Oh, those pesky derivates and toxic assets. When the real estate bubble burst, derivatives and toxic assets became the problem that wouldn’t go away. These two trouble makers have expanded in numbers and they continue to pose complications that threaten the recovery of the entire global economic system. But what exactly are derivatives and toxic assets and how do we get them under control? Their definitions are easy compared to the second question; how do we get them under control? The answer to this question is at the heart of any successful plan for economic recovery whether we are talking about a recovery in the Grants Pass real estate market, the Southern Oregon real estate market, or the national economy. Continue reading DERIVATIVES, TOXIC ASSETS, AND THE SOUTHERN OREGON REAL ESTATE MARKET, Part I

Fly fishing is nothing more than using an artificial fly for a lure to catch fish. Investment in the Grants Pass real estate market is nothing more than using your money to buy a great bargain. Along the way, both the fisherman and the real estate investor must acquire skill, patience, and perseverance. And with a little luck, a fisherman will find a fly fishing home in Oregon.

One of the first things a fly fisherman looks for is that spot in the river where the fish thrive and feed. For the fisherman, it’s all about finding the right location. The Grants Pass home buyer also looks for the same thing — location, location, location. The fisherman and the home buyer both strive to cast their lines into waters that will bring them a return. For the sportsman, the return is a fish. For the real estate investor, the return is the security of their investment. And so the search for a fly fishing home in Oregon is the perfect combination of sport and habitat. Continue reading Fly Fishing, Zen, and the Grants Pass Real Estate Market

Food, clothing, and shelter have long been recognized as the three basic fundamentals for survival since the earliest days of mankind’s march from Cave Dweller to Modern Man. It was always believed that one could always make a decent living by being a provider in one of the big three — food, clothing, or shelter. It remains true that today in Southern Oregon communities like Grants Pass and Medford there are fortunes to be made by working in the food industry, the clothing industry, or the real estate business. But there is one key difference that makes real estate different whether that real estate is in Grants Pass or Medford or anywhere else in the United States. Security in real estate investment has always been a much broader based investment for the general population than either the food business or the clothing industry.

Homeowners of Southern Oregon real estate recognize that real estate has in the past been one of the principle venues for attaining wealth and security. For them, investment in real estate as historically grown and Southern Oregon homeowners are keenly aware of this fact. Throughout the Rogue Valley and across America in communities similar to Grants Pass, Medford, Rogue River, and Ashland, the drop in real estate values as led to an unanticipated financial crisis of global proportions.

Survival in today’s world requires diversification. As an investor in these treacherous days of financial crisis, food and clothing may remain important components for survival particularly in third world countries, but they pale as a source of financial security and investment. In the United States, Southern Oregon real estate remains, by its nature, one of the most desirable places in the nation to live. Sale statistics continue to indicate that more people, particularly Californians, intend to move to Southern Oregon once they sell their out-of-state home. Grants Pass and Medford areas are favorite destinations, but all of Southern Oregon seems to benefit from this migration. With prices at historic lows relative to their high peak in 2005, and with interest rates plummeting in order to stimulate spending, Southern Oregon real estate looks better than ever. Perhaps the ultimate investment in Southern Oregon real estate is the purchase of a farm that produces crops like corn and wheat for food production and cotton for sale to the clothing industry. And a cozy home tucked somewhere in Southern Oregon remains the proverbial nest egg.

Michael Masters

A Socially Conscious Real Estate Consultant

It is my belief that one of the basic fundamental needs of all humans is the need to feel connected, the need to love and be loved, the need to belong. It is the reason we’re nurtured as newborns, the reason we’re elated on our wedding day, and the reason we seek security in the place we call home. As a Socially Conscious Realtor in Grants Pass I understand that need to feel connected. I understand that home owners purchase property in neighborhoods that they connect with in order to form friendships, participate in local schools, and foster a sense of belonging to a community. And so I try to treat every one I encounter in my career as a realtor with a respectful validation of that fundamental need to feel connected.

