Hood River Real Estate and Columbia Gorge Real Estate

New Sales Stats for Hood River Real Estate came out today from the RMLS……In May, inventory Rose 4.2% up 17% Year to date, properties closed dropped by 24.5%. Year to date, the Solds have dropped 9.5%.

But Median Price rose year over year, 15%.

Narrative? Good Winter, tough spring. lots of property on the market means downward pressure.

My advice? While you’ll probably see improvement in the closed category for June, you’ll also start to see the appreciation wane……

Distilled down to one sentence……Get it gone.

….It’s one of the most common questions we get. “What’s the financial difference between living in Hood River Oregon Versus White Salmon Washington?”

Tough question…..and…..not so tough, when you think about it.

I’ve looked into the question over and over, and inevitably, there are some advantages to Washington, and others in Oregon. Invariably these points come up. Among them…..

Washington Plus
No Income tax

Washington Not So Plus
Car Registration Fee
Real Esate Transfer tax
Driving
The Hood River Toll Bridge

Oregon Plus
No Sales tax!
Cheap to register a car
No Toll bridge
No Real Estate Transfer Tax

Oregon Not So Plus
Personal Income Tax

So, Toss it all in a hat, mix it up, and guess what? In most cases, it’s a total wash. (As in “wash-out” not “short for Washington”)

Some people, inevitably, want to take the extra effort to do the following avoidance strategies

1. Shop for everything in Oregon
2. Live and Work in Washington
3. Own a car in Oregon.

OK…..so if you really want to spend that much time in avoidance technique, I could argue, fairly effectively that the time you spend planning this “Fee Avoidance” actually wastes more time than the money you save…..

There is, however, one time where I have seen it work for people….and that is in an installment sale income stream….For some business owners receiving payments form the sale of, for example, a business, it might make sense to move to a state where they don’t have personal income taxes.

Bottom line? Take a good look at the property you are considering in either the Hood River Real Estate Market, of the White Salmon Real Estate Market, and buy what you like, not what you think will be cheaper. If you have just recently sold something big and are receiving payments…..talk to your accountant, and see if a Washington home will make sense for you………

Good Article from the NYT re: How long term debt will be affecting Hood River Real Estate…..

Check out this Article on Why Rising Long Term interest Rates will Impact Your ability to Obtain a Loan…

We need Warm Weather!

Maui