Another close-in ranch caught my eye today. This daylight ranch has a separate entry into the lower level and would make a perfect owner occupied rental or room mate situation. Once inside, a large living area with lots of wood built ins line the shelves, a bedroom, bath and already slated "kitchen" area has a sink with room for more appliances. The upstairs-main level has two very generous bedrooms and an updated kitchen. Though on the corner of Belmont, the back yard's mature landscaping give a lush getaway feeling with it's outdoor fireplace. $495,000
Mt. Tabor East
Heading over to Mt. Tabor to look at a few ranches, I especially wanted to see this home with it's original 1953 bath and kitchen. While the kitchen has kept it's original charm with it's curved tile counters, it's quite functional with it's sunny kitchen nook and stainless industrial range. The living room has lots of glazing so it lends itself well to the very hip mid century furnishings. The lower level contains a family room and a third (non-conforming) bedroom and half bath, again a very functional layout especially for a guest or older child. The back yard is quite narrow but could serve those wishing low maintenance. $459,000
Buckman
This home has a lot of street appeal, which doesn't disappoint when one enters the roomy and light filled living room-dining room- truly the heart of this home. A very elusive three bedrooms together upstairs make good use of the space, and share the full bath. The next best thing about the home is the lot size of .13 acres which means a generous backyard for a city lot, as well as a side yard. While not landscaped now, it's an open slate for the new homeowner. $449,000
Belmont Street Lofts
So much more square footage for your money than in the Pearl, and right smack dab in the middle of hip and urban Belmont. This unit is over 1200 square feet, with gorgeous 11 foot high ceilings. Though there is an eating bar in the kitchen-great room, there is also roomy enough for a proper dining table (so important for us cooks). Importantly, this building is an AIA Best Design Award, has radiant heat and other energy saving green features, and has been featured in Dwell and other publications. On the fouth/top floor, the unit comes with two parking spaces and bike storage- a must for SE Portland, as well as a rare second bedroom currently being used as a media room. HOA's are a bit high, but do include extras such as heat, water and more. Lovely balcony overlooks a school field. $339,000
Highlands
My tour started this week on a special area known as the Highlands in the Sylvan Heights area. Large, gracious vintage homes line the rolling streets around the Racquet Club. This 1942 home sits down from the street, offering some privacy. Stepping into the entryway, curved walls beckon towards the kitchen while a graceful staircase leads to the four bedrooms. The kitchen opens to a great room with vaulted large windows that view the garden.
From the kitchen, a huge dining room could easily support a buffet for dozens or quite a large dinner party. Downstairs has a small media room that opens to the outdoors.
Many families would love the flow of this home, and though traditional, it could easily have a more minimal decor. Over 4,000 square feet with 4.5 baths. Loved it. $1,499,000
A Three Million Dollar View: Hessler Heights
Just around the corner from the "Terwilliger Heights" listing, lies an impressive home with a very reclusive facade. Though built in the 90's, the homes exterior takes a page from mid-century design by putting a very modest facade to the street with a gated inner courtyard, while the rear of the home opens up completely with floor to ceiling windows to a forested and city view.Grand ceilings on both the main and lower floor means never feeling like you are below grade. Generous use of stained woods throughout the home which is a surprising 3300 on the main floor with another 1400 down and on just under two acres. The home could easily accomodate a more contemporary decor. A graceful architect designed home with a very northwest feel. $3,000,000
Terwilleger Heights
Do not judge this home by it's cursory photographs- it's a fabulous example of mid-century architecture set in a stunning view. If that's what you're looking for, you should see this in person. A lovely entryway steps down into a sunken living room with an amazing city view. Curved walls, generous staircases and vintage baths abound in this "cosmetically untouched" home with over 4000 square feet. The mixed blessing of "untouched" could mean some delayed maintenance, but nothing but an inspection will tell that tale. $699,000
Vista Hills
This area of homes will make you feel like Palm Springs, not Portland. A few streets in Vista Hills are lined with carriage houses- flat roofed, sprawling one level homes, very private- some with walls facing the street built in the 70's as "apartment alternatives." This particular home was owned by Mel Hansen, the builder. Every room opens onto a patio and the ceilings are amazingly high. This home also features a rare third bedroom, so with both a living room and a family room the home feels even bigger than it's 2000+ square feet. Could these homes be the next Eichler craze? I love the many unique qualities. $489,000
Broadmoor
This weeks tour kept me going for hours in SW Portland with many new listings to view. Starting adjacent to my neighborhood is Broadmoor, an area known by it's Bauman built homes and amazingly tidy landscaping. It is very much move in ready, with tasteful (if colorful) finishes and certain to be a favorite hang out in the summer with all ones friends with the lovely swimming pool in a very private backyard setting. The four bedrooms are spread between the three floors which many buyers with teen age children seem to prefer, as well as a spacious family room downstairs currently holding several guitars and a pool table. The home seems to beckon with amusements to be had. Previously listed last year at $885,00 and currently listed at $795,000.
