Homes with Character in Portland Oregon
I am producing and hosting this benefit to mark my 25th year in business. Please come and celebrate!
Joanne’s music brings an uplifting sense of possibility and community. Here’s what another fan had to say:
Come celebrate the release of Joanne’s 13th CD, The Nashville Sessions, in an intimate setting at Bamboo Grove. Friday April 26, 7:30 pm., SE 2nd and Taylor with entrance on 2nd. See videos of Joanne below!
Dubbed “Psychedelic-Folk-Revival,” California singer-songwriter Joanne Rand comes to Portland, OR for a Concert on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 PM, celebrating the release of her 13th CD, “Stories from the Inside Out, The Nashville Sessions.” Her music spans environmental activism, earth-based spirituality, traditional folk, and more.
Donation, sliding scale $10 to $15. No one turned away.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lzA51XMnxg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcQgt4enNvg&list=PL-TL7Lh8NZN_UZ1hV4JRudI-bzNkZURrX[/youtube]
$269,000 — 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath — 1382 SF
| Exceptional deal in Hawthorne! Bring your vision and energy to renew and update this home and make it your own. Charming 1903 bungalow in ideal location near cafes and bikeways. Wood floors, 10 foot ceilings, vintage woodwork, clawfoot tub. Pantry/mudroom opens to deck and back yard. New fiberglass windows. Roof about 6 years old. Good storage in basement |
Listed by: Laurie Sonnenfeld @ M Realty LLC
SOLD — 2 Days on Market
The dawn of 1920 saw Portland 258,000 citizens strong and along with gaining 50,000 more souls, the next ten years would prove to be an unparallelled decade of expansion for the City of Roses. 1926 marked the construction of the Burnside, Vista and Ross Island Bridges to complement the Sellwood Bridge, which was previously the only Willamette River crossing for miles in either direction. That same year, Portland achieved the progressive honor of having more cars per capita than Chicago or New York, widening her streets to accommodate the bustling traffic. Combined with the already thriving street cars, Portlanders were on the move!
This freshly-embraced mobility promoted an unprecedented population migration from rural areas, and this youthful generation was nothing if not modern. In addition to embracing technological advancements like the refrigerator and vacuum cleaners now with disposable bags, these new homeowners and their contemporary sensibilities gave birth to the American Craftsman.
In the aftermath of World War I, the Victorian construction style (and lifestyle) was in sharp decline. The thriving middle-class abandoned the foregoing generationâs Old World flourishes in favor of uncluttered practicality. Ceilings were lowered, porches simplified and accommodations for a domestic serving staff vanished in the light of new homemaking amenities.
Armed with these advanced appliances, the Craftsman-era housewife shaped the footprint of the home. She had been transformed into a one woman army responsible for all the housework in addition to raising the children. Kitchens were integrated into the main home, built with open eyelines to the living spaces and the back yard. While the Victorian lifestyle demanded a separation between food preparation and dining, the Craftsman introduced the breakfast nook and with it a communal place for the family to gather while the housewives of the day practiced their multitasking art.
Built to endure, Portland is still populated by these beautiful, practical, hardy homes. Whether updated with todayâs amenities or retaining all their classic features, Portlandâs craftsman constructions stand as distinct reminders of an exciting chapter of our history.
Have you seen a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? Neighbors walk by, and who can resist checking to see what is new in their own neighborhood library?
This one is in Sunnyside, not far from Sunnyside Environmental School. My friend who started it is really enjoying watching the books come and go. She loves knowing that she has contributed something very positive to her neighborhood. Some people leave a book, others browse and then take a book. The contents changes all the time. It gets neighbors talking to each other, too.
My friend started with a big load of books collected by a voracious reader, my late husband Jim Andrews. The supply is now dwindling. To keep the library going, she needs more books. All kinds of books are welcome, as long as they are in good condition. If you have books to share, please contact me, laurie@cascadiahomes.com or 503-750-1630.
