Hood River Real Estate and Columbia Gorge Real Estate

From across the web……..

“…President Obama signed new legislation extending the deadline for the home buyer tax credit into 2010 and expanding it to include current home owners who are looking to buy a primary residence.

The Basic Requirements

You qualify for the tax credit if the:

• Home you’re buying will be your primary residence
• Purchase price isn’t more than $800,000

This credit is not a loan; it’s yours, but keep in mind you have to live in your new home for three years. If you sell the home in less than three years, you’ll have to pay back the money.

What’s Changed?

With the new legislation, buyers have more time to find a home and more buyers are eligible for the tax credit:

• New deadline: To qualify, you need to be in contract with a seller by April 30th & close on the home by June 30th (The previous deadline was November 30, 2009).
• Not just for first-time buyers anymore: Home buyers who’ve owned and occupied a home for at least five consecutive years during the past eight years are eligible for a credit up to $6,500.
• Increased income limits: Individuals making less than $125,000 and couples making less than $225,000 are eligible (The limits used to be $75K & $150K).

First-time buyers are eligible for a credit up to $8,000 on homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Qualified homeowners can a credit up to $6,500 on homes purchased between November 7, 2009 and June 30, 2010.”

 Not bad, but like many others are saying, what happens when the credit runs out? are we just shuffling pieces on the playing field? Pretty soon they’ll start bumping into each other……….

The Market continues to improve, however slightly. Prices have moderated by a bunch! Given the activity in the market, (being so price point oriented) has caused a dip in the average and median home price. I did notice, however, that the look and feel of that correction sort of maps to 2008. Inventory in months was at 14 (high, yes I know) then it went to over 30, then it came back to about 14. Same thing with average price, which is down 13% year over year. Looks like a cleanout to me…
Closings dropped in September, while pendings went up. You could probably call this a marker on the HERA and HVCC issues, as most deals are now between 30-45 days………
So, the long and short of it is that this is looking a lot like 2008, but with an upward bias, not a downward one……..
Inside the market, Average sale price got mauled by the lower price points in both Hood River Westside and City, down 6% and 18% year over year. Additionally a big drop off of pending sales, YTD in the City (off 32%) to the benefit of the Westside (Up 30%)  Again, some of that is sample size, but Downtown has flown higher in the past, and this would probably mark a return to earth on the values.

So that’s that in October. Time to settle in for a loooong haul until next spring. There’s some commercial activity as people look for projects, assuming they have financing, etc.

The Columbia Gorge Hotel has apparently been sold, there’s talk of a couple of new projects, but it’s still lean out there for the trades. Last winter there was lots of talk of a “die-off” of some businesses. We have been in here for so long, that I think there’s still a fair bit of carnage to occur. Hopefully it won’t be us, but there’s still a decent amount of uncertainty out there…….

On the computer front we now have a Face book page, our plan is to post new listings to that page, and updates. The Copper West Facebook page is located here.
Our twitter feed is @CopperwestHR

My Personal FB page is here.
And my Twitter feed is @Mauim

I keep the personal and business accounts quite separate, so you may choose, either neither or both!

And Finally, We are now posting the Monthly Market Reports from the RMLS on our website. They are located in the newsletters section under the about us tab at Copperwest.com

… here we go…. Check out this article in the Oregonian. Heard that recently on this Blog? You know it’s bubbling when it hits the black and white………..

Baby Boomers Retiring to the Country……Especially quiet towns ringing the Metro area of Portland…….