Agent Profile
My job is service...service to you and your real estate transactions! How can you benefit from my 25 years of experience and expertise? What can I offer to make the process more productive?
* Current information on available housing...comparative and competitive market pricing and analysis
* Daily involvement in the local real estate marketplace.
* Thorough, comprehensive knowledge reflecting years of helping others complete their real estate business.
* Extensive network of professional resources to make the process as smooth as possible.
My commitment is to you! Being available to you...returning your calls...answering your questions...addressing your concerns...respecting your money...matching your timeline...meeting your expectations...helping accomplish your real estate goals!!
JANEESE JACKSON: 503-709-0802 or jj@janeesejackson.com
“Spring Awakening Video Medley”
APRIL 2011 PORTLAND METRO REAL ESTATE UPDATE!!
And, so we hobble into Springtime in the greater Portland area, knowing full-well that we will quickly forget how tentative our Spring season is here in Portlandia once our awesome Summertime arrives (or at least that’s how I survive)!! So, how is our real estate market surviving? Well, I guess we’ll have to pull out that word “tentative” again. However, we are experiencing continued activity with well-priced properties. I was just involved in two multiple offer/over asking price situations on an investment property and a single family property, that completely took me by surprise. But, of course, with the low interest rates and low pricing investors are anxiously trying to buy properties with the potential for cash-flow and home buyers are trying not to miss the low interest rates. Recently there has been some talk suggesting the elimination of our mortgage tax deduction. I think we all need to be very vocal about the repercussions of this on the housing market and our pocketbooks. Overall, our local real estate market recovery is bumpy but trending upwards. Our stats are down from this time last year (we had the home-buyer tax credits artificially supporting the real estate market at that time). We now have 7.1 months of inventory, which is comparable/close to the 7 to 7.3 months of inventory we had in April, May and June of 2010 with the tax credits!! On the national level, Lawrence Yun (National Association of Realtors’ chief economist) says “Pending home sales have trended up very nicely since bottoming out last June, even with periodic monthly declines. Contract activity is now 20 percent above the low point immediately following expiration of the home buyer tax credit.”
BUYERS: What does this mean for buyers? It’s really a “more of the same” buyer’s market with the potential for an increase in interest rates. And, I realize that the industry has been predicting that for quite awhile. However, as the market continues to slowly (operative word: slowly) recover there will be a time that mortgage interest rates will have to reflect that recovery. I have seen it before where interest rates suddenly start to rise and it can happen quickly and I can’t stress enough how interest rates trump price again and again and again! There is a now again a conventional loan with many of the same features as an FHA loan but cheaper! With only 3% down and a 680 minimum credit score, you can get into a home! There are a few other factors that affect this loan, but discuss your options with a trusted mortgage broker (call or write if you need a referral).
SELLERS: What does this mean for sellers? It’s really “more of the same” in the seller market as well, with price and condition holding court! You can’t get complacent about condition if you want to garner the most that you can in a down market. You also cannot overprice and you might have to trust someone else’s assessment of how your home fits into the continuum (our homes are like our babies; always the prettiest, the best, etc). Preparing your home for market, making it available for potential buyers and keeping it “fit for public consumption” is not for “wussies”, so get serious about what it might take to actually sell your house, not just list it! Buyers are looking for aggressively priced homes that make them feel safe in a real estate environment that has taken us all for a ride!
INVESTORS: What does this mean for the investor? I don’t blame the investor for wanting to be as involved as financially possible in this market!! There is lots of competition for the smaller investment property (duplex to 4-plex) in popular neighborhoods, so you must be vigilant, pro-active and sometimes aggressive in your approach. And, some very good news is that NAR (National Association of Realtors) was successful in getting the 1099 Landlord reporting law (enacted last year) repealed. The provision required even the smallest property owners — those who might just be renting out a second home or other rental property — to track any work done for them that totaled $600 a year or more and to send any vendors whose work reaches that amount an IRS Form 1099, so they could report the income to the federal government. Thankfully, that law has been repealed (what a paperwork nightmare)!!!
About the Author | Janeese Jackson
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