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Displaying blog entries 11-20 of 73

Steiner Log Home Tour

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
by Liz Warren

If you love classic log homes and cabins you will love the August 13th, 2011 Steiner Log Home tour through Rhododendron, ZigZag, and Brightwood. Henry Steiner and his sons built hand crafted log homes and cabins in the early 1900's. This event is sponsored by the Mt. Hood Museum. Details may be downloaded here.

There's one Steiner log cabin currently on the market in Rhododendron along the old Highway, currently called Road 9 in the Mt. Hood National Forest on leased land. Asking price is $279,950. Take a tour.

Play VisualTour

 

 

Other partial or full log homes and cabins can be found in today's great selection of properties. Here they are and if you have any questions about these properties, give me a call!

Log Homes on Mt. Hood

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Mt. Hood Area Sales for June 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011
by Liz Warren

June was pretty amazing compared to the first five months of the year in monthly sales. Government Camp, Welches, Brightwood and Rhododendron hit a whopping eleven sales for June. Residential sales totaled 39 for the year with the addition of these 11. That total is no record breaker of course and here's hoping better weather and more buyers come out and take advantage of this inventory the second half of the year.

Here are the June sales:

3 foreclosures

2 forest service cabins

1 Condo

1 Timberline Rim home

 

Mt. Hood Area Sales for June 2011

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Mt. Hood Golf Course Home New To Market-Resort at the Mountain Location!

Sunday, July 17, 2011
by Liz Warren

RESORT AT THE MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE HOME

$260,000

New to the market! Looking for a great home right on the links of Foxglove at the Resort at the Mountain? Hit the breaks, it's here! Custom built as a vacation home, this three bedroom, two bath charmer has high vaulted ceilings, a beautiful stone fireplace and tons of windows to look out on the fairway. A big deck with benches faces the course so you can soak up the sun and watch the golfers stroll by.

A brand new roof was just put on so all the tough work is done. Enjoy amenities including a pool, hot tub, tennis court, and nature trails through the resort. If you're a skier, you will love the quick access to the mountain in only 20 minutes. The Mt. Hood National Forest is just down the street a ways for tons of hiking trails throughout the Cascade foothills. A short walk to fine restaurants and shopping make for a great full time home or vacation getaway.

Take a tour here:

Play VisualTour

 

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Mt. Hood Inventory Increases

Thursday, May 13, 2010
by Liz Warren

The local inventory for Welches, Government Camp, Brightwood and Rhododendron has shot up in the last month for single detached properties. There's been an addition of 29 properties to hit the market which makes up approximately 25% of the entire single detached home inventory! There are some great choices for buyers out there who wish to take advantage of once in a lifetime interest rates and a diverse inventory of homes!

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Moving Numbers Are Down

Friday, May 1, 2009
by Liz Warren

According to the U.S. Censes Bureau the number of people moving from 2007 to 2008 declined to 11.9%. This is the lowest rate since they began keeping records in 1948.

Most movers were in the South and in the West.

Stats for 2008:

65% moved within the same county

18% moved to a different county within the same state

13% moved to a different state

3% moved to the U.S. from abroad

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Home Equity Declines on Mt. Hood

Thursday, April 30, 2009
by Liz Warren

The latest numbers show home appreciation and home equity declines in the Portland Metro/Vancouver/Beaverton area. Here is the chart:

Look at the impact of 2006-2008, probably through refis and home equity loans. Yikes! Although this is a broad group and the Vancouver area with new construction has probably made these statistics worse than they really are, it's interesting. I am surprised at the median downpayment amount.

Naturally, as Portland goes, our area goes. I don't have the actual numbers for our Mt. Hood area.

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What about the Jumbos?

Friday, January 30, 2009
by Liz Warren

Jumbo loans are for properties which have loans greater than $417,000 in Clackamas County. Over the last several years many homeowners have purchased homes in Government Camp, Welches and Rhododendron with these types of loans. Jumbo loans are huge in California and Washington where home values are substantially higher near metro areas and can go over $700,000.

