Homeownership Equity Gains Over The Past 30 Years Some Highlights If you’re questioning whether or not to buy a home this year due to today’s cooling market, consider the long-term financial benefits of homeownership. As a homeowner, equity increases your wealth. On average, nationwide, home prices appreciated by 290.2% since 1991. Homeownership wins in the long run. If you’re ready to buy a home, let’s connect today. 11/04/2022

3 Questions You May Be Asking About Selling Your House Today Some Highlights If you’re planning to sell your house this year, you likely have questions about what the shift in the housing market means for your home sale. You might be wondering: Should I wait to sell? Are buyers still out there? And can I afford to buy my next home? Let’s connect so you can get answers to these questions and learn about the opportunities you still have in today’s housing market. 10/21/2022

The Emotional and Non-financial Benefits of Homeownership With higher mortgage rates, you might be wondering if now's the best time to buy a home. While the financial aspects are important to consider, there are also powerful non-financial reasons it may make sense to make a move. Here are just a few of the benefits that come with homeownership. Homeowners Can Make Their Home Truly Their Own Owning your home gives you a significant sense of accomplishment because it’s a space you can customize to your heart’s desire. That can bring you added happiness. In fact, a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows making updates or remodeling your home can help you feel more at ease and comfortable in your living space. NAR measures this with a Joy Score that indicates how much... 10/17/2022

Saving for a Down Payment? Here’s What You Should Know. As you set out to buy a home, saving for a down payment is likely top of mind. But you may still have questions about the process, including how much to save and where to start. If that sounds like you, your down payment could be more in reach than you originally thought. Here’s why. The 20% Down Payment Myth If you believe you have to put 20% down on a home, you may have based your goal on a common misconception. Freddie Mac explains: “. . . nearly a third of prospective homebuyers think they need a down payment of 20% or more to buy a home. This myth remains one of the largest perceived barriers to achieving homeownership.” Unless it’s specified by your loan type or lender, it’s typically not required to put 20% down. According t... 10/10/2022

The Cost of Waiting for Mortgage Rates To Go Down Mortgage rates have increased significantly in recent weeks. And that may mean you have questions about what this means for you if you’re planning to buy a home. Here’s some information that can help you make an informed decision when you set your homebuying plans. The Impact of Rising Mortgage Rates As mortgage rates rise, they impact your purchasing power by raising the cost of buying a home and limiting how much you can comfortably afford. Here’s how it works. Let’s assume you want to buy a $400,000 home (the median-priced home according to the National Association of Realtors is $389,500). If you’re trying to shop at that price point and keep your monthly payment about $2,500-2,600 or below, here’s how your purchasing power can chang... 10/07/2022

Two Questions Every Homebuyer Should Ask Themselves Right Now Rising interest rates have begun to slow an overheated housing market as monthly mortgage payments have risen dramatically since the beginning of the year. This is leaving some people who want to purchase a home priced out of the market and others wondering if now is the time to buy one. But this rise in borrowing cost shows no signs of letting up soon. Economic uncertainty and the volatility of the financial markets are causing mortgage rates to rise. George Ratiu, Senior Economist and Manager of Economic Research at realtor.com, says this: “While even two months ago rates above 7% may have seemed unthinkable, at the current pace, we can expect rates to surpass that level in the next three months.” So, is now the right time ... 10/06/2022

How Owning a Home Builds Your Net Worth Owning a home is a major financial milestone and an achievement to take pride in. One major reason: the equity you build as a homeowner gives your net worth a big boost. And with high inflation right now, the link between owning your home and building your wealth is especially important. If you’re looking to increase your financial security, here’s why now could be a good time to start on your journey toward homeownership. Owning a Home Is a Key Ingredient for Financial Success A report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) details several homeownership trends, including a significant gap in net worth between homeowners and renters. It finds: “. . . the net worth of a homeowner was about $300,000 while that of a renter’s was $8,000 in 20... 10/03/2022

