In my last post, I wrote about the need for hope and patience during the difficult economic times we face both nationwide and in the Southern Oregon real estate market. Whenever there is a need for patience, you can almost guarantee there is a hearty dose of impatience lurking nearby. And it is at times like this when the concept of “tough love” needs to be revisited.

Part of our challenge in hanging onto hope as we await improvements in the real estate markets is that we need to quell our anger and frustration at the events that created the difficult situation we find ourselves in. Often, the immediate inclination is to find someone or something to blame. It is much easier to Continue reading Hope, Tough Love, and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

As we find ourselves moving through what is turning out to be the Great Recession, a stirring clarity is beginning to form about the financial recovery for both our local communities and the global community as well. The world, it seems, has averted a horrific global depression that would have seen global political destabilization. Instead, we have all come to experience more than just a tightening of the belt, but a recognition that the key to recovery for the Southern Oregon real estate market lies in a strong dose of patience and an even stronger belief in hope.

According to the dictionary, hope is Continue reading Hope, Patience, and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

These days, the sale of vacation homes in the Southern Oregon real estate market has slowed considerably given the overall difficulties in the real estate market at large. Second homes, Investment homes, and Vacation homes have primarily been considered a “discretionary” purchase and when the belt tightens, the vacation home is one of the first purchases to fall by the way side. Yet despite the slide in the number of second home purchases, economists continue to believe that projected demographic trends for the future point to increased sales in the coming years. And for Baby Boomers who are fast approaching retirement age, a vacation home in the Southern Oregon real estate market is a powerful lure.

As the market recovers, the demand for a vacation home will increase as the Baby Boomers choose to spend their accumulated wealth in the pursuit of the good life in their golden years. One of the major questions the Boomers will ask themselves is Continue reading Vacation Homes and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

At our June 4th office meeting for ERA Prestige Homes in Grants Pass, we were visited by two loan officers from the newly opened branch of Golf Savings Bank, formally Sterling Bank. The visitors were Rachelle McMahan and Kelly Rankin-Trapp, Golf Savings Bank loan officers, and they served as a reminder to us in attendance about the tools available to assist in the Southern Oregon real estate recovery.

As they spoke about their bank and their lending programs, I was reminded that when the Southern Oregon real estate market recovers, Continue reading Golf Savings Bank and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Recovery

Once again, there is good news and bad news to mull over as we patiently await the coming recovery in Southern Oregon real estate market. The good news is that permits and actual starts for single-family new home construction went up nationally by 3.6% in the month of April when compared with March. The bad news is that the same number is down by 80% compared to the high-water mark in January of 2006. But improvement, like time itself, marches on. And for that there is joy not only in Mudville but in the entire Southern Oregon real estate market.

It has been my recent experience that out-of-work contractors in the Southern Oregon real estate market who specialize in new home construction are making transitions, either to Continue reading New Home Construction and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

In a previous blog about Going Green in the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market, I pointed out the benefits of purchasing premium high-efficiency appliances and having the State of Oregon help you to pay for them. This blog focuses on the key elements of heating and cooling and the applicable tax credits from the State of Oregon.

Studies show that gaps, leaks, and holes in heating and cooling ductwork can account for as high as 25 percent of either heating or cooling loss, depending on the season. The Department of Energy for the State of Oregon offers a tax credit of up to 25 percent of the eligible cost with a cap of $250 for well-designed and sealed ductwork in new homes or for ductwork improvements made in existing homes in the Southern Oregon real estate market. If you’re going green, Continue reading Heating, Cooling, and Going Green in the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

There’s nothing like good news even if it is in small increments. For the month of March, pending home sales nationwide showed a gain of 3.2% over February. This gain is the 2nd consecutive increase in pending sales and it may signal the start of an economic recovery in the housing sector for the nation and the Southern Oregon real estate market. This increase may also explained by the first-time homebuyers tax credit of up to $8000 that has motivated some buyers to get off the fence and finally make a contractual commitment to buy.

Additionally, on May 4th, there was a show of support from the Stock Markets driven by the better-than-expected data from the housing market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Continue reading The Southern Oregon Real Estate Market Recovery

My last post promised more information about going green and earning Oregon tax credits, but recent real estate news compels me to write about the latest information from the Standard and Poor’s/Case Shiller index.After 16 months of continuous declines in the national average for home prices of single family homes in the top 20 U.S. real estate markets, the declines have finally ceased. While admittedly the Southern Oregon real estate market is not in the top 20, San Francisco is and the San Francisco area is Southern Oregon’s primary feeder market.

For the last 3 years, homeowners and real estate investors have been asking the same question… Continue reading Home Prices and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market