While this craftsman was quite charming from the exterior, I didn't find much about it to like once I moved past the living room. The kitchen seems to sit in it's old small and awkward footprint, though pleasantly there seems to be an addition of a family room beyond the kitchen, stepping out into the backyard one could view the "new neighbors"- several large faux craftsman in the process of being built. The upstairs is a labyrinth of wasted space, and the other two bedrooms were downstairs. Perhaps I would have liked everything better if the price reflected this home's issues. $575,000
Hawthorne
Though just a few blocks north of Hawthorne, this home sits in relative quiet, and would have been a perfect match for clients last year who were searching for the elusive "four bedrooms up" at around the $600,000 point. Not only does this home have the four bedrooms up, they're all on the second floor and the master is a generous suite with it's own bath. This kitchen is also a pleasant surprise with it's eating bar, and updated appliances, though personally I could do without the checkerboard floors- that could be remedied quickly. But wait, there's more! An ample deck presides over a generous back yard (yes, in Hawthorne), and the steps downstairs take you to one of the most nicely finished basements I've seen over here with another bedroom and family room. The only thing missing is a garage, but there's plenty of off street parking. Very livable. $599,000
Laurelhurst Five Bedroom
Impressive and tasteful remodel of this 1922 traditional, keeping the original built-ins in the dining room, ceiling moldings, and refinished floors. The kitchen is especially pleasing with pale grey marble countertops, white cabinetry and stainless appliances including a grand double door refridgerator- creating a pleasant mix of modern and 1920's. Four bedrooms up and another on the main that could act as an office make this a good family home- that and the backyard of course. There appears to be some more square footage downstairs that may be possible to finish. Though the current owner has turned this home for profit, it does not show the usual tawdry signs of a flipped home, and quite the opposite, the seller went to the trouble of pouring a new walkway to the entry- a "detail" many flippers find unprofitable. $648,000
Affordable Laurelhurst
Quite stately for a home of it's size, the broad walkway leading up to the columned portico are a precursor to this home's graceful interior. Sitting up off of the street allows light to flow in from all sides into the living room and dining room. I can imagine enjoyable meals here with a toasty fire in the fireplace winter evenings. Good juxtaposition of an old fashioned breakfast nook with a completely updated kitchen which opens to a sweet back yard. Well porportioned two bedrooms up and a third downstairs with a family room area. Well priced at $439,000
Goose Hollow
Great little starter home in Goose Hollow has pretty much what a new home owner needs, or perhaps a good investment property- it currently is being used for that purpose. Just under 500 square feet, the space is used judiciously, a real bedroom, good storage spaces and even a little pantry. Best of all, has it's own parking space and very low HOA's. Bit of road noise, but not noticeable while in the condo. $165,000
Kings Heights
This 1938 home has some wonderful panoramic mountain, city and industrial views that I would love to enjoy in the evening. The home has kept it's original features including wide plank floors and built ins but has tasteful updates including the kitchen with a nook. Rooms are not palatial, but quite generous. This graceful home is listed for $699,000, with many of the brokers on tour- including myself, feeling that it is well priced.
Terwilliger Heights
There have been several interesting listings in this area in the last month or so, this included, as a previous owner was a internationally renowned photographer. The heart of this home, the area that makes my heart beat anyways, is the landscaping in the rear of the home, said to have cost $250,000 . Multiple decks, pathways, koi ponds, plus views. The home offers lots of space at over 4,000 square feet and would lend itself well to families with older children. The master suite takes up 800+ square feet on the top floor, but two more bedrooms on the main each have their own baths. No fighting over the bathroom! Another bedroom below could be a great office or guest room. Could be a bit high at $899,500
Old Scholls Ferry Road
Last weeks tour kept me on in the southwest with clients looking intently in the area. This traditional home is near Portland Golf Course and Jesuit High School and the home has a lot going for it, including a very nice curbside appeal. The four bedrooms are all upstairs and the kitchen is connected to a great room that opens to a deck and a lovely back yard. Though not updated since built in 1991, the floor plan gives it great bone structure and is ready for your tasteful updates. $499,000 with a credit for new exterior siding.
Real Estate Tip: Location, location.....
Apologies to those of you that feel Zillow is a great resource to determine real estate values, but it's hard for a website to determine that a particular property's neighbor has a three story baby blue house with yellow trim, or even a prison for that matter. You can update a kitchen or add a bath, but you cannot change your home's location, one of the biggest factors in not only determining what it's worth going in, but what it is worth when you sell it. Normally, there is a discount buying in that house next to the train station the next buyer will expect to have passed on to them when the time comes. Many clients think better of it, no matter how much extra square footage they're going to get. This New York Times article discusses this topic in the extreme.
