If you are looking for a great spot to spread out and enjoy your day you will want to check out Arbor Ridge Park in the Arbor Ridge Neighborhood.  This is just South on Laidlaw from the corner of West Union and Laidlaw Roads in Bethany Oregon.  There are a few benches and tables, a nice old school band stand, a large Court for shooting hoops, and a kid splay structire with swings.  You could bring the bikes or ride them there through the extensive trail system that connects all of Bethany!  This is one of the reasons I live here.  This is a really liveable place.  Attched here to you will see three Videos Clips I caught in late April of 2008 on my video phone.  You will see us looking in on a gorgeous Mallard Drake along the bike/ped path, the park itself, and take a ride on a section of the trails.  These are open trails to the entire Bethany Community and one of the reasons that the 800 unit Arbor Ridge Project is so popular!  Homes form $25oK to $500K.  Call us of course if you want a personal tour.  Dirk at 503-799-8383.

I stopped the other day for a quick look at Cedar Mill Park at the Corner of 102nd and Cornell Road next to the Cedar Mill School.  This is a park that I have passed by many times but have never spent any time at.  I arrived in late April to find the Tennis Courts hoping and that there was an awesome stand of second growth Doug Firs bustling with tree squirrels!  There were several picnic tables and huge open areas for throwing the ball or playing with a Frisbee.  I could see this was a favorite of the locals…..but the parking lot was pretty empty.  This is a cool stop if you are looking for a place to picnic or meet a friend.  No playground but plenty kid friendly!

 Check out the field of Daisies I was in.  This is a neat thing for sure.  Watch my mini broadcast from my new Video Phone!  Look for mor eloacl broadcasts as I am doing a series here at NW Home Center on Neighborhood Parks for oyur enjoyment!  Ciao.

By Inman News, Monday, March 10, 2008.

 

RE/MAX Real Estate’s remax.com Web site hopped into second place among the most popular real estate industry Web sites in February, up from its fourth-place ranking in January, Web metrics company Hitwise reported Friday, and real estate marketing company HomeGain bumped from second place in January to fifth place in February.

Century 21 Real Estate’s century21.com and MSN Real Estate’s realestate.msn.com Web sites had the largest jump in ranking among the top-20 real estate category sites, Hitwise reported, based on the total number of unique visitors. Century21.com moved from 16th on the list in January to 10th on the list in February, while realestate.msn.com climbed from 18th in January to 11th in February.

Realtor.com continued its reign at the top of the list, with 5.16 percent of the market share of all unique visitors to real estate sties. But that market share had fallen compared to its 9.08 percent market share in January. Second-place remax.com had 2.61 percent of the market share in February, followed by Yahoo Real Estate’s realestate.yahoo.com at 2.35 percent, Zillow.com at 2.34 percent and HomeGain.com with 2.32 percent.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s hud.gov Web site sank from 10th on the list in January to 14th on the list in February, and Homes.com dropped from 14th in January to 17th in February.

About 24.1 percent of all visits to real estate Web sites went to the top-10 sites in that category in February, compared to 27.4 percent in January.

Hitwise reported that real estate site 21online.com joined the top-100 rankings in February, in 87th place, and Cincinnati.com also joined the list, rising from 110th in January to 95th in February. Rentals.realtor.com moved from 34th in January to 153rd place in the rankings in February, while RedWeek.com moved from 99th in January to 107th in February.

“Realtor.com” was the most popular search term for the four-week period ending Feb. 23, Hitwise reported, followed by “remax,” “real estate,” “zillow.com,” “zillow,” “apartments,” “homes for sale,” “realtor.com,” “century21,” and “realtor,” in that order.

Among the fastest-moving Web sites tracked by Hitwise for the four months ending in February: RogerFazendin.com, up 266 places; SonoranGMAC.com, up 180 places; SignOnSanDiego.com, up 161 places; HomeInsight.com, up 146 places; Myazland.com, up 129 places; PruCalifornia.com, up 113 places; RealEstateForeclosures.net, up 85 places, CapeMay.FNISMLS.com, up 58 places; and CarlsonRE.com, up 39 places.

