Portland, Oregon Real Estate Trends

Portland, OR was once the hardest hit areas when it came to the housing market crash in recent years. Things seem to be looking up for this city, though. Want to know some specifics when it comes to recent Portland real estate trends?

First of all, let's figure out which year was the worst for this area. When I was browsing Trulia.com, I saw a graph that depicted home sales. 2009 was by far the worst year for home sales. Portland was definitely a victim of the housing bubble, though. The home sales prices almost doubled between 2000 and 2007. This goes to show you should always do your research and be careful when it comes to buying a home. Find out through the local property tax office what homes around this one sold for recently or ask your real estate agent to give you the statistics. Never buy a home with a realtor that is pushing you to pay more than what you should or want to for a house. You need to be comfortable with your purchase and a real professional knows that fact and is sensitive to it.

Secondly, let's figure out what neighborhoods seem to be the best to buy in from the research I've performed. Rose City Park is one popular neighborhood located on the northeast side of the city. It has laid back restaurants, coffee shops, and a median home price of $339K. The neighborhood of Powellhurst offers a family vibe with quick access to major roadways as well as a median price around $175K for homes. This is definitely a good option for a family on a budget that wants to reside in southeast Portland. Irvington features unique homes with easy access to the freeway and restaurants. This northeast Portland neighborhood doesn't come cheap, though. The median home price in this area is about $500K. Mount Tabor is another popular Portland neighborhood on the southeast side of the city. The homes in this neighborhood are older and have a lot of charm. It is very close to the popular Hawthorne district. Homes in this area go for around $425K. This is the price we pay for charm. There are several other desirable areas in Portland, but these are all I'm going to share with you since we still have to go over what's been going on in Portland's market.

Although this year is better than 2009, the market has still seen better days. In the period of March through May of this year, the average price per square foot was $172. This is about a 10% decline from the same period of time last year. The median sales price of Portland homes is said to be around $245K this year. It is about 4% lower than last year's median number. The average family earning around $45K per year would have to save up while renting for a while before purchasing their first home in order to afford the monthly payments.

Since I mentioned renting, what is that market like in Portland? Although I'm unable to give clear findings on the average rental cost, I know this area is unlike Houston when it comes to renting logic. You definitely have to have a substantial down payment on a home in this city in order for your monthly payment to match or be lower than the monthly rent for the same home. All that said, you probably will have higher quality tenants in Portland versus Houston.

That's all I have for Portland! Please comment if you have further insight.

Houston Rental Real Estate

Has anyone seen how much houses are renting for in the Houston area? Houston houses for rent have skyrocketed in per month pricing in the past few years. Most people would be better off financially as far as their monthly payment is concerned if they bought a house. Still, people are renting instead of buying. Why is this the case?

Obviously, the entire U.S. economy has seen better days. Also, lenders have become more strict when it comes to qualifying people that want to borrow money because of all of the foreclosures and short sales that have happened in the last few years. People that own their homes outright are even trying rent to own programs since they know how hard it will be to sell their home. They usually come to an agreement with the tenants that will be occupying their home a certain amount that will go toward the down payment.
Some people with great credit and a good debt to income ratio still opt to rent rather than buy because of the economic conditions. They are afraid to lock themselves into a decision because they are worried about job security or just don't want to let go of the large down payment money. Still, how much more per month are we talking to rent a house in the Houston area rather than buy it?

How much more does it cost the average family to rent a house in Houston than own a home in the Houston area? The median single family home sale price is around $150,000 in Houston, TX. Property taxes in this city are usually around 3% and everyone is required to carry insurance on their homes. The mortgage payment including taxes and insurance on $150,000 home in this area should be right around $1,350 if you get a 6% rate for 30 years and put 5% down on the house. A lot of qualified buyers could get a lower interest rate or only put 3.5% down lowering that down payment even more. In addition, because the market is so soft several homeowners are giving buyers credits of up to 6% at closing which could cover a little of that down payment. Most houses that would sell for around $150,000 are getting around $1,650 in rent per month or more. This means it is at least $300 more per month to rent the home rather than buy it and earn equity with little money down. In addition, when most houses are rented, the landlord will require a security deposit equal to one month of rent. In contrast to a lot of cities in the United States, it definitely costs more to rent in Houston than to own. There are tons of newer homes on the market and the cost of upkeep on newer energy efficient homes is minimal. The houses also usually come with a warranty.
I guess that's just the way the market is. It doesn't make much sense to me, but that's probably why I own my own home in the Houston area.