An additional January 2020 home sale ($375,000 in Maupin) was reported today (02/10/20). This additional home sale revised the January 2020 Wasco County Residential Sales Activity report I provided a few days ago. The revised report follows.During January 2020, twenty-four (24) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $60,900 to a high of $467,900. The average sales price for homes sold in Wasco County was $244,100  ($42k less than Dec 2019) with a median sales price of $248,000. The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,662, with a median of 1,737 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 124 days, with a median DOM of 42 days. The average DOM was impacted by three (3) home sales selling after more than 400 days. Excluding these long DOM homes, the av... 02/10/2020

During January 2020, twenty-three (23) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $60,900 to a high of $467,900. The average sales price for homes sold in Wasco County was $238,400  ($48k less than Dec 2019) with a median sales price of $241,000. The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,664, with a median of 1,680 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 124 days, with a median DOM of 42 days. The average DOM was impacted by three (3) home sales selling after more than 400 days. Excluding these long DOM homes, the average DOM was 50 days and the median was 42 days. Homes sold for an average of 6% less than the original list price; this is higher than normal due to the higher DOM.  There were seventeen (17) homes sold in The Dalles with an average sales... 02/06/2020

There is a significant shortage of blood this time of year.  Did you know in the next hour, 1,800 people will need blood in the United States. And another 1,800 the following 60 minutes. That is 43,200 people in one day who need blood. Donating blood saves lives. The American Red Cross is having a blood drive in The Dalles tomorrow. Please donate as you could help save a life.  The blood drive is:Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 12:30pm - 6:30pm, Ft Dalles Readiness Center, 402 E Scenic Dr, The Dalles, OR 97058Can't make it to the blood drive in The Dalles? Good news, there are other Columbia Gorge area blood donation opportunities in January 2020.Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:00pm - 6:00pm, Oregon National Guard Armory, 12th & Belmont, Hood River, OR 97031Wed, Jan 29, 2020, 12:30 - 6:00pm, 7th Day Adventist ... 01/27/2020

Wasco County Residential Sales Activity December 2019During December 2019, twenty-five (25) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $69,000 to a high of $525,000. The average sales price for homes sold in Wasco County was $286,700 with a median sales price of $300,000. The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,997, with a median of 1,995 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 95 days, with a median DOM of 65 days. The average DOM was impacted by two (2) home sales selling after 665 and 216 days, respectively. Excluding these long DOM homes, the average DOM was 65 days and the median was 53 days. Homes sold for an average of 9% less than the original list price; this is more than normal reflecting the increased DOM.  There were 19 homes sold in The ... 01/18/2020

There is a significant shortage of blood this time of year.  Did you know in the next hour, 1,800 people will need blood in the United States. And another 1,800 the following 60 minutes. That is 43,200 people in one day who need blood. Donating blood saves lives. The American Red Cross is having a blood drive in The Dalles later this month. Please donate as you could help save a life.  The blood drive is:Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 12:30pm - 6:30pm, Ft Dalles Readiness Center, 402 E Scenic Dr, The Dalles, OR 97058Can't make it to the blood drive in The Dalles? Good news, there are other Columbia Gorge area blood donation opportunities in January 2020.Tue, Jan 28, 2020, 1:00pm - 6:00pm, Oregon National Guard Armory, 12th & Belmont, Hood River, OR 97031Wed, Jan 29, 2020, 12:30 - 6:00pm, 7th Day Ad... 01/18/2020

During November 2019, nineteen (19) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $76,900 to a high of $489,000. The average sales price for homes sold in Wasco County was $259,000 with a median sales price of $285,000.The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,758, with a median of 1,877 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 76 days, with a median DOM of 26 days. The average DOM was impacted by two (2) home sales sold after 244 and 369 days, respectively. Excluding these long DOM homes, the average DOM was 49 days and the median was 25 days. Homes sold for an average of 6.5% less than the original list price.  There were 16 homes sold in The Dalles with an average sales price of $272,500 and a median sales price of $290,500. The average DOM was 66 days ... 12/08/2019

During October 2019, thirty-four (34) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $24,900 to a high of $762,000. The average sales price for homes sold in Wasco County was $301,000 with a median sales price of $259,000.The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,662, with a median of 1,586 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 93 days, with a median DOM of 31 days. The average DOM was impacted by five (5) home sales exceeding 300 days before they sold. Excluding these long DOM homes, the average DOM was 45 days and the median was 28 days. Homes sold for an average of 6.1% less than list price.  There were 25 homes sold in The Dalles with an average sales price of $275,200 and a median sales price of $248,000. The average DOM was 91 days with a median DO... 11/07/2019

