Welcome to January, where the snow falls, and……well wait a minute, I don’t think we’ve had much snow this year, and I’m noticing the buds forming……looks like an early spring. (Just jinxed it)

Our lovely Real Estate market is in interesting shape. It’s struggling along, and inventory seems to be dropping…..prices dipped there for the last few months, and there was a considerable amount of restructuring on some properties, and viola! New pricing, and forward progress. Only thing is, there’s nothing behind that, except a raft of homeowners who are not interested in selling their homes….thus….Floor.

…Or at least I think so. The phones been ringing with Sellers, but it’s lighter than last year, to be sure. I was pondering the overall market for the coming year, and I actually think we will have a slightly WORSE year in terms of total dollar amount. My best guess is pricing will firm, but volume will drop. I’m guessing that this year will be 3-5% lower in terms of dollar volume, with reasonable signs of recovery late in the year….

It’s still a good time to get after some property, Rental rates are….well they are insane. I’ve heard people quote, with a straight face, $1,900 a month for a place downtown. It just rented. For a year.

Now, that might not sound like a lot to many of our readers, but in Hood River, that’s creating some pain, because of the makeup of our workforce. There’s a critical need to keep our workforce in place here, (because of the commuting distance and costs) but many workers are being driven out due to the cost of housing. It’s a constant problem in this community, and this year, especially for the summer crew, it will be acute.

Take a look at the video this month, for a few more observations. Spring is in its earliest phases, and it couldn’t come soon enough! See you next month!