Displaying blog entries 1-10 of 14
Here are some stats showing COVID impact on new listings for the Portland Metro area for 2020 in RED. Prior two years are in green and blue. The second chart is for Pending sales for 2020.
Summer will be the new spring for sales this year. Listings are starting to fill in on Mt. Hood with twenty nine current properties for sale. This is the lowest inventory on the mountain ever!
![Interest Rates Hover Near Historic All-Time Lows [INFOGRAPHIC] | MyKCM](https://files.mykcm.com/2020/05/21093649/20200522-MEM-1046x837.png)
Here is the latest communication from Clackamas County concerning unincorporated short term vacation rentals:
Yesterday the Board of County Commissioners agreed to delay for six months (until Nov. 17, 2020) any further action on possible regulations for short-term rentals in unincorporated Clackamas County. The action was taken because of the changed circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
The status of short-term rentals in the county will continue to be as it has been, with no registration program or specific regulations except for the requirement to pay Transient Lodging Tax to the county's Finance Department (see details here: https://www.clackamas.us/finance/transient.html) . On November 17, the Board of Commissioners will again discuss the issue of possibly regulating short-term rentals based on the situation at that time.
Regulations as currently drafted will remain on the website at www.clackamas.us/planning/str. We will notify you when this issue is brought before the Board again or if there are other changes. For more information, contact Senior Planner Martha Fritzie at [email protected].
Thank you for your interest. Take care.
Ellen Rogalin, Community Relations Specialist
Clackamas County Public & Government Affairs
Transportation & Development | Business & Community Services
503-742-4274 | 150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City, OR 97045
Office hours: 9 am – 6 pm, Monday-Friday
Here's a private secluded home on over a half acre of land in the gated community of Arrah Wanna Estates located in Welches, Oregon. This home features three bedrooms and two baths with just under 1800 square feet of living space. Wood floors and vaulted ceilings are features of the living room. An open floor plan opens to the kitchen that features stainless steel appliances. A few steps more and you're into the family room or hobby room for projects. It also might make a great office.
There's one bedroom on the main level. Stairs take you up to a spacious master suite with sitting room, closet area and a remodeled bathroom that includes a tub, shower and skylight. A cozy loft bedroom sits over the living room
Outside features include a covered patio area and two different yard areas to use. A pergola is over the barbeque area. There's also multiple outbuildings. Just off the two car carport is an attached shop or storage area. Another outbuilding has storage and what was once a two horse stall with a fenced closed in area.
The asking price is $425,000.
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The final numbers for April 2020 sales are out from RMLS. Take a look at these recent numbers:
April had 31 active listings on the market. I've never seen this little inventory on the market in the past 35 years. Pending sales have dropped 42% for April. For 2020 the cumulative pending sales are down just a tad under 17%. April saw a total of 8 sales. On the plus side there are currently 21 pending sales that should be closing eventually.
I know credit is tightening so a good credit score is a must in order to buy in this market. Many lenders are cutting out home equity loans which cuts off a good source of down payments and cash for buyers. It will be interesting to see what effect this tightening of credit will do to our market. All indications are that we will continue with a strong seller's market at this time and hopefully with some opening up we will see more properties hit the market.
With the housing market staggered to some degree by the health crisis the country is currently facing, some potential purchasers are questioning whether home values will be impacted. The price of any item is determined by supply as well as the market’s demand for that item.
Each month the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys “over 50,000 real estate practitioners about their expectations for home sales, prices and market conditions” for the REALTORS Confidence Index.
Their latest edition sheds some light on the relationship between seller traffic (supply) and buyer traffic (demand) during this pandemic.
The map below was created after asking the question: “How would you rate buyer traffic in your area?”
The darker the blue, the stronger the demand for homes is in that area. The survey shows that in 34 of the 50 U.S. states, buyer demand is now ‘strong’ and 16 of the 50 states have a ‘stable’ demand.
The index also asks: “How would you rate seller traffic in your area?”
As the map above indicates, 46 states and Washington, D.C. reported ‘weak’ seller traffic, 3 states reported ‘stable’ seller traffic, and 1 state reported ‘strong’ seller traffic. This means there are far fewer homes on the market than what is needed to satisfy the needs of buyers looking for homes right now.
With demand still stronger than supply, home values should not depreciate.
Here are the thoughts of three industry experts on the subject:
“We note that inventory as a percent of households sits at the lowest level ever, something we believe will limit the overall degree of home price pressure through the year.”
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist, First American:
“Housing supply remains at historically low levels, so house price growth is likely to slow, but it’s not likely to go negative.”
“Two forces prevent a collapse in house prices. First, as we indicated in our earlier research report, U.S. housing markets face a large supply deficit. Second, population growth and pent up household formations provide a tailwind to housing demand.”
Looking at these maps and listening to the experts, it seems that prices will remain stable throughout 2020. If you’re thinking about listing your home, let’s connect to discuss how you can capitalize on the somewhat surprising demand in the market now.
Tomorrow, the unemployment rate for April 2020 will be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It will hit a peak this country has never seen before, with data representing real families and lives affected by this economic slowdown. The numbers will alarm us. There will be headlines and doomsday scenarios in the media. There is hope, though, that as businesses reopen, most people will become employed again soon.
Last month’s report indicated we initially lost over 700,000 jobs in this country, and the unemployment rate quickly rose to 4.4%. With the release of the new data, that number will climb even higher. Experts forecast this report will show somewhere between a 15% - 20% national unemployment rate, and some anticipate that number to be even greater (see graph below):
Here’s a breakdown of this spring’s weekly unemployment filings:
The good news shown here indicates the number of additional unemployment claims has decreased week over week since the beginning of April. Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of Automatic Data Processing (ADP) says based on what he’s seeing:
“It’s possible that companies are already anticipating some kind of normalization, opening in certain states and starting to post jobs.”
He goes on to say that this doesn’t mean all companies are hiring, but it could mean they are at the point where they’re not cutting jobs anymore. Let’s hope this trend continues.
Most experts predict that while unemployment is high right now, it won’t be that way for long. The length of unemployment during this crisis is projected to be significantly shorter than the duration seen in the Great Recession and the Great Depression.
While forecasts may be high, the numbers are trending down and the length of time isn’t expected to last forever.
Don’t let the headlines rattle you. There’s hope coming as we start to safely reopen businesses throughout the country. Unemployment affects our families, our businesses, and our country. Our job is to rally around those impacted and do our part to support them through this time.
Displaying blog entries 1-10 of 14
