by Kimberly Janeway
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
provided by ConsumerReports.org

Q: We plan to replace our kitchen counters and are interested in using stone. Is granite still a hot choice?

A: Granite remains the biggest seller, having accounted for 56 percent of kitchen-countertop sales in the past year, according to the NPD Group, a market-research company. Quartz (Caesarstone and Silestone) and laminate (Formica), each with 13 percent of the countertop market, trail granite in popularity, followed closely by solid surfacing (DuPont Corian).

Granite, a top seller, accounts for 56 percent of kitchen-countertop sales. It will be interesting to see whether granite’s dominance holds. Consider that about 75 percent of certified kitchen designers specified quartz, according to the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s “2010 Kitchen & Bath Style Report,” as we recently reported in “What’s Cooking in the Kitchen: 7 Trends in Remodeling and Design.”Granite earned its spot as the most popular counter courtesy of its good looks and durability. Indeed, in our countertop tests, granite was the only stone that could resist heat, scratches, and, when properly sealed, stains

When it comes to natural stone, marble and limestone also offer aesthetic appeal but have their drawbacks. Marble, more porous than granite, is not as stain or heat resistant and scratches and chips easily. Limestone withstands heat very well, so scorch marks aren’t a problem, but this soft, porous material is easily sliced, nicked, and scratched; it also stains easily, even when properly sealed.

When you’re shopping for a granite countertop, remember that veining and pattern can vary enormously from slab to slab, so be sure to visit the store or stone yard to find a piece you love. You can save some money by using 3/4-inch-thick stone instead of the typical 11/4-inch-thick material. (Note that our test results are based on a thicker stone.) Granite costs about $45 to $200 per square foot, including installation.

After extensive training, I now have a new designation, Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource. With short sales and foreclosures making up a substantial portion of our Portland housing inventory, I thought it was important to know as much as possible.

If you are a homeowner and are facing an upcoming foreclosure, or if you need to sell your home and your market value is less than what you owe on your mortgage(s), please call me to discuss your options.

If you are a buyer and are interested in how short sale and foreclosure transactions work and in learning the risks and benefits involved in purchasing one of these homes, please contact me today. I look forward to assisting you with all of your real estate needs!

I know you have been hearing about the changes to HUD and some of you may already know what these changes entail. But if not, here is a nice overview of some of the items that are scheduled to go into effect.

- The New HUD effective date is January 1, 2010.
- One of the primary purposes of the new HUD is to improve upfront disclosures on the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and limit the amount estimated charges can change. It is anticipated that these changes will help consumers save nearly $700 in closing costs.
- The Good Faith Estimate has been reduced from four to three pages. These pages include an instructional page to help borrowers better understand their loan offer.
- To help borrowers compare their Good Faith Estimate with their HUD-1 Settlement Statement, each designated line on the final HUD-1 will now include a reference to the relevant line from the GFE.
- The new HUD will also require lender payments to mortgage brokers (Yield Spread Premiums) to be disclosed in a more meaningful way.
- Loan originators will be required to provide borrowers their Good Faith Estimate three days after the loan originator’s receipt of all necessary information.
- HUD will allow lenders and settlement service providers to correct potential violations of RESPA’s new disclosure and tolerance requirements. Lenders and settlement service providers will now have 30 days from the date of closing to correct errors or violations and repay consumers any overcharges.
- Sections of the HUD that have significantly changed: 800, 1100, 1200.

As a realtor, I get asked a lot about rental values in the Portland area. Unfortunately, my brokerage doesn’t allow us to handle rental properties. However, I came across a great web site that is very helpful in setting rental prices. Check out www.zilpy.com.

And if you decide that buying a home is the better option for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 503-421-2407 or Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com. I’d love to assist with your purchase!

Here’s the episode of Good Buy, Bad Buy that I was on. It aired twice yesterday. I’ll post on my blog the next time it’s scheduled.

