Portland Blog - This Week in Portland, Feb 27- Mar 6

Hello, fellow Portlanders. It's another great weekend in Portland with several big events: the Portland jazz festival is still underway through tomorrow, and this weekend we also have the Portland Spring and Garden show for more gardening ideas and inspiration. For something a little more unusual, check the Haiku contest (see details below to enter or vote for one of our members) or even head down to the river to see a barge launch today. Whatever you decide to do this weekend, there's never a dull moment in Portland. Thanks for uploading your Portland events. if you have an event you would like to share, you can add it to our calendar, here.

Featured Portland Events

Portland Spring Home and Garden Show This weekend at the Expo Center. Get some yard and garden inspiration.

MetroArts Kids Camp - Camp registration is now open for MetroArts Kids Camp 18th year. Camp runs this summer July 12-16 and 19-23, Monday-Fridays for 7-12 year olds. Our campers go through classes of visual arts, music, dance, and theater all on the performing spaces of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.

Portland International Airport Haiku Finals - Now through SUNDAY Midnight vote for best haiku. Winner goes from PDX to Amsterdam or Tokyo. Check it out and vote! My husband Howard Morey is in top 10 with MOUNTAINS of DREAMS. We'd love to fly nonstop PDX to Tokyo!

Portland Harbor Behind the Scenes Barge Launch - Today - Join the Portland Harbor: Behind the Scenes Tour and Lecture Series as we witness the launch of Gunderson Marine’s latest barge, EMI 2400. Be there for the crash of a champagne bottle, the hum of a bagpipe, roar of the crowd and splash of thousands of tons of barge sliding into the Willamette River. Before the launch, hear about Gunderson, all that they do and why they are an important part of the working waterfront.

The Toast of the Town - On Saturday night, Feb 27th, Peterson Entertainment, Llc, in collaboration with Jimmy Maks, proudly presents “The Toast of the Town!” a very special, dual CD release party. If you like your jazz groove-heavy and served up with attitude, get your reservations in early! This locals-only performance, during the Portland Jazz Festival, features a power-house lineup of Portland’s coolest jazz cats: Noah Peterson on saxophone, Gordon Lee on piano, Andre St. James on upright bass and Edwin Coleman III on drums.

Portland Photo of the Week

Each week we select a member-uploaded photo of the week. This week's Portland photo of the week winner is Earl R.Thomas for this shot called "Motivated Seller". Earl adds this context, "For Sale: One room mansion close to I-84. Great starter home or for weekend trysts. Low/no maintenance. Purchase mansion and seller will
throw in transportation vehicle at no additional cost. Quiet neighborhood." Nice, Earl...

Spring Portland Photo Contest
With all the spring flowers and trees bursting into bloom, it looks like it's time for another Portland photo contest. Upload your best spring themed Portland images to our Photo page, and you'll be automatically entered at your chance to win a Portland gift certificate: your choice of a gardening gift card to a local nursery, or a brewpub gift certificate to enjoy spring like weather on one of Portland's outdoor beer patios. (below, Amnesia Brewing) Contest runs through March.

Glenfair Neighborhood Report
by Ross Seligman
The Glenfair neighborhood is located in East Portland. It is bordered by the Hazelwood, Wilkes and Centennial neighborhoods. Click here to learn more: http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/glenfair.html In my monthly Portland real estate report, I always talk about how each individual neighborhood is a micro-market. If you are looking to buy or sell in a particular neighborhood, the most crucial information that you need to know is what is going on in that neighborhood. In this situation, the overall Portland market report is less important and the national real estate report is just about useless. This posting is a real estate report for the Glenfair neighborhood of all homes in all price ranges. Feel free to request particular neighborhoods in which you are interested in buying or selling and I am be happy to do a report, just contact me on this forum or at: http://www.propertiesofportland.com.

If you are looking for homes in Glenfair, visit this link where you can search for homes by particular eighborhood:
http://www.propertiesofportland.com/index.cfm/page/51539/parent/426...

The first thing you will notice about individual neighborhoods as compared to the overall Portland reports are that the numbers can be wildly different month to month. Basically, the bigger the pool of data you are working with, the smoother the stats become. As we focus on smaller areas, many different things can happen month to month.
On to the report:

Here is the overall chart of inventory, sold, and pending for the Glenfair neighborhood from 11/08 to 01/10:

In January 2010, the Glenfair neighborhood had 10 closed sales, 31 Pending Sales, and 181 on the market.

More stats for you from your friendly neighborhood real estate statistics nerd:

One year change from January 2009 to January 2010:

Inventory (how many homes on the market for sale): Down 8.1%
Homes sold: Up 11.1%
Homes pending sale: Up 72.2%

Chart for average price per square footage:

In the past 15 months, the average price per square footage in the Glenfair neighborhood has been between $102 and $133/sq. ft. In January 2010, the average price per square foot in the Glenfair neighborhood was $102.

One year change from January 2009 to January 2010:

Change in Price Per Square Foot:
January 2009: 110
January 2010: 102
Percentage Change: Down 7%

Days on Market, Sold/List Price:

This chart is showing us two things. First, how many days on the market that a home is spending, on average, before being sold. In January 2010, the average time on market for a home in the Glenfair neighborhood was 161 days. January was an exception as you can see from the past 15 months. The 10 homes that sold that month in Glenfair obviously didn't move quickly. I imagine we will see a lower number next month.

The second thing that this chart is showing you is what percentage of the listing price the owners actually are getting when the house is sold. This is a great indication of the pressure on prices. In January 2010, sellers in Glenfair received, on average, 95% of their listing price.

More stats for you:

Change from January 2009 to January 2010:

Time on Market: Increased 38.8%
Sold/List price % difference: Decreased 1%

Average price for sale vs. average price of sold:

This chart shows us what the average listing was and what the average sale was. In January 2010, the average price of a house on the market in Glenfair was $242,000. The average sale was $177,000.

More stats over one year:

Average active price: Down 10%
Average sold price: Down 13.7%.

Months of Inventory:

Months of inventory gives a time line of how long it would take for all of the current listings to sell. Anything above 4 months is considered a buyers market. This figure is a good indicator of supply and demand. January 2009 was a genuine buyer's maket with 18.1 months of inventory. January was a hard month for sellers in Glenfair but, for buyers, a perfect storm.

By the way, This does NOT mean that it will take 18.1 months for your home to sell. That figure was, on average in January, 161 days, remember? It is a figure that means that, if not another home were to come on the
market in Glenfair from this point forward, in 18.1 months there would not be another home to sell. They would all be sold.

Visit my website where you can contact me and search all Portland Metro Area listings from the RMLS: http://www.propertiesofportland.com

Best Real Estate Deals in Portland

Each week, Ross highlights a handful of great deals in Portland. Like this listing in Ladd's Addition:

2285 SE CYPRESS AVE Portland, OR 97214 - Ladd's Addition - $495,000