Have you noticed the increase in new construction starts? It's certainly a good sign. Increasingly, my clients are wanting to compare resale homes with new homes. It was not even six months ago that I was showing buyers new homes and there was good inventory of completed homes. With the increased demand , be prepared look at a model home and choose a location that is in the framing stage. You could have a 4 month or longer wait to move in to your new home.
Wendy Culverwell wrote in the Business Journal:
New home sales account for about eight percent of the market, compared to five percent at the market low. New construction had claimed 16 percent of the market share in the mid-1980s and as much as 12 percent as recently as 2003, according to…
New construction has been down in the last couple of years, but recently there has been an increase in new home sales. This is great news for the home building industry in the Portland metro area. In previous years, new construction sales have been 5% of the market and in 2012 it has increased by 3%. According to the Regional Multiple Listing there have been 10,802 closed sales through June 2012. Another great indication of the increase of new home construction is the amount of permits that have been pulled. The Construction Monitor reports that there has been 2,426 permits pulled in the Portland Metro area which includes Salem, Vancouver and Portland. The amount of permits accounts to approximate $574.8 million total combined value.
Vancouver’s home resale inventories have decreased slightly. Distressed properties, such as foreclosures and short sales remained almost the same in September. The median listing price in Vancouver went up from August to September. There was a total of 90 price increases and 324 price decreases. Now is the time to buy. With the change of seasons upon us and school starting, sellers are anxious to sell before the cold winter weather hits us and would also like to be moved before the Holidays are here. So…if you have thought of buying, contact Sandy now for a list of properties. Also, this is a great time to sell! The off seasons bring out the serious buyers!
Clark County real estate activity showed some improvement when comparing July 2012 to the same time period in 2011. Offers increased 3.0% comparing with July this year and last dropped 11.2% from the previous month this year. The pending sales numbers are the highest since 2009 for the month of July. Sales increased 6.5% since July 2011 and a 1.5% increase compared to June 2012. Year-to-date closings have increased 5.3% when comparing the first seven months of 2012 to 2011. July also Inventory in months is unchanged from the previous month and is holding steady. At the July rate of sales, the active listing count of 2,628 would be exhausted in 5.4 months. This continues to be the lowest inventory in Clark County since June 2006 when it was 4.7. Sale Prices Home sale prices…
The University of Oregon Ducks have set off in pursuit of another Pac-12 title in 2012. It started when they beat Arkansas State on September 1. If you aren't a fan yet, it’s time to become one.
If you watched the Ducks play in the 2012 Rose Bowl, you saw a great win.
Few outside of the immediate area paid much attention to the Oregon Ducks until recently. Now that the team is playing consistently great football, the rest of the football world has taken notice.
Oregon's program is cutting edge, and there is every indication that the most exciting football in the country will continue to be played by the Oregon Ducks.
