Featured Home in Southwood Park

62nd-parkAre you wanting to enroll your children in the Lake Oswego School District, but are concerned about finding a home that is large enough, that you can also afford?  Look no further.  A home that fits this profile has come onto the market.

Southwood Park

The Southwood Park neighborhood is actually an area of unincorporated Clackamas County.  It is just North of Westlake and just West of Mountain Park.  The street boundaries are Kruse Ridge Dr to the North, Sierra Vista/Twin Creek to the East, Pamela to the South and I-5 to the West.  At the South end is Southwood Park, a City of Lake Oswego Park with 2.5 acres of woods and grassy open areas.

Because it is an unincorporated part of Clackamas County, it tends to have lower property taxes.  But because it is in the Lake Oswego School District, it is highly desirable and popular for all manner of families.  One important note:  not all houses in Southwood Park are in the LO School District.  At the North end some homes are in the Portland School District.  So be sure to confirm the school attendance for the home you are interested in.

You should also be aware that it has extremely easy access to I-5, Hwy 217 and the Kruse Way business community.  It is also close enough to Portland Community College Sylvania Campus that the school can be accessed via trails on foot or on bike.

As for real estate, when I think of Southwood Park, I think of great value for the dollar that you spend.  An excellent example of this is in today’s Featured Property:  13638 SW 62nd.

62nd-front2Featured Home

This new listing has 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths.  With2268 square feet, it also has a formal living room and 2 family rooms, all of which have either got a wood burning fireplace or a wood stove.  The roof was replaced in 1998 with a 50-year metal roof.  The windows were replaced in 2003, the deck in 2007, and the gutters in 2008.  This summer the house has been totally repainted both inside and out.  The lot is about 7000 square feet and is extremely private with mature landscaping.  It sits just a short distance from Southwood Park.

I have confirmed that this home is located within the Lake Oswego School District.  The elementary school is Oak Creek, the junior high is Lake Oswego Junior High School, and the high school is Lake Oswego High School.

Think about all of that space with lots of bedrooms and plenty of living areas.  That’s a nice big house that could easily house 4 to 6 people.  And the list price is just $319,900!  It is just a great home for the money.  Please let me know if you have any interest in further information.  I’d be happy to send you a copy of the listing or to arrange for you to see the interior.   E-mail me at jdgregoire@earthlink.net .

If you’d like to do a drive through the neighborhood, feel free to take a swing past this house.  From Kruse Way in Lake Oswego go North on Westlake Dr.  Turn West on Southwood Dr and then left again on SW 62nd.  The house is all the way down the street, on your left, near the park:  13638 SW 62nd Ave.

Happy house hunting,

Dianne

Market Activity for June 29th to July 5th, 2009

Even with the long, holiday weekend, last week’s real estate activity in Lake Oswego was fairly strong. There were 17 new listings, 7 pending sales, and 14 closed sales.

Here is the latest market activity for Lake Oswego (see below the tables for additional notes):

NEWLY LISTED (June 29—July 5, 2009)

ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
LIST DATE
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type List Date
45 CRESTFIELD CT $145,000 2 1 923 CONDO 7/3/2009
45 EAGLE CREST DR $224,000 3 2 1,348 CONDO 7/4/2009
1597 BONNIEBRAE DR $230,000 2 1 998 CONDO 7/1/2009
16600 BRYANT RD $249,900 3 2 1,877 DETACHD 7/1/2009
5064 FOOTHILLS DR $255,900 3 2 1,252 CONDO 7/3/2009
4090 WESTBAY RD $299,900 2 1 917 DETACHD 7/3/2009
12537 27TH PL $369,000 4 2.1 2,375 DETACHD 7/2/2009
17650 ARBOR LN $379,900 3 3 2,043 DETACHD 7/1/2009
28 PREAKNESS CT $435,000 5 4 2,871 DETACHD 7/2/2009
5709 CHARLES CIR $593,500 4 2.1 3,380 DETACHD 7/3/2009
725 10TH ST $619,900 4 2 2,000 DETACHD 7/3/2009
691 G AVE $639,000 3 2.1 2,775 DETACHD 7/1/2009
117 FURNACE ST $695,000 2 2.1 1,885 CONDO 7/3/2009
5218 WESTFIELD CT $765,000 3 2.1 3,083 DETACHD 7/3/2009
163 IRON MOUNTAIN BLVD $799,000 3 1.1 1,968 DETACHD 6/29/2009
1225 LAKE GARDEN CT $1,150,000 4 3.2 3,558 DETACHD 7/1/2009
1972 CHERYL CT $2,900,000 5 4.1 7,400 DETACHD 7/2/2009