The mission of Little Free Library:
To promote Literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. To build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations. To build 2,510 Libraries–as many as Andrew Carnegie–and keep going!
We love TED! Here are some of our favorite talks from people that inspire us.
It’s hard to believe, but selling your home by 
summer 2013 can mean starting at the beginning of the new year. Starting preparations in January helps create an easy and smooth selling experience so you can focus on the next step. On average, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get your home ready to go on the market. That might include two to four weeks for minor repairs and freshening to get top value, and another two weeks for our marketing team in the M Media Truck 
to capture the story of your home and create all of the amazing materials to show your home to its best advantage. Professional staging needs to be squeezed in there too.
That means your home would be ready for the market in February or early March, which is an ideal time to start marketing a home in Portland. Buyers are usually waiting eagerly for new listings in the late winter and early spring. Sellers who wait until May or June to list their homes have a lot more competition in the marketplace, which can sometimes mean a lower sales price.
Based on the average days on market for homes in Portland, your home could receive an offer in two to six weeks, depending on a variety of factors. That gets us into April. The transaction could close by May, and you would be ready to move on to the next step by June.
Starting in January allows you to take the time you need to sell and prepare for what comes after. Let’s strategieze about the best timing and how to sell your home in 2013.
The Year in Review:
What a wild year it has been in Portland real estate. In popular neighborhoods, we’ve seen multiple offers and many homes selling in a week or less. So many homes sold last year that a shrinking supply of listings led to even more competition among buyers. Sellers thought it was a bad time to sell, so most people held off on listing their homes. Skinny inventory resulted in rising prices.
Have we seen the bottom of the market? It sure looks that way. Especially in the close-in neighborhoods, and many of the popular neighborhoods farther out, too.
On the other hand, despite the rising competition among buyers, some homes stayed on the market a long time, as you may have noticed.
Why?
the house didn’t have what most buyers wanted, or
it wasn’t marketed well, or
it wasn’t staged or priced right, or
it had some quirk or oddity or location issue.
For these reasons, it didn’t sell. It stayed on the market for a couple of months or many more, and if the sellers were motivated, they made the necessary adjustments, and they stuck with it until their turn eventually came up.
A divided market. The market this year has been divided into homes that sold almost immediately (quick-sellers), and homes that didn’t sell for months or longer (lingerers). In my 25 years in this business, I’ve seen divided markets before. The good news is, I know quite a few ways to turn a lingerer into a quick-seller.
What’s it been like for buyers? Buyers have had trouble finding homes to look at. There are very few homes for sale. My buyers keep a close watch on the Looking Glass home searches I send them. They are looking day and night. When a house is new on the market, the house show “green” for 24 hours and they jump on those first. When they see something good, guess what? A bunch of other buyers have noticed it too, and we line up with other brokers and their clients waiting to get in for showings. It really is like that. Multiple offers? We are talking 4, 6, even 10 offers if the house looks like a good deal. Of course this drives up the price. It can be a roller coaster for my buyer clients, but more often than not, if my buyers write an offer they get the house.
For sellers? The quick-sellers were of course very pleased and grateful to have a good offer from an earnest buyer, or even multiple offers.
Prices. We are in a rising market. The prices of the quick-selling homes are rising. In fact, it’s important to be careful not to under-price.
For the lingerer houses it’s still been a rough ride. With the right adjustments, those houses have sold in 2012 too. I have outstanding tools to identify the factors that have created a lingering house and turn it into a quick-seller. One difficulty, perhaps not obvious to people outside of the real estate profession, is that homes that stay on the market longer tend to sell for less. There are many reasons, but a home that sells quickly usually sells for substantially more than a home that is on the market a long time. That’s why we evaluate pricing very carefully. Having the right price encourages buyers to make offers right away.
So there is your (very) short course on the answer to “what’s up with prices?” I’d love to tell you more. Let’s talk about your plans for 2013. Contact me if you’d like to learn more about your home’s value or making a purchase, or any other real estate questions. Happy 2013!