Looking for a Larger Home Leads to a Tough Choice
Episode HGBBY-206

Tune In
July 12, 2009

12:30 PM e/p

Jose and Martha Reyes’ search for a larger home for their family has led them to two houses. One is in a residential area in southern California, and the other is in an area that’s mixed with residences and businesses. Then, in Portland, Oregon, Tim and Sarah O’Reilly hope to find a home with more space to accommodate Sarah’s mother moving in. They can’t decide between a home with an open layout or a more traditional style home. Realtors and home inspectors look at these homes and provide their expertise to these prospective buyers on which of the homes is the better buy for them.

Good news for all… The market appears to be slowly working its way towards a more balanced buyer/seller playing field. RMLS just released the May 2009 Market Action report and inventory levels have continued to decline for the fourth straight month. Inventory for May stands at 10.2 months. This means that if nothing new went on the market, it would take 10.2 months to sell off everything available. Just so you don’t have to go back and re-read all my previous market activity blogs, here’s an inventory level chart for 2009.

January 19.2

February 16.6

March 12

April 11

May 10.2

All areas of Metro Portland are still showing depreciation. And although nobody likes to see depreciating real estate values, I think we’re going to continue seeing this trend until we work through more of the short sale/foreclosure transactions. The numbers for May are showing us that houses are now selling a bit more rapidly but they’re closing at reduced prices. In other words, buyers are still in the driver’s seat.

If you’re a first time buyer, keep in mind that the $8,000 tax credit ends on November 30, 2009. You need to be sale pending on or before Nov 1st in order to close by this date! The definition of a first time buyer is anyone who hasn’t owned a home within the past 3 years.

As always, I’d love to assist you with all of your real estate needs. You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com.

RMLS just released the April 2009 statistics and it looks like the market is starting to stabilize a bit! Inventory levels dropped again for the 3rd month in a row. We now have 11 months of inventory available. This is a still a high amount but a far, far improvement from our January 2009 inventory high of 19.2 months. And it tells me that the downward inventory trend seems to be continuing! Remember that in a healthy market, where buyer and seller motivators are more equal, inventory levels are typically in the 5-6 month range.

All counties in the Portland Metro area are still in depreciation and all areas except Mt Hood have experienced greater depreciation than last month. These stats seem to indicate that sellers are reducing their prices even more than before in order to make it to the closing table. We’re also seeing a greater number of bank owned properties closing and since these homes normally sell slightly below resale values, these homes might be partly responsible for the higher depreciation figures. Foreclosures might sometimes be a good deal for buyers but they bring down the value of the neighborhood, and in the end, that hurts even the bargain hunters. Since pending sales are continuing to rise, it will be interesting to see what happens with depreciation levels in May. Stay tuned…

What does all of this information mean for you? If you’re a seller, it means that buyer activity is picking up and your competition is leveling off. If you’re priced right or below market value, you should see at least an increased number of showings if not an offer soon.

If you’re thinking about putting your house on the market, now would be a good time. (You’ll remember that I advised new sellers to wait to list if possible during the past 4 months). We are just in the beginning of the “hot selling season” which lasts until October and most people like to buy prior to the start of the school year to get their kids settled in at a new school.

For buyers, the stabilizing market means you should act a bit more quickly if you want to capitalize on the deep discounts of bank owned properties and reduced prices of re-sales. Also, first-time home buyers need to CLOSE ON THEIR HOME PURCHASE PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 30th to qualify for the $8,000 tax credit from the stimulus package. The industry is expecting a record number of closings for the month of November because of this deadline and it would be best NOT to wait until the last minute if you want to guarantee your closing won’t get delayed due to lender or escrow heavy workloads!

I’d love to talk with you further about your particular real estate needs. Please don’t hesitate to call or send me an email!