PENDING SALES (June 29-July 5, 2009)

ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
750 1ST ST $189,900 2 2 1,350 CONDO 173
1897 BOCA RATAN DR $214,100 3 2.1 1,739 ATTACHD 77
6025 SW CARMAN DR $229,900 3 1.1 1,346 DETACHD 86
16501 LAKE FOREST BLVD $299,900 3 1 1,429 DETACHD 52
4959 BILFORD LN $519,000 3 2.1 2,456 DETACHD 45
14232 MEADOW GRASS ST $530,000 4 3 2,965 DETACHD 298
3155 DOUGLAS CIR $999,000 5 3.2 4,517 DETACHD 385

SOLD (June 29-July 5, 2009)

ADDRESS ORIG. PRICE SALE PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address O/Price Close Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
4000 CARMAN DR $189,900 $130,000 2 2 925 CONDO 699
83 OSWEGO SMT $191,500 $179,000 2 2 1,140 CONDO 280
668 MCVEY AVE $229,900 $199,900 2 1 852 CONDO 765
200 Burnham RD $320,000 $205,850 2 2 1,313 CONDO 682
152 RIDGEWAY RD $449,500 $225,000 2 1.1 1,794 CONDO 766
1602 BONNIEBRAE DR $240,000 $230,000 2 1 864 ATTACHD 256
103 KINGSGATE RD $319,000 $282,000 3 2.1 1,352 DETACHD 56
18791 INDIAN CREEK WAY $439,900 $413,500 3 2 1,965 DETACHD 63
4070 WESTBAY RD 449996 418040 3 2 1,828 DETACHD 33
17825 SARAH HILL LN 464900 471100 4 2.1 2,525 DETACHD 5
1245 BAYBERRY RD 639000 510000 3 2 1,728 DETACHD 342
12424 SW 22ND AVE $1,350,000 745000 5 4.1 4,771 DETACHD 331
5513 RACHEL LN $989,000 749500 4 2.1 3,149 DETACHD 435
18025 SKYLAND CIR $1,749,000 1200000 4 3.2 5,379 DETACHD 249

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

Open Houses for July 5th, 2009

Along with enjoying hot dogs, sparklers, and Old Glory this weekend, there are 6 houses being held open on the day after the 4th of July:

668 McVey Ave., $399,850.  985 sq. feet, 3 BR, 1.5 BTHS, open 1-3

11 Morningview Circle, $547,000. 2921 sq. feet, 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 1-3

624 Livingood Ln., $549,000.  2596 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3 BTHS, open 1:30-3:30

26 Westridge Dr., $549,900.  2862 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3 BTHS, open 1-3

475 10th St., $593,950.  2932 sq. feet, 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open noon-2

511 6th St., $896,950. 4000 sq. feet, 5 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open noon-2

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.  Remember there will be a fireworks display over the lake at about 10pm.  There is great viewing from the many streets that surround the lake, from the Lakeview Swim Park, and even from surrounding hillsides.  Enjoy!

Observations on Inventory, the S & P Price Index, and Broken Sewers, Oh My!

Today’s editorial post is going to be a bit of a potpouri of information.  There were just so many nice tidbits, I couldn’t seem to pick just one.

Observations On Current Inventory

Last February I ran the break down of the Inventory in Lake Oswego.  At that time there were 418 detached homes for sale.  I think my biggest concern was that of those homes 136 were priced at $1,000,000 or more.  That is a lot of high-end homes.  And that seems to be the slowest part of the market that is selling.  What’s it look like today?  Not much has changed.  While sales have picked up a bit, the number of new listings coming onto the market is keeping the inventory from diminishing.  Here is today’s breakdown:

Homes priced $100,000-$199,000, 1

Homes priced $200,000-$299,000, 19

Homes priced $300,000-$399,000, 46

Homes priced $400,000-$499,000, 54

Homes priced $500,000-$599,000, 51

Homes priced $600,000-$699,000, 38

Homes priced $700,000-$799,000, 35

Homes priced $800,000-$899,000, 30

Homes priced $900,000-$999,000, 31

Homes priced $1,000,000+, 135

That is a total inventory of detached homes of 440 with 135 priced at over $1,000,000.  Probably the most interesting observation that I see is that while we have 22 more homes for sale, the $1,000,000+ is about the same.  Perhaps people listing their homes this spring are being a bit more realistic and not shooting for the million dollar sales price?  At any rate, there are still way more homes over a million than the market activity will support.  In the last six months 10 homes over $1,000,000 have sold and 11 have gone pending.  At this rate, it will take a little over 3 years to sell all of the high-end inventory.