May Market Update for Portland
Market Action May 2009 (Read full report)
Imagine our housing market as a big supermarket. If you had walked into that supermarket in January shopping for a house with all the other buyers, at the rate of sales in January it would have taken 19 months to clear the shelves of all the inventory. You had an awful lot to choose from. May 2009 has us down to 10.2 months of inventory- less choice, but still slightly more than May 2008 where there were 9.2 months. This is good news. Less inventory is an indication that the market is stabilizing. The long held belief is the level field between buyers and sellers is at six months of inventory.
Looking at days on market (DOM) another important indicator we are currently at an average of 151 days. Last year we had an average of 79. Keep in mind that average is a range so while NW Washington County suffers with 190 DOM, NE Portland is at 96. Keep in mind that the longer DOM is an indication of several market forces: there are many short sales on the market, and those take months to conclude. There are quite a few properties that would sell if priced correctly when first listed. These homes often have sellers that are hopeful that market forces do not apply to their particular home. These homes sell after several price reductions. Then of course, there are fewer buyers in the market. They do not heed William Buffets advice of "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful." It may not be the bottom in our housing market but it's pretty darn close. We are still a ways from the market ascending.
Sales at my Windermere office were the best of the year, and a recent report shows Windermere leading the sales in Multnomah Country. Top Brokers Report.Top Brokers Report
Eating Simply but Extremely Well: PSU Farmer's Market
When I buy butter at New Season's no one asks me to feel their bicep, yet that's just what Lisa Jacob's of Jacob's Creamery invited me to do when I appeared incredulous that she personally hand churns her butter for sale. And who knew that a great pyrenees is protecting the free range chickens at Champoeg's Organic Egg farm from death by hawk? When I asked the owner how his chickens could survive free range without the protection of a net, he simply pointed to his photo album and a picture of his dog.
For me, having my camera, some great conversations, and having the luxury of buying some of the best food available (dare I say in the world?) is fabulous entertainment. The next morning, a huge bouquet of local peonies looking like something out of a Dutch painting set the stage for a simple, delectable breakfast. Fresh eggs, with vivid orange yolks- Pearl Bakery toast slathered with Lisa's fresh salted butter and topped off with pale delicate honey, courtesy of my food writer friend, K. When you have the best and freshest ingredients, the simple becomes sublime. And Lisa's bicep? Impressive! More lovely food pictures.
Mt. Tabor Ranch
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
John Yeon: Unsung Visionary
A recent lecture at the AHC by LeLand Roth, Professor of Architecture at U of O and a bow-tied Randy Gragg, editor of Portland Spaces, really made into flesh this remarkable Portland native. Not only did he design homes and their gardens, at the end of his career he designed installation spaces for museums. This is not so surprising as John eschewed the modern European model of great open interior spaces, choosing instead to lay out the home on various axis, so one could move from room to room creating an experience or a "sequence of revelations." He had a profound respect for the relationship of the home to it's site so it became an enhancement to the natural landscape and allow the residents to enjoy the landscape from the home, a mutual benefit.
Though not technically an architect, John Yeon designed 14 residences in the Portland area. One on SW Fairway known as Dr. Swan's home, was luckily on the most recent Street of Eames Tour. Another known as the Watzek House, was and is internationally recognized as a groundbreaking NW Contemporary style and has been featured in the Museum of Modern Art and numerous publications. Some of the innovations in this 1936 home were a natural ventilation system, double paned windows and an interior courtyard that created a micro climate for more delicate plants.
Yeon was one of the earliest stewards of the Oregon landscape when at age 21 he bought Chapman Point which looks towards Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, by cashing in on an insurance policy to save a dance hall from being built on it. Much later in life, he bought 75 acres on the Washington side of the gorge, saving the direct view of Multnomah Falls from looking at a probable industrial site. He then landscaped the area known as "The Shire" over the course of three decades in a naturalistic manner to provide even more striking views of the falls. It is said that a visit to this area by Nancy Russell was an impetus for her creating Friends of the Gorge, saving it from development. John had made several appointments for Nancy and her husband to visit The Shire, only to cancel them. When at last the appointment was kept, and a full moon rose over the gorge on a lovely temperate evening, Nancy believed that John had simply been waiting for all the elements to be in place for the perfect viewing.
Both The Shire and the Watzek house have been donated to the University of Oregon by the John Yeon Trust. Hopefully there will be an upcoming book about this remarkable man.
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