for Portland mayor
Devour 2012: Your almanac for edible adventureMay 16 — How to shop at a modern American supermarket: Stick to the edges of the store—the produce, dairy, bulk dry goods and meat and fish departments. That’s where you’ll find whole foods with lower margins and lower prices. Avoid the center aisles of expensive processed foods. Compare the price per ounce on the shelf tags of similar products; larger containers aren’t always cheaper. Read the circulars for deals. It’s worth going out of your way for sales on nonperishable items. Buy store brands, which are a bargain even at Whole Foods and New Seasons. Whenever possible, buy bulk over packaged dry goods. How to shop at the stores in this guide: Walk every aisle. Ask lots of questions. Poke things. Squeeze things. Sniff things. Ask more questions. Make impulse buys. Eat fearlessly. This is the fourth edition of Devour, and it is our most extensive guide yet to Portland’s constellation of specialty markets and food purveyors. It is still far from comprehensive—hardly a week goes by without my spotting some unexplored fishmonger or import store—but there are far more businesses included in these pages than any consumer could reasonably be expected to patronize. Read more... Multnomah County library levy passes easilyMay 16 — In an unexpectedly lopsided vote, Multnomah County voters Tuesday easily approved the renewal of a county library levy for another three years. Voters were supporting the tax levy by more than a 4 to 1 margin after the first batch of 78,000 votes was counted shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. That was more than half the expected total vote in the county. “We didn’t expect this kind of a margin,” said Brian Wilson, campaign chairman. “We thought it would be a sizable win, but we didn’t think it would be this big.” Read more... Promoters of a private casino are betting they have a better story than in 2010
Northwest apple crop looks good so far, if farmers can get it pickedMay 16 — Northwest apple growers expect a bumper crop this year in combination with higher prices. But farmers are worried they won’t have enough workers to pick the apples at peak ripeness. This year -– if nothing huge happens Mother Nature wise -– Northwest growers should be able to ripen a lot of fruit. But there’s been a workers shortage -- in part because of border enforcement. That’s the case in the Washington asparagus harvest right now –- which is usually an indicator for later crops. Jon DeVaney heads the Yakima Valley Growers and Shippers Association. He says leaving apples on trees would be a shame this year, because higher prices are expected. Read more... Pain & gain in Oregon wine countryMay 15 — The sun is starting to peak its head out again and winter-weary athletes who love to run and bike are lacing up their shoes and tuning up their wheels in anticipation of outdoor fun ahead. With the weather finally starting to turn (we hope!), it's a great time to start training for some of the organized rides and runs that you can take advantage of throughout the spring and summer. Three relatively new events held in Willamette Valley wine country offer extra enticements to those looking for opportunities to sweat and suffer with their friends and neighbors. Not only do you get to travel through the rolling hills of some of Oregon's most picturesque vineyards, but when you complete your challenge, you get to toast your hard work and replace all those burned calories with some well-deserved, handcrafted, local wine. Going into its third year, the Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon starts at Stoller Winery in Dayton where runners will make their way past vineyards like Domaine Drouhin, Winter's Hill and Vista Hills. Read more... Portland School Board approves budget that preserves teachers, full school year
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Imagine browsing at Powell's Books, catching a play at Portland Center Stage, people watching, and walking in this vibrant corner of Portland! This and more are possible while living in this light-filled two bedroom/two bathroom unit at The Pinnacle, situated in a quiet corner of the Pearl. You will be steps away from parks, shops, cafes, restaurants, galleries, and the Street Car. You can read the paper, have morning coffee, or afternoon treats while enjoying your northeast view of the river and Mount St. Helens. Unit includes deeded parking space and deeded storage space. Walk to three parks: 
May 16 — A day after adding to its developable property portfolio, the Zidell family has revealed its first South Waterfront commercial real estate project. ZRZ Realty is proposing a seven-story mixed-use apartment project for its lot at the corner of Southwest Moody Street and Grover Street. The 118-unit building would seek to attract 
May 16 — Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith swept past Eileen Brady in Tuesday's primary for Portland mayor, advancing to a runoff in the November general election in one of the most expensive and competitive races in city history. The results marked a stunning turnaround for Brady, who raised almost $1.2 million in her first bid for elected office, far more than Hales or Smith. She was the front-runner for months before losing steam in the past two weeks as Smith surged. Tuesday's statewide primary also saw voters eject two incumbent state lawmakers, choose retired judge Ellen Rosenblum as the Democratic nominee for attorney general and approve tax measures for David Douglas schools and Multnomah County libraries. Statewide, turnout appeared to be below 40 percent, making it the worst turnout for a presidential primary in modern state elections history. In Multnomah County, about 31 percent of eligible voters cast ballots. In the hotly contested mayoral race -- 23 candidates were on the ballot, but only Hales, Smith and Brady were considered contenders -- Hales attracted the most votes from the get-go. At 10:30 p.m., he had 38 percent of the vote, compared with 29 percent for Smith and 24 percent for Brady. 
May 16 — If insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result, the people behind a proposal to develop a private casino in Wood Village might seem a little crazy.After all, voters in 2010 crushed their plan to build the state’s first private casino on the site of a defunct dog track in Wood Village, despite the backers spending $2.3 million on their campaign. But the same proponents—Bruce Studer and Matt Rossman of Lake Oswego—are back. They are again financed by Clairvest, a Canadian investment firm that specializes in gambling. And they’re pushing a proposal that is broadly similar to their 2010 measure, which failed 68 percent to 32 percent. So what’s different in 2012?
May 15 — Drawing on $5 million from the city of Portland and concessions from teachers and administrators, the Portland School Board approved a patched-together budget that preserves teachers' jobs and pays for a full 173-day school year next year. The vote was unanimous. Total spending is set to be $434 million for 2012-12, down $2 million from the current budget. Teachers agreed to accept a half-year delay in their promised raises, and employees at the district headquarters will endure 10 furlough days, cutting their pay about 5 percent. Dozens of central office workers will be laid off, and planned textbook and technology updates won't happen. But, while neighboring Beaverton continues to look at cutting more than 300 jobs from its schools, Portland Superintendent Carole Smith was able to withdraw her plan to cut 110 teachers for the fall. Drawing on another set of donations from outside charities and government agencies brokered by a volunteer group, Smith also found a way to preserve a three-day Outdoor School program for next year's sixth-graders. "I am so grateful," said school board member Bobbie Regan, thanking the teachers union, central office employees and principals who have gone without raises for five year and Mayor Sam Adams and the City Council. 