A Glimmer of Hope

The Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index was recently released.    In the 20-city year-over-year averages the Portland area managed to fair better than most.  The average 12-month loss of home values was 18%, while Portland’s was 16%, the eighth best of the report.  The best fairing market was Denver with a loss of just 4.9%.  The worst was Phoenix with a loss of 35.3% (ouch!)

My personal observation is that things have picked up quite a bit.  My listings are getting lots of showings and also receiving offers.  It could simply be the normal up-tick that happens with spring and summer, but it could also be a bit of much-needed stability.  And even if the market is not necessarily trending up, it does seem to me that it is not getting worse.

Always get a sewer scope!

martha-sewerThis is a photo that you really never want to see, but when this sort of thing happens, it is soooooo much better to have it happen before the sale than after.  This photo was taken of a home that I have currently got in escrow.  The older home was recently remodeled, including a new sewer line from the house to the street.  That should be enough and there’s no need for a sewer scope, right?  NOT!  In the course of the home inspection the buyer did have a sewer scope and a chunk of concrete was found to be blocking  the line.  In the course of the remodel, a stray piece of concrete had somehow found its way into the line.  Who would have known without the sewer scope?  And how irritating would it have been to move into a gorgeous home that was fully remodeled just to have the sewer back up immediately?  This is a good lesson for one and all.  Always get a sewer scope!

LO vs Sellwood

It’s a bit of a habit of mine to compare affordable housing in Lake Oswego vs the popular neighborhood in SE Porltand, Sellwood.  I like to do this for two reasons.  First, I’ve lived in both areas and just have a general curiosity.  Second, I think LO is often overlooked by buyers.  There is just a general assumption that LO is full of million dollar mansions and therefore out of the price range of people seeking an affordable home.  My definition of affordable is $350,000 or less, and I am only comparing detached homes and not including condos.  When I first did this in April of 2008, there were 20 houses in LO and 18 in Sellwood price at $350,000 or less.  Today the number is 44 in LO and 25 is Sellwood.  So not only does Lake Oswego continue to offer more affordable homes than Sellwood, but the number has increased from a difference of 2 more to a difference of 19 more.  In Sellwood the least expensive home currently for sale is 608 square feet, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, built in 1924.  In Lake Oswego the least expensive home currently for sale is 780 square feet, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, built in 1944.  So if you are looking for affordable, sure check out SE Portland, but don’t rule out Lake Oswego.  You have options here as well.

I can not let the week go by without wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!

Open Houses for Sunday, June 21st, 2009

Along with being Father’s Day, this Sunday will find 24 open houses in Lake Oswego:

15210 Boones Way, $175,000.  1124 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2 BTHS, open 1:30-4:30

109 Oswego Summit, $182,900. 1212 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2 BTHS, open 2-5

12844 Boones Ferry Rd, $229,900. 1136 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 1-4

4447 Golden Ln, $249,000. 1980 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 2:30-5

4465 Golden Ln, $259,000. 1980 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 2-4

16964 Gassner Ln, $330,000. 2208 sq. feet, 3 BR, 3 BTHS, open 1-4

5096 Tree St, $334,900. 1410 sq. feet, 3 BR, 1.5 BTHS, open 2-4

2315 Southshore Blvd, $335,000.  1970 sq. feet,  3 BR, 1 BTH, open 2-4

140 Touchstone Ct, $339,900. 1964 sq. feet,  3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 12-2

15265 Boones Way, $349,900. 1560 sq. feet, 2 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 1-3

2705 Orchard Hill Pl, $434,900. 2250 sq. feet, 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 1-4

41 Hillshire Dr, $474,000. 2670 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3 BTHS, open 1:30-3:30

11 Morningview Cir, $547,000. 2921 sq. feet, 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 2-4

16920 Greentree Ave, $579,000.  2830 sq. feet, 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, open 2-4

11 Celllini Ct, $584,950. 3392 sq. feet, 5 BR, 3 BTHS, open noon-2

2814 Vale Ct, $659,000. 3192 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3 BTHS, open 1-4

18246 Bella Terra Dr, $1,294,000. 4052 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 1-3

17464 Ridgeview Ln, $1,298,950. 4407 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 2-4

622 Oak Meadow Dr, $1,325,000. 4171 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 2-4

664 Oak Meadow Dr, $1,355,000. 4198 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 2-4

18110 Siena Dr, $1,394,000. 4311 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 1-3

657 Oak Meadow Dr, $1,395,000. 4371 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 2-4

17364 Ridgeview Ct, $1,425,000. 4436 sq. feet, 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, open 2-4

17433 Ridgeview Ln, $1,495,000. 4704 sq. feet, 4 BR, 4.5 BTHS, open 2-4

Enjoy your weekend and a very Happy Father’s Day to the wonderful men in our lives, whether they be your father or simply someone who brings that fatherly spark to your day.

