I’ve been blogging for months now about the Southern Oregon housing market recovery by focusing on Grants Pass real estate and Medford real estate, as well as homes throughout the rest of the country. Now there is evidence both from my personal sales in the Southern Oregon real estate market and from the Case Shiller home price index that we’ve finally turned a corner.

It seems that 15 of the top 20 markets in the country have seen either price increases or no declines at all for the month of May. In some of my previous blogs, I wrote that the bottom of the housing market was June 2009. Interestingly, Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money feels the same way. Admittedly, we’ve all been wrong before but on his July 28th show Jim told his viewers that those who wait for evidence of a turnaround in the housing or stock markets will be missing out on the great buying opportunities.

Now, to be fair, Jim actually called the bottom of the market in Continue reading Grants Pass Real Estate, Medford Real Estate, and the Southern Oregon Housing Market Recovery

As many of you already know, the Southern Oregon real estate market is dependent on the California real estate market for much of its activity. In Grants Pass and Medford, California has always been regarded as their largest “feeder” market, driven by Baby Boomers seeking retirement.

So when sales in California began to tank back in 2006, the Grants Pass, Medford, and Southern Oregon real estate markets tanked right along with them. Now comes the latest news regarding the recovery of the California real estate market.

Sales statistics indicate that California may finally be coming out of its economic tailspin. Statistics show that Continue reading The Grants Pass, Medford, and Southern Oregon Real Estate Market Recovery and the California Real Estate Market

The economic indicators for national and local real estate markets are mixed these days. At the national level for January, 2009, home prices plunged by 19% from a year ago in 20 of the largest cities in America. However, while the Grants Pass, Medford, and Southern Oregon real estate markets have experienced a drop in prices compared with prices from a year ago, the price drops have not been nearly as severe as in the large metropolitan areas.

The price drops for both the national and the local markets are directly related to the inflated inventory of foreclosures, unsold homes, and the forces of supply and demand. Meanwhile, over the last 2 months, applications for refinancing have surged, and for the month of February, the number of pending sales nationwide is up compared with a year ago.

These mixed statistical messages suggest Continue reading The Latest Economic Indicators for the Grants Pass, Medford and Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

I’ve been selling Southern Oregon real estate now for nearly 30 years. Over that span of time I’ve been asked to list and sell many businesses and companies here in the Grants Pass and Medford areas. The first question I inevitably ask is “Are you making money?”

If a company is for sale and it is not turning a profit the next questions are always “Then what are we selling and why should anyone buy it?” Consider the obvious —-everyone wants to sell their business when it’s not profitable. That’s a lot easier choice than staying in it and restructuring to get it in the black. I always tell my clients that If you have a business enterprise that is not turning a profit or if it is making a profit that is about what you would be paid if you had a job doing the same thing then forget about selling it —- Liquidate it! That’s tough advice but the truth is a lot easier than giving someone the false hope of an entitlement to money that they’re never going to receive.

No matter where you live, if you ever find yourself in such a situation then you’ll have the same easy choice to liquidate, take your losses and go do something else, or the more difficult choice of staying in and restructuring. That may mean borrowing some money and then reinventing your company to make it profitable. I’ve seen the previous scenario play itself out dozens of times over the years in my Grants Pass real estate business, and with my social conscience I find it a lot easier to tell someone that their business is really no more than a pool of assets costing them money to run every month.

I always recommend that they go back to the basics and get their flawed business model repaired and made profitable. It then becomes very simple to sell a business that’s making money. At that point most don’t want to sell except for retirement. I want to draw a comparison here between unsuccessful businesses with flawed or outdated business models and our current economic situation here in America.

Not so long ago, we were the economic engine of the world. We were the envy of all other countries for our modern business practices, our progressive labor laws, and our tax structure. In short, we did almost everything right and as a result Continue reading Selling Southern Oregon, Restructering America, and a Return to Economic Prosperity, Part I

Here’s an update on home sales, foreclosures, and short sales in Grants Pass, Medford, and the Southern Oregon real estate market. The real estate market in Southern Oregon is traditionally slow during the winter months and this winter was no exception. After a brief flurry of sales in December and January when the 30 year mortgage rates dipped for a time to the low 4% range, sales in Grants Pass and Southern Oregon slowed to a rate seen in past recessions which is about half the amount seen during the housing bubble. Overall, prices have dropped an average of 25% or more since the peak year of 2005. Sales in the Southern Oregon real estate market are slow in all price ranges and types of properties. The two bright spots in sales numbers are short sales and foreclosures and statistics bear that out.

Of all the homes sold in Josephine County between December 1, 2008, through Feb. 27, 2009, 131 of the closed sales were single-family homes. Of these, 66 were either short sales or foreclosures. This number represents 50% of all sales and is actually a lower percentage of sales than we have seen of late. Some of the factors behind the drop in foreclosures and short sales may be because of the moratorium that was placed on foreclosures and evictions by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Countrywide, Bank of America, and Citibank. This moratorium on foreclosures and evictions Continue reading Home Sales, Foreclosures, and Short Sales for Grants Pass, Medford, and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

There’s nothing like a recession to make you count your money, or what’s left of it. And if you’ve got your eye on retirement, well… you’ll be counting every dollar. For those who’ve had a dream of retiring in Southern Oregon and owning real estate in Grants Pass, Medford or Ashland, that dwindling amount of cash must be spent wisely. The good news is that it now appears to be a time for action if you want to buy a reasonably priced home in Southern Oregon.

In 2004, Time magazine declared Grants Pass in Southern Oregon to be one of the top ten towns in the United States to retire. Some of the reasons behind the attraction of the Grants Pass real estate market cited in the Newsweek article were affordability, recreation, the clean environment of Southern Oregon, and low taxes. With 70 million-plus Baby Boomers perched to retire, Grants Pass and surrounding communities became a retirement destination and the Southern Oregon land rush surged to new heights. With tens of thousands of new home buyers in Grants Pass, Medford, Rogue River and Ashland, real estate prices rose to record highs as Boomers grabbed for their retirement dream homes before it was too late. The prevailing attitude was to buy property before the prices rose even higher — and then the bubble burst and the party ended with a resounding thud. But not for everyone.

Reviewing the bottom line, the reasons for choosing a retirement home in Southern Oregon communities like Grants Pass, Medford, Rogue River or Ashland hasn’t changed. All the positive factors remain. It is still a great place to live with a clean environment, lots of recreation and low taxes. And now with interest rates dropping and an expanded inventory of homes due to short sales and foreclosures, the attractiveness of Rogue Valley real estate Continue reading Grants Pass and Southern Oregon Real Estate Owners and Retirees Rethink Their Options