But sometimes the need to feel connected runs head on into the tough love of separation. Newborns are ultimately weaned from their mothers. Marriages sometimes end in divorce. Families change, grow, and move on to new neighborhoods. And these days, a dramatic number of homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure. As a socially conscious realtor I recognize the powerful emotions involved in the dramatic events that influence people’s lives. I also recognize the power of tough love and the need to wield it delicately.

Tough love is helping someone to do the right thing even when it’s painful. Tough love in real estate occurs when Continue reading The Socially Conscious Realtor in Grants Pass and the Need to Feel Connected

During my career as a socially conscious real estate broker in Southern Oregon, I have seen many buyers, sellers and agents all approaching the home buying process with both enthusiasm or fear based on where they are in the process. Most have a lot more sobriety about what they are doing these days then a few years ago. In that era, greed was clearly a major factor in every part of the market. The greed is gone in most cases and now people get to make thoughtful decisions which include buying for the long term.

That’s a blessing as well since I know that these buyers won’t have unrealistic expectations. When I sell Grants Pass real estate I try to set the realistic expectation that a home is not a piggy bank. Instead we create a vision that a home is a CD that needs to be left to mature. Homes bought and financed that way are more likely to be a refuge of happiness rather than a point of stress and regret.

I heard a friend tell me yesterday that to him, a house is more than an investment, or sticks and Continue reading Southern Oregon Real Estate Market Reveals Blessings Amidst the Economic Crisis: Part 2

It is my belief that one of the basic fundamental needs of all humans is the need to feel connected, the need to love and be loved, the need to belong. It is the reason we’re nurtured as newborns, the reason we’re elated on our wedding day, and the reason we seek security in the place we call home. As a Socially Conscious Realtor in Grants Pass I understand that need to feel connected. I understand that home owners purchase property in neighborhoods that they connect with in order to form friendships, participate in local schools, and foster a sense of belonging to a community. And so I try to treat every one I encounter in my career as a realtor with a respectful validation of that fundamental need to feel connected.
But sometimes the need to feel connected runs head on into the tough love of separation. Newborns are ultimately weaned from their mothers. Marriages sometimes end in divorce. Families change, grow, and move on to new neighborhoods. And these days, a dramatic number of homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosure. As a socially conscious realtor I recognize the powerful emotions involved in the dramatic events that influence people’s lives. I also recognize the power of tough love and the need to wield it delicately.
Tough love is helping someone to do the right thing even when it’s painful. Tough love in real estate occurs when Continue reading The Socially Conscious Realtor in Grants Pass and the Need to Feel Connected

I have been in the real estate business in Southern Oregon for nearly 29 years. In that time, I’ve enjoyed watching many success stories of both homebuyers and sellers. It has been a great blessing to facilitate many young couples in buying their first homes in Southern Oregon.

I’ve kept in touch with them and always rejoiced at the news of the arrival of a child by these new home owners. Often, most started a family while others added to their families as they settle into their new accommodations. Over time, I’ve kept in touch and seen these families grow up in their Grants Pass or Medford homes, gaining both equity and responsibility. Years later, I’ve resold many of these same starter homes to other young couples and helped the now seasoned owners move up to bigger and better Southern Oregon properties. That is the way that it has worked for most folks from generation to generation here in the Southern Oregon and Grants Pass real estate business.

That’s part of the great legacy of America that an average middle class person could afford to buy a home. That same scenario has played out not just in the Southern Oregon real estate market, but millions of times all across America over the past 10 generations or more, and it is the largest part of why we are so wealthy as a nation. I have had the privilege to make it happen well over a thousand times in my Southern Oregon and Grants Pass real estate career. So it’s easy to understand the collective sadness being felt Continue reading Southern Oregon Real Estate Market Reveals Blessings Amidst the Economic Crisis: Part 1