1-Level Homes

verte-frontThere are many reasons why a person might prefer to live in a single level home.  Some are purely by choice.  Things like the easy of movement while carrying laundry, or the preference for vaulted ceilings.  Others are truly out of necessity due to disabilities whether they be mobility problems, advancing age, or even blindness.  But for many people, living in a 1-level home is their preference.

For these people, when they go to purchase a home, it means that they have a much smaller inventory of homes to select from.  And for the seller of a 1-level home, it means that they have a very specific niche in the real estate market.  So when a single level home comes up for sale, it is likely to be well received by buyers.

Some quick statistics:  in the year 2000, the size of the U.S. population that was age 65 or older was 35,000,000 people or 12.4% of the population.  It is projected that by the year 2030 that percentage will grow to 19.6%, or 71,000,000 people.  This means that the desirability of a one-level home is only going to increase.

Now the twist, just as the demand for single level homes in increasing, the availability of land to build single level homes is decreasing, at least in Oregon.  Every city and county has building codes that require specific distances, or set backs, from the property lines.  A builder is simply restricted to foundations that fit within the set backs of any particular piece of property.  Because a 1-level home usually has a larger foundation, it means that the smaller lots that are common in today’s developments do not have the area necessary to build 1-level homes.  And this means that the land that is big enough to build a 1-level home will cost more because it is larger.  It also means that the 1-level homes that currently exist will be high-demand and valuable into the future.

An important concept to understand when you are buying or selling a single level home is how the value compares to other properties.  Why is it that a 1500 square foot, single level home, can sell for as much as a 2000 square foot 2-story home?  This goes back to the construction of the building.  The two most expensive components in building a home are the roof and the foundation.  When you have a 2-story house, this big expense goes twice as far.  So a 1-level home is more expensive to build per square foot, and through out it’s life of being purchased and sold it will continue to pass along this higher expense.

So if you are lucky enough to have a 1-level home, I hope that you feel good about your investment.  If you are looking to buy a 1-level home, there are currently 70 of them for sale in Lake Oswego.  The least expensive is 1346 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, and was built in 1956.  It is listed for $229,900.  The most expensive is 5389 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, and was built in 1993.  It is listed for $1,850,000.  The other 68 single level homes for sale cover every sort of size and pricing.

Whether you are wanting to buy or sell, whether you want a 1-level or several levels, Linda and I are here to help.  Please do not hesitate to give us a call or to drop us an e-mail.

Dianne

Market Activity for June 8-June 14, 2009

I know that in my personal business it feels like things have picked up a bit.  I think last week’s market activity also reflected that.  We had 19 new listings come on the market, 12 homes go pending, and 14 sales that closed.

Here is the latest market activity for Lake Oswego (see below the tables for additional notes):

NEWLY LISTED (June 8—June 14, 2009)

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ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
LIST DATE
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type List Date
15210 BOONES WAY $175,000 2 2 1,124 CONDO 6/8/2009
109 OSWEGO SMT $182,900 2 2 1,212 CONDO 6/8/2009
44 EAGLE CREST DR $185,000 3 2 1,085 CONDO 6/11/2009
212 RIDGEWAY RD $204,900 1 1 778 CONDO 6/12/2009
41 GREENRIDGE CT $249,900 3 2.1 1,652 ATTACHD 6/8/2009
4438 THUNDER VISTA LN $265,000 2 2.1 2,040 CONDO 6/8/2009
1432 LAUREL ST $275,000 2 1 920 DETACHD 6/8/2009
3 SUMMIT RIDGE CT $300,000 2 2.1 1,576 ATTACHD 6/11/2009
343 5TH ST 315000 2 1 910 CONDO 6/11/2009
16808 INVERURIE RD 324900 3 2 1,182 DETACHD 6/8/2009
16964 GASSNER LN 330000 3 3 2,208 DETACHD 6/8/2009
6310 CARMAN DR 349900 3 2.2 1,270 DETACHD 6/9/2009
19040 INDIAN SPRINGS CIR 369950 5 2 2,050 DETACHD 6/9/2009
5037 CENTERWOOD ST 379000 3 1.1 1,340 DETACHD 6/13/2009
2705 ORCHARD HILL PL 434900 3 2.1 2,250 DETACHD 6/12/2009
16439 LEXINGTON CT 474900 2 2 1,563 DETACHD 6/9/2009
891 G AVE 529900 5 2.1 2,420 DETACHD 6/11/2009
17471 CARDINAL DR 850000 4 2.1 3,056 DETACHD 6/9/2009
667 IRON MOUNTAIN BLVD 1650000 5 4.1 5,000 DETACHD 6/8/2009