Fed’s interest-rate cuts will benefit ARM, HELOC borrowers

Effect on long-term rates remains to be seen

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

By Matt Carter
Inman News

The unscheduled and dramatic cut in short-term interest rates announced today by the Federal Reserve will provide immediate relief for borrowers with home-equity loans or facing interest-rate resets, mortgage market experts say.

But long-term rates — which were at 2 1/2-year lows before today’s 75-basis-point reduction in the discount rate and the target for the federal funds overnight rate — could move in the other direction if bond market investors get nervous about inflation.

For now, the Fed seems to have decided that the threat of a recession far outweighs the risk of inflation, making in a single day cuts in short-term rates some observers had expected would be stretched out over months.

“Just a few weeks ago, the consensus was that the Fed would cut no more than 75 basis points, and 3.25 percent would be trough,” said Freddie Mac’s chief economist Frank Nothaft. “We’re there already. So are we at the low point? It’s really hard to say.”

Nothaft said the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee could cut rates again when it holds its scheduled meeting Jan. 29-30. Or its members may want to wait and see how to today’s dramatic move affects economic indicators.

The rate cuts are “certainly good news for people who have mortgages, or are shopping for a mortgage,” Nothaft said. For those with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) indexed to the prime rate or home-equity lines of credit (HELOC) loans, “this shows up right away in terms of lower interest rates,” as banks follow suit and lower the prime rate to 6.5 percent. For ARM borrowers facing interest-rate resets, Nothaft said, that translates into a smaller increase in payments, and “maybe even a decline.”

Get the rest fo the story: http://www.inman.com/hstory.aspx?ID=65863

As the Holidays draw near we see the listing Inventories shrink.  This later half of 2006 has been a very slow 6 months indeed.  With job growth in Oregon and especially in the Portland regional area (Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington County) one has to wonder why the slow down?  Was it based on real underlying economic hardships or was it more based upon perception of our buying public?

One can not deny the amount of negative publicity and media that Joe Public is being offered.  It is on the news everynight and in the paper everyday.  There is no doubt that people are scared to transact on homes.  Portland, Oregon Real Estate is some of the best in the country to own by all accounts.  Prices have not fallen all and all.  And yet buyers on average when we speak to them perceive this as a Buyers market.

There are some sellers that are moving, downsizing, or just needing to sell.  For these folks they will have to sell at the lower end of their value spectrum.  There is a range of value for every home on the market.  We generally see homes being sold with about a 5% value band either side of the best comparable value.  This Spectrum as I like to call it will be effected by location, floor plan, features, and quality.  It is the case that the same 2000 sf home in Portland can be $25,000 below or $25,000 above a mid level price.  So somebody needing to move a home would be likely to sell that home in 60-90 days at the lower end of that range.

But while these factors have played out many sellers are calling this markets bluff by removing their homes from the market and just deciding to wait things out.  As the end if the year approaches the market is actually shrinking in terms of selection and inventory of homes for sale.  This is a trend that may continue.

Banks shut off the supply of money to almost all new projects and are making sure that new homes for sale now will be the homes that must be bought up before new ones may be built.  There are some great opportunities to buy now and with rates at 5.5% we are seeing buyers begin to move in.  The media is at the same time starting to talk recovery and come back.  That is going to happen as 2008 rolls out.  The deals will be all gone by mid-year as things play out here.

Again we are strongly recommending that if you are in the market….if you need to buy a home in Oregon…be active and be ready.  The time to shop is now and the time to educate yourself is now as well.  The forces are in play for inventory to continue to shrink as well. 

Have a great Holiday and make sure to call us and discuss your real estate needs!

Regards;

Dirk Knudsen

Re\max Metro

503-799-8383

Hey it really has been been a pretty busy year here in Oregon as more and more companies decide to move here to set up shop. Also there are some continued expansions into some resort areas you might want to know about as investment in Oregon is still on the rise. Despite the market correction occuring across many major us markets; Oregon is one of the places least effected and with room to still grow. On top if that we are seeing investment from China, Hong Kong, Canada, and European countries as the weak dollar attracts international investors to the game here.