Florida Real Estate

How about a little bit of background info to start off with?

Most of you all reading this know that Florida is known as "The Sunshine State," but did you know that the 2010 state population was almost 19 million? In 2009, there were somewhere around 9 million housing units in the state.

Let's just talk about a few major metro areas. We discuss Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando. I know there are several other large cities in this sunny state, but I don't want to be writing for 3 days on this post. :-)

Miami, FL Real Estate


It seems as though Miami was one of the areas hit the hardest by the housing market crash. The decline from the all-time high real estate prices is at around 40%. This is not what Miami home owners want to hear, especially if they were counting on a home equity loan to help them through some financial struggle. The good news is that it seems like the real estate market is going to bottom out very soon in Miami. The worst year seems to be 2008 with the home depreciation rate at a whopping 27%. In 2010 the rate of depreciation was around 5%.
It seems as though this year the Miami housing market will get better. Foreign real estate investments are helping the city bounce back from the housing nightmare there. Housing sales are up around 50% this year and Condo sales are up by around 80% according to an article on Fox News in March of 2011. Who is buying in Miami? It seems quite a bit of the buyers entering the Miami market are wealthy Mexicans, Brazilians, Canadians, Romanians, and clients from France.
This is good news for this large Florida city!

Fort Lauderdale, FL Real Estate


It seems as though Fort Lauderdale home prices are declining this year by quite a bit. The price per square foot in this Florida city has declined about 15% when you compare home prices to the second quarter of last year. The median home sales price decreased about 8% when one compares it to the exact same time last year. It is a great time for buyers to enter the market, but a bad time to sell your home in Fort Lauderdale. Why do people choose to move to Fort Lauderdale? The popular tourist destination is great for people in that business or for those who are looking for a more laid back atmosphere. People who get jobs in marine commerce might end up in this beautiful city known as the Venice of America. Marine commerce accounts for over 130,000 jobs in Fort Lauderdale.

Orlando, FL Real Estate

When I think Orlando, I think family. This Florida city is great for families with young children because there is so much for kids to do there. Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, Discovery Cove and Wet-N-Wild theme parks are nearby. And who could forget the world famous Disney World? There are also many museums and other attractions to bring the kids to. This is why so many families travel to Orlando each year for vacation.
So what about real estate? The average price per square foot is around $72 in this family-oriented area. This is a decrease of about 7% from the same time last year. This isn't good news for those wanting to sell their homes in Orlando. This is good news if you are looking to buy in Orlando, FL. The most popular neighborhoods are Meadow Woods, Pine Hills, Metro West, Lake Nona, and College Park. The home prices in these subdivisions range from about $60,000 to about $300,000. This makes the popular neighborhoods in this city more affordable than many other cities in the United States that are good for families.

So there you have it! I hope this is useful information for someone out there looking to buy a home or sell their home in the Sunshine State!

Miami, Florida Real Estate Market

The beautiful city of Miami has many beautiful homes to choose from. The weather is nice, alongside the beach, and it is a diverse community. The Miami real estate market has declined for the most part this past few years.

It once was virtually impossible for many residents to own property in Miami a few years ago that have recently bought a piece of property. For these former tenants, the downturn in pricing and interest rates for homes and fixed rate loans was welcome. The mortgage rates are currently right at around 5% for a 30 year fixed loan. For example, a home appraised for over $420,000 in Miami in 2007 is now worth under $220,000.This is definitely unwelcome news for those who bought their homes in 2007 or recently before that year when prices were high. How much house can you afford for your money in the Miami area? The average price per square foot within Miami is around $185. So, for example a 2,000 square foot house in the city should cost around $370,000.

As you can see from the statement made above, Miami was one of the hardest-hit areas in the real estate market downfall. Although some of the most popular suburbs were not hit quite as badly, they still suffered a loss in value. City-data.com suggested some of the best and worst suburbs to live in that are close to the big city. The best suburbs are reported to be Loxahatchee, Southwest Ranches, Horse country, Redlands, and Sunkist Estates. According to the same site, the five least desirable neighborhoods are supposedly Liberty City/Overtown, Doral, Hialea, Florida City, and Opa-Locka.