PENDING SALES (June 8-June 16, 2009)

ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
3876 BOTTICELLI ST $169,900 2 2 1,275 ATTACHD 202
668 MCVEY AVE 194900 – 224876 2 1 852 CONDO 765
4325 COUNTRY WOODS CT $299,900 3 2 1,346 DETACHD 40
17850 PILKINGTON RD $372,000 3 2.1 3,222 DETACHD 388
762 LAKE FOREST DR $412,125 4 3 1,970 DETACHD 9
14371 HOLLY SPRINGS RD $414,900 4 2.1 1,939 DETACHD 354
131 WILBUR ST $425,000 2 2 1,312 DETACHD 106
16919 LAKERIDGE DR $425,000 4 3 2,710 DETACHD 295
4181 COBB WAY 429900 4 3 2,248 DETACHD 28
15713 TARA PL 615000 4 2.1 3,442 DETACHD 143
17600 UPPER CHERRY LN 699000 4 3.1 3,867 DETACHD 133
17090 FERNWOOD DR 765000 4 3.1 3,998 DETACHD 302

SOLD (June 8-June 16, 2009)

<

ADDRESS ORIG. PRICE SALE PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address O/Price Close Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
5101 JEAN RD $295,000 $235,000 3 1 1,012 DETACHD 233
16446 INVERURIE RD $349,900 $250,000 3 1 2,100 DETACHD 350
17071 BRYANT RD $435,000 $320,000 3 2 1,500 DETACHD 302
1666 LAKE FRONT RD $874,900 $395,000 4 3 2,825 DETACHD 680
13581 GOODALL RD $1,100,000 $475,000 3 2 1,220 DETACHD 575
54 AQUINAS ST $575,000 $485,000 3 2.1 2,802 DETACHD 249
11 BECKET ST $550,000 $487,500 3 2.1 4,030 DETACHD 111
19431 KOKANEE CT $529,000 $520,000 4 2.1 2,250 DETACHD 8
5868 SUNCREEK DR 749900 645000 4 2.1 3,174 DETACHD 68
2317 STONEHURST CT $945,900 660000 4 2.1 4,455 DETACHD 374
4155 CANAL RD $1,199,000 685000 4 2.1 3,736 DETACHD 678
2900 WEMBLEY PARK RD 697000 690000 4 2.1 3,383 DETACHD 4
3407 LAKE GROVE AVE $1,298,000 875000 4 3.1 4,475 DETACHD 402
18224 Bella Terra DR 1495000 1275000 4 4 4,050 DETACHD 397

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

Market Activity for June 1st to 7th, 2009

This past week brought 28 new listings, 10 pending sales, and 6 sold properties.  One of the challenges of doing this report is going back through the data to “weed out” the listings that have new RMLS numbers, but are not truly new to the market.  I try to not include houses that were taken off the market in the last 30-60 days and then re-listed.  Having said that, there are half a dozen houses on this list that came off the market last winter around the holidays and are now re-listed, so they may sound familiar to you.  A couple of them have had huge price reductions.

Here is the latest market activity for Lake Oswego (see below the tables for additional notes):

NEWLY LISTED (June 1—June 7, 2009)

ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
LIST DATE
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type List Date
4629 LAKEVIEW BLVD $179,900 2 2 1,178 CONDO 6/4/2009
188 OSWEGO SUMMIT $195,500 2 2 1,383 CONDO 6/3/2009
16584 ROOSEVELT AVE $263,000 3 1 1,188 DETACHD 6/5/2009
17570 MARDEE AVE $264,900 3 1 1,050 DETACHD 6/5/2009
4433 THUNDER VISTA LN $275,000 2 2.1 1,980 CONDO 6/5/2009
15265 BOONES WAY $349,900 2 2.1 1,560 ATTACHD 6/1/2009
2315 SOUTHSHORE BLVD $350,000 3 1 1,970 DETACHD 6/1/2009
26 BRIARWOOD RD $389,900 4 2.2 2,554 DETACHD 6/3/2009
17280 WESTVIEW DR 399900 3 2.1 2,324 DETACHD 6/1/2009
2745 GREENTREE RD 400000 2 1 1,219 DETACHD 6/5/2009
762 LAKE FOREST DR 412125 4 3 1,970 DETACHD 6/1/2009
19 TOUCHSTONE 415000 4 3 2,789 DETACHD 6/2/2009
14433 HOLLY SPRINGS RD 419900 4 2.1 1,939 DETACHD 6/1/2009
692 2ND ST 425000 3 1 1,700 DETACHD 6/1/2009
13899 MAJESTIC CT 439000 3 2 2,357 DETACHD 6/1/2009
410 LAUREL ST 499000 4 2.1 2,064 DETACHD 6/5/2009
4043 ORCHARD DR 635000 4 2.1 3,339 DETACHD 6/6/2009
2834 GLENMORRIE DR 669000 3 2.1 2,459 DETACHD 6/1/2009
17473 REDFERN AVE 719950 4 2.1 3,052 DETACHD 6/5/2009
7 SCARBOROUGH DR 724950 4 2.1 3,367 DETACHD 6/5/2009
4070 VIRGINIA WAY 749000 3 2.1 3,510 DETACHD 6/4/2009
160 GREENWOOD RD 799950 4 0.2 2,448 DETACHD 6/3/2009
2681 SOUTHSHORE BLVD 890000 3 2.1 2,760 DETACHD 6/4/2009
19010 BRYANT RD 899000 4 3.1 4,878 DETACHD 6/5/2009
16461 CHAPIN WAY 947500 4 2.1 4,271 DETACHD 6/1/2009
18246 BELLA TERRA DR 1294000 4 3.1 4,052 DETACHD 6/4/2009
18493 RAY RIDGE DR 1359000 4 3.3 4,401 DETACHD 6/1/2009
17211 KELOK RD 1399000 3 3.1 5,384 DETACHD 6/5/2009