NE Portland
Pending before I could even blog it, this home was on the market for 8 days. It stands as a good example of what buyers are looking for right now. It fit nicely in the neighborhood, similar in size and style to the others around it. Just south of Killingsworth, it's close to shopping but on a quiet street. Most importantly, it is certified Energy Star Gold. Paints are low VOC, concrete counters, energy efficient furnace and appliances, and dual flush toilets. Energy Star homes go 15% beyond code in their insulation so a Gold rating goes beyond that, meaning hundreds and thousands of dollars of savings in utility bills over the years. I love older homes, but their floor plans are not nearly as desirable today as they were decades ago. Master bath plus hallway bath among the three bedrooms upstairs is another winner. Nicely priced at $399,000
Willamette Heights
Across the bridge on NW Thurman brings you to this home that feels like something from the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle- peaceful setting, but overlooking city views of Portland and walkable into all that NW Portland has to offer. A huge kitchen is the heart of this home- apparently the current owner kept a family style table smack dab in the middle of it, and you can probably easily have a table for ten there. Or a kitchen island. Three bedrooms upstairs, so very desirable and traditional layout make this a great family home. The oversize lot does have a treehouse and some raised beds, so whether it's children or vegetables the sunny yard is a great place to raise things. $978,000
Beaumont
Walkable to all the action of Beaumont, this home was actually built in 2004 and is a condominium divided into two levels, this being on the ground floor. Though on the corner of Freemont and Alameda, the interior was surprisingly quiet. A great room floor plan commands most of the 1200 square feet, with the kitchen in the center of all the action. Finishes are contemporary within the traditional exterior. The two bedrooms are on opposite sides of the space and would do well for a room mate or office at home situation. $378,000
Laurelhurst
This nifty little home is just steps from Laurelhurst School and has had many updates, including a great master suite upstairs complete with a shower with a river stone floor and a finished basement. Attention has been given to period choices such as the hexagon tile on the main floor bath. It does overlook some apartments across the street, which is not to everyones taste, and there is not much backyard to speak of, but the home itself is completely move-in ready- a plus for all us busy people. Testing the market at $599,000
Rummer: Vista Brook
In a little neighborhood off Scholls Ferry Road, lies Rummer heaven. Within a stones throw are a dozen of this builder's sought after mid-century homes. This home in particular has retained many of their sought after features: wood paneled living room and study, vaulted living room overlooking lush mature gardens through it's floor to ceiling windows, and a nifty floor plan that gives parents privacy by putting the master on one side of the home and the remaining two bedrooms on the other. While the baths were redone in what looks like the 80's and carpeting covers most of the floors, much original charm remains with great street appeal. The right owner can transform this home into a real showpiece. $500,000
Dolph Park
A small neighborhood bordering Grant Park, Dolph Park is one of my favorites in Portland. Graceful homes line the wide streets, yards are simple and well kept, and a peaceful dignified prosperity presides . Prices here, like everywhere, have fallen and two years ago this home would have been well over $700,000. A very hard to find 4 bedrooms and two baths lie on the second floor. The home is in excellent showing condition, and though the back yard feels a bit constrained, and the home currently lacks a family room, it was a pleasure to visit and would meet many homeowners needs. $670,000
Hawthorne: Aberdeen Condo
Under $100,000. Never see it, so luckily the opportunity arose today. Smack dab on Hawthorne and 15th, the attractive 1923 building appears well kept inside and out with a lovely garden and secure front door. This unit is a lower level and as snug as a bug at 360 square feet. Luckily Ikea makes scaled down pieces for just this challenge. Surprisingly, it felt bigger than what I imagined, and has an actual bedroom as opposed to a studio. There is an onsite laundry room and storage facilities.I would have loved it in my single days. $99,000 with HOA dues of $137 a month.
Clinton/Hawthorne
This home actually is better in person than with photographs. The layout is really great, with a proper entry area, and a graceful stairway leading upstairs facing away from the entry. Much of the original trim and architectural details are in place, though painted. The kitchen is surprisingly big, and I can imagine updating it without a whole lot of cost involved. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms, and the master has a walk-in closet. Fir is said to be under the unfortunate carpeting. The third floor has more unfinished space, and could be a great office. Drawbacks are a shared driveway, though there is a garage, a yard on the smaller side, and location close to busy 39th. If purchased at the right price, this house could be really special. $569,000
Hawthorne: SE 42nd
I wanted to see this home as the pictures looked great on line, and it sits back off Hawthorne a few blocks on a quiet street. On arriving, I met one of the owners, and found that the home was a flip. I'm always leery of the quality of this type of remodel- after all a true homeowner has more of a vested interest in the longevity of their updates. Wonder as well where the room for profit is on such a venture at this time of the market. They reconfigured the upstairs for two larger bedrooms, one clearly being the master, and cleverly put a pass through bath between the two. Another bedroom is on the first floor, an office perhaps, or an older child? Always the challenge. The home does have a backyard and a garage, two big plusses. With profit, $494,000
Brookford
A small neighborhood near Bridlemile Elementary School and Hillsdale, Brookford is well known for it's proximity to lovely Albert Kelly Park, and it's small but sturdy one-level ranches. It's not really on the way to anything, so it tends to be a quiet little pocket of very similar homes. This listing in particular couldn't be any cuter. It sits back from the street, and one enters through a little wooden door into a secret garden courtyard. From there, entering the house, it's neat as a pin and it's kitchen is smartly updated. The killer is the back yard, a rolling stretch of grass that makes ones mind relax immediately, as it's a wonderful buffer from the rest of the world (and surrounding homes), and is perfectly viewed through floor to ceiling windows in the kitchen. All on one level, perfect family or downsizing home. $525,000
Raleigh Park
This little board and batten cottage sits up off the street, and it's low profile belies the space within- 2,400 square feet on one level. Small but very private backyard complete with a treehouse. Very close to Raleigh Park Elementary and the adjoining park. Asking price is $569,000 which is on the higher side for the square footage.