Here are some news stories from around the State this year:

1: State of Oregon reports a big increase in Business Incorporations in 2006 leading Washington. Nevada and California are experiencing declines in Incorporations. This is a good indicator of underlying growth occuring that could last for years to come.

2: Big resorts planned: Fidelity National is planning “Crescent Creek” near Gilchrest, Oregon that will include a 1600 unit housing project and another 18 hoel Championship Golf Resort. This one goes to the State for approval but Klamath County is excited about the Millions in Investment that this can bring and the 500 jobs as well!!

The second Resort is actually occuring in The Dalles and at Dallesport, Washington. SUNDOON will be the next in a series of elite Golf projects by reknowned designer John Fought. This will be a links style project on the Windy Banks of the Columbia River with a stunning

Mt. Hood view to boot. The Dalles also is upgrading the airport and looking to have commuter jets service the region very soon.

Prineville: Iron Horse. The 2,951 Unit project is under construction. This will have lasting economic impact to one of Oregon’s great small town in the High Desert. This is a superb project and would be a great place to move year around or for the season. This is a continuing story and theme that we see….people leaving the big cities in search of the good life or the quiet life if you will. Maybe more than anything an indictment that our big cities are broken and that people with any where with all want out!

3 : Google and ?? Come to The Dalles:

Well Google is open and the first wave of employess are settling in. It appears that they are looking to expand already and the defunct and decommissioned Aluminum plant adjacent to Google appears to be ready to be sold. There are reportedly 15 major US companies looking yo purchase this site and expand up there in the Gorge. At about 150 acres and a deep water port….cheap power to boot…this migth be a huge investment of somebody like Micro-Soft or Intel. Many companies are moving some of their operations in land to get away from big city problems and provide security for their data. Watch this story. Everybody up there in under wraps and it is impossible to get anyone that knows anything to talk. This is for real. We are working with some investors up there so if you want to jump in give us a call. 503-799-8383 (Dirk Knudsen).

4 : Salem is on Fire!!

Would you believe it ? Oregon’s once gritty Capitol City is enjoying a rebirth as a great place to retire. Their downtown is being revitalized and a new 13 acre Riverfront project promises to be a big boom for the downtown core where shops, art, and music are beginning to thrive! This is a hot market right now in the middle of a bad market elsewhere! Go Salem.

5: Hillsboro and the Silicon Forest Cash in on Solar and Bio Tech!!

Continuing their nice run to lead the State economically the folks in Hillsboro, Oregon have successfully attracted worl energy leader Solar World to the old Komatsu plant. Solar World is the leading maker of Solar Panel components in the world and develop a chip not unlike a microprocessor for a PC. Adding to that 1000 jobs is Solacix who are now alos planning a move to Hillsboro. Rumors are that this will equate to 500 jobs.

On top of that we are all seeing the construction of Genentech’s new Shipping Facility at the corner of Shute and Evergreen Roads. This is a massive structure. We are sure there are 600 jobs going in there but the site has room for so many more. This is a great thing to see. Looks like they are here to stay. Add to that the partnership ongoing at the Amber Glen Business Park and Campus between Oregon Health Sciences University and the Oregon Graduate Center and you have a huge potential for Biomedical. This makes the Bethany, Oregon and ORENCO, Oregon Real estate markest prime for investment. There are some great buys out here right now. I think this is a great time to jump in as all of these jobs are brewing right along! Call me to discuss this in more detail: 503-799-8383 (Dirk)

6: Wind Power powers Gorge economy:

The Klondike Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon and the Leaning Juniper Wind farm in Gilliam County, Oregon are producing clean and viable energy for future generations. They also provide important jobs and income in these counties and are helping Portland area Vestas find good local markets for their Win Turbines. This is what we can call a “Wind-Wind solution”. Wind power promises to be a big discussion for many years to come in Oregon and Washington.
For Information on The Dalles go to www.thedalleschamber.com .

For Hillsboro go to: http://www.hillchamber.org/

Best wishes and Happy Holidays to you all!