PENDING SALES (June 1-June 7, 2009)

ADDRESS
LIST PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address List Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
15010 TWIN FIR RD $284,905 8 2.1 3,526 DETACHD 92
800 WOODWAY CT $339,000 4 3 2,066 DETACHD 55
1234 MAPLE ST $345,000 3 2 1,947 DETACHD 141
4070 WESTBAY RD $449,996 3 2 1,828 DETACHD 33
6091 FROST LN $479,900 5 2.1 2,540 DETACHD 210
523 2ND ST $485,000 2 2 1,274 CONDO
2860 DELLWOOD DR $505,000 4 2.1 2,966 DETACHD 34
1510 FERNWOOD DR $574,950 5 3 3,291 DETACHD 123
17141 WALL ST 619000 4 3 3,540 DETACHD 354
4076 Orchard DR 719000 4 3.1 3,991 DETACHD 34

SOLD (June 1-June 7, 2009)

ADDRESS ORIG. PRICE SALE PRICE
TOT. BEDS
TOT. BATHS
TOT. SQ FT
PROP TYPE
DOM
Address O/Price Close Price # BR # BTHS Total SF Prop Type CDOM
44 EAGLE CREST DR $124,950 $125,000 1 1 798 CONDO 63
12826 Boones Ferry RD $299,900 $228,000 2 2.1 1,398 CONDO 156
1615 HALLINAN ST $299,900 $277,750 3 1.1 1,500 DETACHD 231
18307 LONGFELLOW AVE $339,900 $319,000 3 2 1,457 DETACHD 262
13470 PETERS RD $474,900 $474,900 3 2.1 2,324 ATTACHD 15
569 6TH ST $800,000 $490,000 4 2 2,168 DETACHD 359

Criteria: Homes in the 97034 and 97035 zip code, listed, pending or sold between the dates listed above as reported by the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS). DETACHD refers to Single Family Detached Residence, MFG refers to manufactured housing, and ATTACHD refers to single-family residences with some portion of the structure attached to another property, but not constituting CONDO ownership. DOM stands for days on market, or the number of days from when the listing became active and when it received an acceptable offer, with CDOM standing for “cumulative days on market” accounting for “refreshed” listings.

Open Houses for Sunday, June 7th, 2009

There are currently 31 homes scheduled to be held open in Lake Oswego on June 7th, according to the RMLS:

100 SW Kerr Pkwy, $97,900. 1 BR, 1 BTH, 617 sq. feet, open 1:30-3:30

4465 Golden Lane, $275,000. 2 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 1980 sq. feet, open 2-4

5094 Galen, $299,999. 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 1438 sq. feet, open 1-3

4 Weatherstone, $224,950. 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 1692 sq. feet, open 1-3

3009 Wembley Park Rd, $379,900. 3 BR, 1.5 BTHS, 1754 sq. feet, open 1-4

16824 Inverurie Rd, $389,900. 3 BR, 3 BTHS, 1896 sq. feet, open 2-4

16950 Lakeridge Dr, $479,000. 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 2305 sq. feet, open 2-4

41 Hillshire Dr, $494,000. 4 BR, 3 BTHS, 2670 sq. feet, open 1:30-3:30

14412 Meadow Grass, $500,000. 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 3563 sq. feet, open 1-3

624 Livingood Ln, $549,000. 4 BR, 3 BTHS, 2596 sq. feet, open 1-4

5400 Bay Creek Dr, $550,000. 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 2856 sq. feet, open 1-3

4736 Amherst Ct, $589,000. 3 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 2800 sq. feet, open 3-5

4691 Chelsea Ln, $599,000. 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 3102 sq. feet, open 1-3

11 Cellini Ct, $599,950. 5 BR, 3 BTHS, 3392 sq. feet, open 11:30-2:30

1322 Glenmorrie Dr, $725,000. 3 BR, 3 BTHS, 2752 sq. feet, open 1-4

4625 Firwood Rd, $899,900. 3 BR, 3 BTHS, 4976 sq. feet, open 1-4

511 6th St, $928,950. 5 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4000 sq. feet, open 1-3

17878 Hillside Dr, $970,000. 5 BR, 3 BTHS, 3462 sq. feet, open 3-5

2304 Oswego Glen Ct, $995,000. 4 BR, 2.5 BTHS, 3896 sq. feet, open 2-4

17178 Cedar Rd, $1,195,000. 5 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4209 sq. feet, open 2-3:30

17404 Bergis Farm Dr, $1,198,000. 5 BR. 4.5 BTHS, 5394 sq. feet, open 1-3

12819 Alto Park Rd, $1,225,000. 4 BR, 4.5 BTHS, 3944 sq. feet, open 2-4

2625 Summit Dr, $1,289,900. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4212 sq. feet, open 12:30-2:30

2326 Oswego Glen Ct, $1,295,000. 4 BR, 4 BTHS, 4178 sq. feet, open 2-4

17464 Ridgeview Ln, $1,298,950. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4407 sq. feet, open 2-4

664 Oak Meadow Dr, $1,355,000. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4198 sq. feet, open 2-4

657 Oak Meadow Dr, $1,395,000. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4371 sq. feet, open 2-4

16737 Maple Circle, $1,400.000. 3 BR, 3 BTHS, 1683 sq. feet, open 12:00-1:30

17364 Ridgeview Ct, $1,425,000. 4 BR, 3.5 BTHS, 4436 sq. feet, open 2-4

17433 Ridgeview Ln, $1,495,000. 4 BR, 4.5 BTHS, 4704 sq. feet, open 2-4

975 Lake Front Rd, $1,695,000. 3 BR, 3 BTHS, 3232 sq. feet, open 2-3:30

Have a great weekend!

Home Staging Tips

goldendiningroom1Spring is traditionally the strongest time of year to sell your home.  If you want to sell, you need to get your home ready.  You want to win the beauty pageant.  The place to start, before you list your home for sale, is with proper home staging.  The way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two different things.  It does add a layer of care to your already busy life, but it will payoff when you sell by getting your home sold more quickly and by helping you to get the best price possible.

Start by standing out at the street.  This is your buyer’s first impression.  Can you see the front door?  Can you see all of the windows?  Is the lawn green?  Are flower beds free of weeds and bushes nicely trimmed?  What about the color of the paint?  Is it one of the popular shades used today or something from when you moved in in 1996?  Is the roof clean and free of moss?  If you said no to any of these questions, then you’ve got work to do.  Too often homeowners let trees and bushes become over grown and drown the house.  Over-growth makes you house look like a big blob.  Do you want to buy a blob?  Neither does a buyer.

Next stand at your front door.  I believe this is the most critical moment for a buyer.  Remember that they will pause here for a minute or two while the Realtor gets the key from the lockbox and opens the door.  Your buyer will have time to look around and get a close-up look at everything around the front door.  I truly believe that they make a decision at this point.  If they like what they see, they will enter the house with a positive attitude and look for positive input to reinforce what they already believe.  If they get a bad impression, they’ll be critical as they go inside and look to find fault; again to reinforce what they already have decided.  The front door is usually a small area.  Here is what you need to do.  Wash or freshly paint the front door and the windows around the door.  Sweep or pressure wash all of the walls and ceiling around the door to get rid of spiders, webs, moths, and bug stuff.  Scrub the weather stripping at the threshold so that there is not one speck of grime.  Make sure weather stripping is in good shape, but that the door opens and closes easily.  Make sure the lock works!  Now add some color.  A couple of pots with flowers, a wreath on the front door.  Please, no holiday decorations that are months old, or pots of dead easter lillies.  Splurge and spend $20 on some nice flowers, then be sure to water them.

You’ve done it!  You’ve gotten your buyer inside.