Let's talk about renting for a quick second. When there's a credit crunch, rent usually rises. According to trulia.com, the median rent payment in Miami is $1850. This is higher than both Coral Way and Almeda at $1650 and $1400 respectively. Over the past year, Miami's median rent has stayed pretty stable while Coral Way and Almeda's median rent payment has slightly decreased.


That is my short overview of the real estate market in and around the city of Miami, FL. Please feel free to comment or add additional information I left out that you foresee as important! Thanks and have a wonderful day.

Boston, MA Real Estate

The last three months is somewhat of a mixed trend. The homes with 3 or more bedrooms have fared well. The amount of money collected from sales has increased 12.4% and over 200% for 3 and 4 bedroom homes respectively. The amount of money brought in from sales of one and two bedroom homes in Boston decreased 3.9% and 2.8% respectively. This is the reason for me saying that there has been a mixed trend for the past three months compared to the 3 month period prior.  The median sales price for homes in Boston increased 4.5% or $25,000 compared to the three month period prior to November 2010 through February 2011.  The median sales price of Boston homes for the period of Nov. 2010 through Feb. 2011was $580,000. Black Bay, South End, South Boston, Beacon Hill, Jamaica Plain and Charlestown are all popular neighborhoods in Boston, MA. So, if we used the past three month period as any sort of an indicator of how future months may go, it looks good for 3 or 4 bedroom homes, but not great for 1 or 2 bedroom homes. Hopefully the next three month period will show increases for all sizes of homes. I did my research on Trulia.com.  Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Houston Area Real Estate Trend- Good News!

According to a HAR.com press release, when it comes to the Houston area's real estate, January was a good month this year compared to last. Single family homes for sale and for lease are included in this upward trend. Great news!

First of all, the demand to lease single family homes rose 27% compared to last January. The demand for townhomes and condos increased by 24% when comparing the same two periods. The preceding facts dictate an increase in what to expect to pay for rent per square foot compared to last year. Good news for landlords, not so great for tenants.

Now onto sales. Total property sales for the month increased almost 10% compared to January 2010. Total dollars brought in from real estate in Houston increased about 12% when compared to January 2010.  The average sales price of a home increased from $192,617 to $196,879 or about 2.2%.  Hopefully this trend continues.

There is some bad news to go along with the good news, though.  The amount of inventory on the market increased from roughly 6 months to 7 months.  This is the amount of time that it is predicted it will take to sell all the homes on the market for periods ending January 2010 and January 2011 respectively.  The single family median sales price decreased about 2.2% or from $143,560 in January 2010 to $139,000 last month.  This is not a huge decrease, so that is not horrible news.

Let's keep up the spirit of recovery Houston!

Chicago, IL Real Estate Sales

Let's discuss the overview of home sales in Chicago, IL. The big picture for those wanting to sell their homes does not look good in Chicago, unless you are looking to buy in an area you once could not afford.  The following describes the period of November 2010 to mid-January 2011 as compared to the same period in 2009-2010.  The amount of homes sold has decreased by about 39%.  The median home sales price decreased from $240,000 to $200,000. That is about 17%.
If you are looking to buy, this is good news. Homes are much more affordable.  It is also no myth that buying in "off season" is a good idea.  What am I talking about?  I'm talking about not buying a home in the months of May, June, July, or August.  You might have less to choose from, but you will most likely get a better deal. When looking for homes in Chicago, you must be aware that there are several areas that the home could be in and that will dictate the value of the home. According to Trulia.com, the most desirable neighborhoods are Near North Side, Lincoln Park, DePaul, Wicker Park, and Bucktown. Townhomes, condos and single family homes do not come cheap in these areas, though. The average list price of residential property in these highly desirable neighborhoods is at least $500,000.  Trulia.com is a great source if you are looking to move to Chicago.  This website and others can help newcomers get the big picture of real estate in Chicago first. It is always good for a buyer to do a little of their own research so they have realistic expectations. Doing your homework is also good because you know when you are being shown homes that are overpriced, in a bad area, or perhaps a great deal.