We just received the March Market Action report from RMLS.  The inventory levels are trending downward which is good for stabilizing the market. March had a 12 month inventory vs 16.6 months in Feb.  A stable market is around 5 months of inventory.  We’re still far from that but at least we’re now heading in the right direction.  Closed sales are also up from Feb by nearly 40% and pending sales were up significantly too.  Could be that the stimulus package along with the traditional March – Oct “hot selling season” are working in combination to fix our housing mess!

Sellers, rejoice!

As always, I’d love to help you with all of your real estate needs.  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com.

There’s good news for 1st time home buyers!  As part of the new stimulus package, first-time home buyers can receive an $8,000 tax credit if they purchase a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.  Unlike the $7,500 tax credit offered in 2008, the new $8,000 credit in 2009 does not need to be repaid.

To qualify for the credit, buyers must earn less than $150,000 in adjusted gross income for couples filing jointly and they must reside in the home as their primary residence for a minimum of three years.

The definition of a first time home buyer is anyone who has never owned a home before or anyone who has not owned a home within the last three years.

As always, I would love to assist you with your purchase in Portland.  Please let me know how I can help!  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or Phyllis@PointClickandPack.com.

A group called Greenlight Greater Portland, comprised of private-sector leaders dedicated to a sustainable and economic growth, has formed to analyze and communicate both the current and future conditions through 2013 of Portland, OR.  They have issued a report that shows some promise for our real estate market despite the endless bad news nationally.  Some highlights of the report are:
 
* Projected population growth for the Portland metropolitan area is 8.0% by 2013. Moreover, the workforce is projected to grow by 6.9%. The increase alone from Salem heading north to Vancouver, WA is expected to exceed 2 million people. That’s 50,000 more families for the Portland metropolitan area.
 
* From 2000 – 2008, population grew by 33.8%. 
 
* Six of the most 25 innovative companies in the world are located here (Business Week).
 
* Disposable personal income is almost $4,000 above the national average (over 10%).
 
* The 2008 GRP (Gross Regional Product) of $1trill increased by 33% since 2003 – more than 6 times the rate of population growth – and is expected to grow another 27% by 2013. This is highly indicative of economic health.
 
* Without citing the numerous sources, we’ve been named: Best place to retire, most dog friendly, 5th top fittest city, best biking city, best place to have a baby, best place to raise a family, city with top rated schools, city with the highest artist’s population, and the greenest city.  We are also high on the list for minority owned companies and free-lance workers, and have received numerous accolades for brewers and wine producers, and we are the 4th hottest spot for hi-tech workers!
 
* We have an unusually diverse economic sector, contributing to our relative economic health, which defies national trends. 
 
* The projected 5-year job growth index puts only LA, Seattle and Austin Texas ahead of us even though we are 26th on the list of large cities.
 
* We added 88,000 jobs from 2002-2007, which puts the unemployment rate and news of company closings in perspective.
 
* Projected economic business sectors to watch (each has only 1 or two cities ahead of it): Professional Services, Financial services, Informational services, Construction and Natural Resource Services.
 
* Portland has been called an “unusually desirable place to live” because of our transportation system which has been studied and copied by municipalities across the world, and due to our proximity to natural resources with the Pacific Ocean to the west and skiing opportunities to the east.
 
* Commercial real estate lease and purchase rates are lower than at least 6 other large cities as are residential rents and purchase prices.
 
* Some other things to be grateful for are the Urban Growth Boundary, which keeps our real estate desirable by leaving farm and rural areas free of development, and the fact that to date, we’ve always been able to come out of recessions. During the Great Depression, 50% of households in the nation were delinquent. Currently the rate is about 6.4%. However, during the Depression banks restructured loans to keep from foreclosing, a trend that seems to be slowly increasing currently.
 
 
This data gave me some hope and I hope it does you too. 
See http://www.greenlightgreaterportland.com/ for more information.
As always, I am available to assist you with all of your real estate needs.  You can reach me at 503-421-2407 or phyllis@pointclickandpack.com