You are moving, right?  Why not get a leg up on the job and start packing BEFORE you put your house up for sale.  You want to de-personalize your home.  Take down personal momentos, collections, most family photos, all of the stuff on the refrigerator.  It should be like a model home that you want to move right into.  And all of your very personal stuff keeps your buyer from feeling like it is “their” house.  I recommend that you do this one room at a time.  Just make a big pile in the middle of the room that you want to either store or donate/toss.  It is ok to have a few family photos.  For instance, a bookshelf with a combination of a few framed photos, some books, perhaps a small piece of art work or decorative glass, that is fine.  But that hallway photo gallery showing Joey, who is now 35, in every grade of school he ever attended:  take it down.

Less truly is more.  As you clean out clutter and stream-line each room, you will make them look larger.  A small home, well staged, can look bigger than large home full of clutter.

This is also true of furniture.  Make sure you store away anything that gets in the way in hallways, at the top of stairs, as you enter rooms, and on stairway landings.  The fact that you had no where else to put the furniture just screams “This house is too small!”.  In addition, they could actually be a safety hazzard when you have a group of people seeing the house together and unable to maneuver on the stairs.  Another important thought with furniture is do not cover up a homes features.  Don’t place TV’s in front of windows, or dressers across closets, or a couch across the fireplace.    Move the furniture around and show off each rooms best feature.  Make sure to not have too much furniture.  A few pieces in each room is all you need.  For a living room: a couch, a chair, a love seat, and a coffee or similar table is plenty.  If you have a piano, don’t be afraid to store the couch or the love seat.  You want the room to feel big and not to be dwarfed by the furniture.

The kitchen and bathroom counters are the toughest to empty and also the most important.  Many a buyer has ruled out a home because either the kitchen or the bathrooms seemed too small.  You can make them big, with a little effort.  As much as possible, but things away in cupboards.  A few things may be impossible to put away because they are constantly in use.  Hello?  The coffee pot?  With things you just have to have handy, cluster them into one group.  So if you have the coffee pot, the decorative decanter of olive oil, and the pepper mill tastefully gathered in one corner, and nothing else anywhere on the counter, you’ll get away with it.  Take away the cluster and string the three items around the kitchen and suddenly you got clutter.  Bunching is a wonderful thing.  The same thing holds true in the bathroom.  I also highly recommend baskets or decorative boxes.  If you use a container, you can pretty much fill the container and still keep things attractive.

The areas to focus your attention are:  the entry, the living room, the dining room, the family room, the kitchen, and the master bedroom and bath.  Do the whole house if you can, it will pay off.  But if you have limits to your ability to take on this project, at a minimum, get to these rooms.

Now for those of you who are after the best money and the quickest sale, you’ll take it to the next level.  Clean out closets and fold and stack everything in an orderly and tidy fashion.  Get your kids on board helping you.  Those big tubs that are made to hold toys are great.  Tell them that when they are finished playing, just throw everything in the tub.  It makes for a pretty quick clean up.  Go around the house and wash all of the windows and clean out all of the window tracks.  The pickiest buyer I have ever worked with did three things:  checked the window tracks for dirt, looked inside the oven to see if it was clean, and opened the dishwasher to look at the outer framing of the door.  If these areas were clean, she knew the rest of the house would be too.

Speaking of clean, it is absolutely the cheapest thing you can do to make your house show ready.  No one, not one buyer out there, wants to buy someone else’s dirt.  It just doesn’t happen.   Pay attention to the bottom of cupboards, the baseboards, around the bottom of the toilet.  Yep, everywhere.

You’ll need a place to store all of the stuff you are packing away.  If you can, rent a storage unit or get one of those PODS that allow you to pack things and then have them stored off-site.  If you can’t pay for storage, use your garage.  I would rather have a staged home with a garage that is stacked wall-to-wall and top-to-bottom than an empty garage and a messy house.

There are a couple of good websites I found that will give you ideas and perhaps be helpful:

From the National Associaiton of Realtors, click here.

From US News and World Report, click here.

And to visit Barb Schwartz’s website, click here.  Barb Schwartz is the queen of home staging.  She has been teaching Realtors techniques of home staging since before I was a Realtor (over 22 years).  I used to refer to staging a home as “Schwartzing” a home.  That’s how ingrained in my head this lady is.

goldenoldlrAt the top of this article is a photo of my listing in Mt. Park.  I want you to compare that photo to the one that you find to the right.  Can you see the big improvement?  The photo to the right is how this room used to look.  This was not a home with a problem of clutter.  This was a house that needed to show case the homes features.  The home owner moved the living room furniture to the other end of the room in order to showcase the wonderful windows.  Where a TV cabinet had blocked windows, now what you see is light and sunshine.  In addition, the owner replaced several windows that had broken seals.  Now when you walk in, you step back and feel the wow factor.  That is what sells a house.