12
in other words
august14
2012
Living on a Lake in the Country: The Real Estate Market
By Gayle Rich-Boxman
The realm of real estate has been
looking up lately, both nationally and
locally. This last week in a report from
the President of the National Association
of Realtors (NAR), the following
message was shared with the members
of NAR:
FROM
THE
PRESIDENT: Encouraging
Signs
“We’re seeing a lot of encouraging signs
in the housing market across the country.
NAR’s latest existing-home sales report
shows there’s not inventory to meet the
demand in many areas and that’s driving
up prices and creating multiple bidding
situations. These findings vary greatly
from what we’ve had before”.
In just the last two months
(actually less), in our small community
at Fishhawk Lake, Birkenfeld Oregon,
I have closed four transactions. That
might seem like a piddling amount to
some, but in a tiny private lake resort
community of only about 175 homes
and approximately 300 lots, this is
phenomenal!
Fishhawk Lake is located in
two different counties, Columbia and
Clatsop. Within the last two months there
were one hundred-eight
recorded closings in these
counties alone. These two
counties are in rural areas,
which makes it even more
significant versus Portland
and the Portland Metro
area, with Multnomah,
Washington and Clackamas
counties being a far different
market (and certainly vastly
more populated) than
Vernonia, Scappoose, St. Helens and
Fishhawk Lake/Birkenfeld/Mist areas,
to name just a few. During this period the
breakdown of listing/sold pricing (from
0-$900,000):
Average listing price: $178,109
Average sold price: $168,773
My four transactions came to
a total of $514,000, with three of them
being purchased by cash buyers. That’s
an average of $128,500 per property.
Three of the properties were homes, and
one was a vacant lakefront lot, which
can skew the numbers a bit, because
vacant lots aren’t considered as valuable
as property with an existing home on it.
The lowest priced property was listed
at $72,000, the highest, a custom-built
cabin that started at $259,000. Lately,
cash buyers have
been more frequent
than those acquiring
loans to buy homes
or lots.
One of the latest
problems
being
encountered
by
buyers across the
nation, according to
the NAR, is a lack of inventory, which
plays in the favor of sellers.
What I have found in my local
market at Fishhawk Lake, is a different
scenario. There are ready buyers who
are quite particular about their needs and
have been looking at properties at lakes,
the coast, even central Oregon, but for
the most part, aren’t wavering from their
wishlist and aren’t moving on buying
decisions as quickly as I have seen
in years past. These “wishlist” items
include: 2 bathrooms, lakefront, garage,
secluded. Some would rather wait for
D
Na
tu
aga s
COMPUTER &
Owned and Operated by
Don & Kim Wallace
You can contact me, Gayle
Rich-Boxman, Broker with
Vernonia Realty directly
at: (503)755-2905 or
e-mail me: richbox@
centurytel.net You can also check out
my website for current listings in the
Fishhawk Lake community: http://www.
lakehomesatfishhawk.com/.
INTERNET SERVICES
ral
Path Health Ser
ces
vi
g WiFi
n
i
vid et &
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r
P tern
In
SL
the right property
to come along than
buy now. I wouldn’t
suggest taking this
tack, because the
prices are SO LOW
and your favorite
will be gone by the
time you make a
decision to move
forward. This is not
the time to waiver.
This is the time to literally make a move.
According to the mortgage banker that
I always recommend, Shawn Baeschlin
with NW Mortgage Group, here is the
current rate as of August 7, 2012: The 30
year fixed rate is 3.50%
This rate is for a home. The
loan rates on vacant lots will be higher,
possibly in the 7% range.
The inventory (at least
in my area at Fishhawk
Lake) offers quite a variety
and with the current interest
rates at an all-time low, it’s
NO WONDER that across-
the-board, nationally, there
is a lack of inventory!
Dr. Carol McIntyre
Naturopathic & Chinese Medicine
503.429.3928
cccmnd@yahoo.com
naturalpathhealthservices.com
503.429.TECH
jeff@agalis.net
!
g?
Interested inVendin 8-3705
) 99
Contact Bill at (971
786 Bridge Street
Vernonia, OR, 97064
Local produce & products,
Hand-crafted goods,
& much more!
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