One of our friends at M Realty, Shana Ruess, will be competing with her dog in the Rose City Classic Dog Show this month. Five days of great dog shows will run from January 16-20, 2013 at the Expo Center. Every year people come out to see their favorite breeds and competitions, and competitors fly in from around the country with their dogs. Parking fills up fast, so it’s always a great idea to take the MAX instead, which drops you off right outside the expo building.
Shana will be competing with her 11-month-old Tibetan Mastiff, Lyka, who recently received 3 points toward her AKC Champion title in October. She was Winner’s Bitch and Best Opposite Sex for a 3-point Major Win.
At the show in January, Lyka will be competing in Conformation in the Tibetan Mastiff Breed going up against all the other females to win additional points towards her title. Lyka is working on her CH title, she has 8 of the required 15 points towards her title. Lyka could quite likely finish her CH title at Rose City, as entries will be large and most days should be worth 3-4 points. However, this is a very big show, and the best of the best come to compete, so competition will be stiff. The winner of Best of Breed goes on to compete in the Breed Group Ring. Tibetan Mastiffs are part of the Working Dog group.
Shana will be working with Lyka on controlling her “puppy enthusiasm” as they prepare for the show. Root for your favorite breeds and keep an eye out for Lyka this January at the Rose City Classic!
Hilarious comedy-circus variety show. Clowns Without Borders strives to relieve trauma through laughter in areas of crisis around the world. 7:30 pm, Da Vinci Middle School Theater, 2508 NE Everett, Portland 97232
At their next InFarmation & Beer, Friends of Family Farmers is presenting a screening of the latest rough-cut of Gaining Ground, a documentary film about food justice by Elaine Velazquez and KBOO talk show host, Barbara Bernstein. 5:30 to 8:30 pm at Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison.
The feature length documentary shows how growing healthy food can be a catalyst for igniting hope and empowerment in rural and urban communities. Here’s a clip: 28554508
Contribute and/or attend the Occupy Holiday Free Store at St. Francis Church, 1131 SE Oak just north of Stark Street (in the basement room). Bring/get anything that would make a nice holiday gift – tins of cookies, fruit cakes, knitted mittens, crocheted throws, books, DVDs, CDs, flower vases, games, puzzles, toys, stuffed animals, earrings, necklaces, frisbees.
Write a personal gift certificate for: skills, hours of work, consultation, empathy, concert tickets, whatever you want to offer for a gift. Email freestorepdx@gmail.com for more information or if you want to volunteer or have things to donate. Thanks!
MORE on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/events/389008361181853/
With the cold crisp in the morning air, the snap of autumn leaves under your feet, and the Pumpkin Spice latte in your hand, fall is finally here. And that means it’s almost time for Halloween. Most Portlanders are aware of our city’s strange and eerie past with places like the Shanghai Tunnels and the famously haunted Pittock Mansion, so take a look at a few more interesting Portland properties with some disturbing histories.
The Willamette Mansion
This forgotten home site sits across the river from the Waverly Club. The foundation was originally part of Oregon’s old water pump house. Legend says the builder and owner’s spirit still wanders the hallsâespecially in the elevator shaft where it is rumored he took his own life. Visitors have experienced doors mysteriously locking and lights randomly turning on and off.
Witch’s Castle
The stone ruins of a 1950s park ranger station are rumored to sit above what was once an old trading post from the 1600s. The land was originally owned by the Balch family in the mid 1800sâcreating the start of an eerie past with the father Danford Balch who claimed his wife bewitched him into committing murder. The land was eventually divided up and given to the City of Portland in 1897 to be used as a park. Today, visitors who seek out the shack claim seeing strange orbs and apparitions.
White Eagle Saloon and Hotel
The White Eagle Saloon originally had a less than ideal reputation on Mississippi Avenue in Northeast Portland. It was once considered the saloon and brothel of choice for Portland’s roughest crowd where bar fights got out of hand on a daily basisâresulting in the nickname “Bucket of Blood.” The old brick building, which was built in the early 1900s, is rumored to be haunted by a working girl named Rose, who met an untimely death by the hand of a jealous lover. McMenamins eventually bought the building and now it functions as a popular neighborhood haunt known for its live music.
