And in partnership with Pat Weiss*
Portland Real Estate Update
March 2023 Update
Over 70 Years Combined Experience, Since 1988
Portland Market as of March, 2023
New Listings continued their decline making for a continued low inventory market. New listings are down 31.4% over same month last year, and down 9% over last month resulting in the inventory of homes dropping from 2.7 months to 1.9 months (a "normal" market is about 6 months). The issue is the same, most anyone who purchased a home in the last five years got a below 4% interest rate, and most of the remainder refinanced to one. So why would someone who has a 2.7% loan sell their house and buy one for 7.5%? As a result, many of the listings we are seeing are mainly relocation, or people moving to independent living, etc. Comparing February 23 with February 22 for the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, the average sales price has increased 5.4% to $609,300. CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE 7 PAGE PDF FILE
Homeowners Net Worth Compared to Renting
According to the Federal Reserve, the average homeowner's net worth is 40 times the average net worth of a renter. That's a fact. As a long time Realtor I get annoyed when I see publications saying its better to rent. Yes, in some markets at that instant it may make sense, but the interest rate on renting is 100% and its not a "forced savings plan" as owning a house is. The result at retirement age can be devastating for some renters, vs a paid off house can be a source of income for the rest of ones life utilizing a reverse mortgage.
Housing Piece of Net Worth is Crucial!
As referred to above, there is no question that being a homeowner is a critically important piece to a persons financial security at retirement. Today though I wanted to look at the housing piece as a part of the average Americans net worth and how it relates to income levels. The National Association of Realtors (representing it's over 1.5m members) says.... “Homeownership is the largest source of wealth among families, with the median value of a primary residence worth about ten times the median value of financial assets held by families. Housing wealth (home equity or net worth) gains are built up through price appreciation and by paying off the mortgage.”
Rob in the News!
Recently I was asked by real estate columnist Nicole Talbot to talk about the importance of entryways. I was thrilled to be asked as its always been one of my pet peeves. Time and time again I have seen someone do an amazing update to a home but still have an old, yucky, uninviting doorway entering the house. There is an old saying that "you never get a second chance for a first impression" and this really applies to doorways. What I always ask my sellers to do is step out to the street, turn around and look at your house as if you were a buyer getting out of a Realtor's car. What do you see? In the full article there are several other good thoughts from other contributors and you can see them all by -> CLICKING HERE <- or on on the photo above.
Search ALL Portland Area Homes
Click on the link below, or the image to search the Portland area MLS for all single family, condo, or multi-family homes in the Portland metro area. The site also includes some pre-defined common searches on the right side, and also always shows the most recent 20 listed properties in the metro area. Be sure to SAVE your search, that way you will always be notified of any new matches as they happen. www.allarealistings.com/
Search Palm Springs Area Homes
As many of you know, Rob Levy is also licensed in California with Keller Williams Realty and sells investment and vacation homes to many of his Portland area clients. You can check out all the homes and condos in the Coachella valley cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Bermuda Dunes, Sun City and Indio by clicking on the link below or the picture. www.AllDesertListings.com
Photo by Cody Board on Unsplash
Thanks for checking out this newsletter, and for supporting our real estate team for all these years. We are always available for you. ROB LEVY, CAITY ABOUAF and PAT WEISS
*Pat Weiss is licensed with Oregon Referral Partners, LLC. Same address as below.
Give Us a Call
(503) 906-1444
Now More Than Ever, Experience Matters
The Rob Levy Team, Rob Levy Principal Broker and Caity Abouaf, Broker
Keller Williams Realty Professionals / Main Office (503) 546-9955