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication, between 2002 and 2006 banks originated $557 billion dollars a year in jumbo loans.  A mortgage data firm reports that 6.9% of prime jumbo loans were 90 days delinquent in December 2008. As we see continuing job losses across the board, savings continuing to get depleated, and continued softening of the real estate market, I suspect the tax payer will get stuck with these properties as they get foreclosed on. This in turn will push prices down further as the higher end price range dwindles lower.

Homes that may qualify for jumbo loans on the mountain (Homes priced over $450,000) are at 27% of the current inventory. In Sandy the homes for sale over $450,000 make up 18% of their inventory.

We will have to see how this story unfolds and if the Feds take any action to help these jumbo loan holders. Many who are trying to refinance are finding that their homes do not meet appraisal values or they do not qualify any longer with revised lending practices!

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Hackett Creek Cabin

Sunday, January 18, 2009
by Liz Warren

Here is a little gem in the woods on Hackett Creek! Originally built in 1928 it has been refurbished and now is a nightly vacation rental. Warm wood walls and floors with vaulted ceilings make this a big favorite because of it's mountain charm and its wonderful location on Hackett Creek.

Sit on your private deck and watch the fish swim by or enjoy the tall firs and cedars from your windows. The fireplace has a toe warming propane insert. Pull up your chair and bring out your favorite weekend book!

Two bedrooms are upstairs plus a mini kids loft off of one bedroom. A full equiped kitchen complete with a built in bench for eating is a great bonus.

I love the french doors that open up to the deck! The bathroom is large for a cabin of this age. It even has a washer and dryer. The cabin sits on a third of an acre and has a shared well with the neighbor and is on septic.

Take a tour of the cabin here.

The location is in Rhododendron. It's only one hour from Portland and 20 minutes to the nearest ski areas. If you love to hike, you have the entire Mt. Hood National Forest near by.

 

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Weather Beaten Market

Wednesday, January 7, 2009
by Liz Warren

No doubt about it, the crazy snow pilling up, melting snow and rain, falling trees and branches and a general lack of accessibility will be reflected in fewer pending and sold properties showing up in January. From Government Camp, which was buried with snow and constantly battling power outages closing down local ski areas to Welches, Brightwood and Rhododendron, it was a rough winter holiday season. People just couldn't get around on the roads let alone view properties.

The clean up has begun and most roads are easy to navigate so showings are happening and buyers are back. Rivers and creeks are dabbling at high water levels. Many basements are flooded and finally, everyone has their power back on.

As we shake all of this off, 2009 should be one for adjustments as major price reductions are rampant in the multiple listing service. Some owners have dropped their prices nearly 40% chasing the market down.

Buyers have rarely had so much inventory to choose from and with rates hovering around 5%, opportunity knocks!

FHA loans have increased their down payment qualifications to 3.5% down. FHA loans numbers have increased significantly from the past couple of years.

Speaking of incredible rates, this is currently causing a rush to refinance. Mortgage brokers are busy getting folks into incredibly affordable loans. If you have a lot of equity in your home, this is  a great time to pull that down payment out for a second home purchase.

Well, it's back to work for me now that the power and internet are working again!

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Negative Equity Numbers

Wednesday, November 12, 2008
by Liz Warren

wHow does the Mt. Hood area fair compare to other areas of the country as far as negative equity in homes? Well, I can't say specifically what happens on the mountain but it is a reflection of the general Oregon market. Sources such as First American CoreLogic says 18.3% of properties with mortgages are underwater. Most of these states are Nevada, Arizona, Florida and hard hit Michigan with the Detroit carnage.FAC says Oregon mortgages are at 7.5% underwater which, believe it or not is the 6th lowest percentage of all states. Washington is right behind us.

So, if you think it's bad around here-it isn't! It's GREAT compared to the rest of the U.S.!

Here's a little more info mapping the negative equity states from the Wall Street Journal.

 

 

 

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Displaying blog entries 11-20 of 73

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