Above, the saloon today. Below, the saloon shortly after it opened in 1906.
During the winter holidays, many sellers withdraw their homes from the market or wait until after the first of the year to sell. Most often, it’s because of family visits and holiday celebrations. However in today’s market, having your home up for sale during the winter holidays can give you a competitive edge.
Serious Buyers. Only serious buyers are looking for homes during the holidays. Think about it. Would you rather be attending holiday events and getting your shopping done, or driving around in the rain and cold looking at homes? For buyers, their dedication and commitment to the home buying process during this time makes them perhaps more serious buyers than the summer tire-kickers. Most buyers start their search on the internet and will spend their holiday break surfing the web looking for homes. With more free time, buyers and their families will spend more time dreaming about what they will do in 2013. Why not give them a great home website created by M Realty to fall in love with?
Less competition. As other sellers take their homes off the market, this creates less competition for those committed buyers. With fewer homes to consider, buyers will be more likely to spend time looking at your home. This will shift in January as more sellers trickle back into the market, slowly increasing back up to normal levels by the beginning of March.
Moving up before prices increase. The market appears to have hit bottom in 2012. From here, the market will likely begin to move back up as foreclosures decrease and normal houses return to the market. Ask yourself, âwhat is the cost of waiting until I know for sure?â Given a 3% annual increase in the market, a $250,000 house will gain $7,500 in value, while a $500,000 house will gain $15,000 in value. Your leverage in buying up to the next level house is much higher in actual dollars.
Holiday decorations. If you are already moving furniture and personal times to put up holiday decorations, it’s also a great time to clean behind the couch or sideboard. And the temporary storage for your personal items is the same as it is when having your home professionally staged. Give me a call to have my professional stager help you with both your holiday decorations and staging your home for sale at the same time. Buyers are emotional during the holidays. Capitalize on their emotions by using high quality holiday decorations to showcase what your home has to offerâin turn letting buyers experience the dream of living in your home.
Higher appraisal values. Recent strong sales support the rising appraisal values of homes. With the market increase in sales of normal homes, now is the best time to sell. The percentage of bank-owned and foreclosure homes has shrunk, giving appraisers more information on the sale of regular homes as they begin to increase in value for the first time in over five years.
$306,000 — 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath — 1810 SF
| Sunny, spacious, charming 1923 bungalow. Near hot new cafes like Luce, as well as Whole Foods, Laurelhurst Theater, Screen Door, 28th Ave, food carts and more. Light pours in! Beautiful hardwoods. Big kitchen & bedrooms. Bonus area in attic. Sunny garden spots. Buckman school! Bike-friendly cute detached garage on east side. |
Listed by: Laurie Sonnenfeld @ M Realty LLC
SOLD — 91 Days on Market
$250,000 — 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths — 2104 SF
| Urban retreat! Bright & open 1923 Bungalow w full porch in beautiful setting. Huge fenced yard w privacy & waterfall, sun & shade. Updated kitchen opens to deck. 3 bdrms, all up/2 baths. Wood flrs. New furnace, mostly dbl windows. Hip Foster-Powell offers parks, cafes, bikeways & live music. Continue updating this spacious bungalow to make it all your own. |
Listed by: Laurie Sonnenfeld @ M Realty LLC
SOLD — 7 Days on Market
$362,500 — 3 Bedrooms, 1.1 Baths — 2428 SF
| Mid Century Modern in Concordia near New Seasons & Kennedy School. Spacious and open living & dining with “Modern” details. Lots of light with big windows everywhere. Classic “racetrack” ceiling. Big party room w fplc. New high eff gas furnace. Storms. Patio (or inexpensively depave it for sunny garden!). Either Jefferson or Madison HS. |
Listed by: Laurie Sonnenfeld @ M Realty LLC
SOLD — 28 Days on Market