Information for Sellers

Information for Sellers Should You Fix Your House Up or Sell Now?     With the fall season upon us, change is in the air. For many families, children are growing up and moving out of the house, maybe leaving for college or taking a jump into the working world. Parents are finding themselves as empty nesters for the first time. The question inevitably arises: is it […]
Information for Buyers Experts Predict a Strong Housing Market for the Rest of 2019 We’re in the back half of the year, and with a decline in interest rates as well as home price and wage appreciation, many are wondering what the predictions are for the remainder of 2019. Here’s what some of the experts have to say: Ralph McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Economist for CoreLogic “We see the cooldown […]
Information for Buyers Why All the Chicken Littles Should Calm Down The U.S. Census Bureau recently released their 2019 Q2 Homeownership Report. Some began to see the sky falling, believing the report showed Americans may be stepping back from their belief in homeownership. The national homeownership rate (Americans who owned vs. rented their primary residence) increased significantly during the housing boom, reaching its peak of 69.2% […]
Information for Sellers Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Sell Your House As a homeowner, it’s always tempting to dream about the next big project you’re going to tackle. The possibilities are endless. Should I renovate? Should I refinance? Should I stay? Should I move? The list goes on and on. In today’s housing market, it’s actually a great time to shift your thoughts toward selling your […]
Information for Buyers Should I Refinance My Home? With the recent lower interest rates, many homeowners are wondering if they should refinance. To decide if refinancing is the best option for your family, start by asking yourself these questions: Why do you want to refinance? There are many reasons to refinance, but here are three of the most common ones: Lower your interest […]
Information for Buyers Get Your Mod On!   Everyone loves a mid-century modern home. One could even say it is one of the more desirable architectural styles in Portland. Just the word “Rummer” makes well-to-do Portland folks start to quiver with excitement. Sleek lines, abundant light, non-traditional materials – gosh, just writing about it makes me a little hot under the collar. […]
Information for Sellers What a Difference a Year Makes for Sellers Over the last few years, many sellers have been hesitant to put their houses on the market because they feared not being able to find another home to buy. We’ve reported on inventory shortages in the past, and it’s been a constant concern for potential buyers throughout recent years. New research shows the inventory concern […]
Information for Investors Do You Even Highest and Best Use, Bro? When I first begin an analysis on a property’s market value, step one is to determine “Highest and Best Use”. Without doing this first critical step, an agent’s opinion of value could be way off the mark. Highest and Best use is defined as: The reasonably probable and legal use of vacant land or an […]
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Information for Buyers What to Consider When Choosing Your Home To Retire In   As more and more baby boomers enter retirement age, the question of whether they should sell their homes and move has become a hot topic. In today’s housing market climate, with low available inventory in the starter and trade-up home categories, it makes sense to evaluate your home’s ability to adapt to your needs […]
Information for Buyers Location Location Location! Location is the driving force for value in real estate. I always tell the joke that I failed the final exam in Realtor School because I answered “Location Location.” Feel free to groan. The same sticks and bricks of a house can be worth a million dollars in one location and be worth pennies in […]
Information for Buyers Let me introduce you to Brooklyn! Fuggetaboutit! Brooklyn is a great close-in Portland neighborhood and is often overlooked by buyers. I am speaking anecdotally here, but it is not uncommon for me to meet with a new buyer and they will insist we only look in Eastmoreland, or only look in Laurelhurst, or Ladd’s Addition, or Irvington. Rarely has any buyer […]
Information for Buyers Feeling the Pinch in Milwaukie Are you a buyer looking for a home in Milwaukie/Oak Grove for under $400,000? Are you feeling frustrated that homes are selling above the asking price with multiple offers? Well, you are not alone! The Milwaukie/Oak Grove market for starter homes is currently very much skewed in favor of sellers and buyers are having the […]
Information for Sellers Top Tips For Staging Your Home A recent survey from the National Association of Realtors® revealed that 77 percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home makes it easier for potential buyers to visual it as their own. That’s why here at Breakthrough Broker, we believe staging is not to be overlooked! Here are our top tips. Dress up your yard. […]
Information for Buyers September 2018 RMLS Market Action The latest Market Action report from RMLS not only showed a continuing pattern of inventory expanding, but an acceleration of it. At 3.1 months, inventory in Portland-Metro went over the 3-month mark for the first time since 2015. This was a 34 percent jump from the previous month. Some of this inventory expansion is seasonal […]
Information for Buyers Ambush Market Data Pop Quiz, September Edition With all the great feedback from our previous “Ambush Market Data Pop Quiz!” video, we decided to make another one! Lots of great data and an e-scooter zipping along a peaceful Irvington streetscape. If you ever have questions about current market trends and how they relate to your home, please give us a call!
Information for Investors Changing Markets Create Opportunities There is a fundamental shift happening in the Portland real estate market where marketing times are expanding, buyers have a few more home choices (and time to think about those choices), and to get top dollar sellers have to rely on full-service agents to properly market their properties and reach the most buyers. The days […]
Information for Buyers Doing Real Estate Right One of the main reasons Carmel and I decided to join Windermere Realty Trust was that they make sure Realtors cross their T’s and dot their lower-case J’s. A Realtor being thorough is crucial during a transaction because it became apparent to us several years ago, as hordes of new agents flooded into the market, that […]
Information for Sellers Closing Costs for Sellers Lesser agents don’t discuss closing costs with sellers until the end of the transaction. Typically the conversation happens right about the time the seller receives their estimated settlement statement from the title company and see the thousands of dollars they are coughing up at the closing table. As you can imagine, it is typically not […]
Information for Buyers Ambush Market Data Pop Quiz! Ambush Market Data Pop Quiz! Where Tyler put Carmel’s market knowledge to the test!