During September 2019, twenty-six (26) homes sold in Wasco County, ranging in price from a low of $169,000 to a high of $515,000. The average square footage of the sold homes was 2,067, with a median of 1,985 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 59 days, with a median DOM of 36 days. Homes sold for an average of 4.9% less than list price.  The monthly inventory of homes available for sale increased to 5 months in Sept 2019. Previously, the August 2019 inventory available for sale was 3.7 months. This was a 35% increase in available home inventory. Is it indicative of what to expect in the upcoming months? Or is it just an exception to the low inventory experienced since March 2019.There were 23 homes sold in The Dalles with an average sales price of $305,600 and a median sa... 10/24/2019

During September 2019, twenty-seven (27) homes sold in Hood River County, ranging in price from a low of $229,000 to a high of over $1.4M. The average square footage of the sold homes was 1,714, with a median of 1,690 square feet. The average Days on Market (DOM) was 50 days, with a median DOM of 26 days. The monthly inventory of homes available for sale dropped to 4 months in Sept 2019. Previously, the August 2019 inventory available for sale was 4.6 months. There were 21 homes sold in Hood River (includes the City of Hood River, Hood River Westside, Hood River Eastside, and Odell), with an average sales price of $493,800 and a median sales price of $432,000.Cascade Locks saw three homes sold, with an average and median sales price of $267,700 and $260,000, respectively, in Sept 2019. ... 10/19/2019

During July 2019, a total of 28 homes sold in Wasco County. The majority of the sales were in The Dalles (25) with one each in Mosier, Tygh Valley, and Dufur. Last year, July 2018 experienced 36 residential sales; Wasco County residential sales decreased by 22% versus the prior year.The average sales price was just over $300k ($300,600) averaging 1,922 sq ft.  The median sales price was $269,750 with median sq ft of 1,794.The highest-priced home sold for $525,700 with 2,300 sq ft on almost 10 acres. It sold for 17% more than the list price and received multiple offers. The lowest-priced home sold ($44k, 1,068 sq ft) was a manufactured home in a mobile park. It was for the home only as there is monthly rent due for the land it sits on. Sixteen sales were for less than $300k, 6 between $3... 08/16/2019

Here are recent price decreases in the South Wasco County Residential Real Estate Market, including Maupin, Wamic, and Tygh Valley.  These price decreases occurred from July 1 through July 31, 2019.It is interesting to note some Wasco County properties have had multiple price decreases while others have reduced price shortly after going on the market.  This indicates the property was not priced at market, the market is in transition or both.  Recently, there has been a meaningful increase in Wasco County residential property inventory. More inventory means more competition for buyers. If you are selling, it is critical to price your property correctly.In July 2019 there were a total of 6 homes in South Wasco County which experienced a change in price. The price decreases ranged from app... 08/13/2019

Here are recent price decreases in Mosier from July 1 through July 31, 2019.In the greater Wasco County real estate market, it is interesting to note some properties have had multiple price decreases while others have reduced price shortly after going on the market.  This indicates the property was not priced at market, the market is in transition or both.  Recently, there has been a meaningful increase in Wasco County residential property inventory. More inventory means more competition for buyers. If you are selling, it is critical to price your property correctly.In July 2019 there were a total of 3 homes in Mosier which experienced a change in price. All were significant amounts, $25,000, $180,000, and $150,000 respectively.   $325,000635 Blanchard Blvd, Mosier OR 97040Price Change:... 08/13/2019

Here are recent price decreases in The Dalles residential real estate market.  These price decreases occurred from July 1 through July 31, 2019.It is interesting to note some properties have had multiple price decreases while others have reduced price shortly after going on the market.  This indicates the property was not priced at market, the market is in transition or both.  Recently, there has been a meaningful increase in The Dalles residential property inventory. More inventory means more competition for buyers. If you are selling, it is critical to price your property correctly.In July 2019 there were a total of 28 homes in The Dalles which experienced a change in price. One saw a $97,000 price reduction. See if you can locate it (hint, towards the bottom of the list).Finally, the... 08/13/2019