High-density housing will rise in Oregon City

Thursday, March 24, 2005
Developer: Millennium Homes, Portland Project: 47-lot residential subdivision Status: Construction is scheduled to begin in 60 days. The first homes should be available in six months. The land was annexed into Oregon City last year. The Oregon City planning department approved the project, but the decision was appealed by a neighboring property owner. City commissioners turned down the appeal last week. Details: Homes will be 1,500 square feet to 1,800 square feet and priced between $200,000 and $225,000. This will be Oregon City's largest high-density subdivision. Lots in the 6.1-acre development will be 3,500 square feet. Information: 503-489-0763

Land trusts link efforts to put more people in homes

Thursday, March 17, 2005
The Oregonian
The Clackamas Community Land Trust is about to begin its biggest drive to provide permanently affordable housing in Clackamas County.

The agency is joining with the Portland Community Land Trust to rehabilitate 30 houses in Portland and another 30 in Clackamas County over three years. The land trusts will help low-income buyers purchase the homes.

The project will focus on neighborhoods near amenities such as schools, parks and public transportation, including the planned Interstate 205 light-rail line that will connect the Gateway area to Clackamas Town Center, said Nancy Yuill, executive director of the Clackamas Community Land Trust.

The goal is to help people buy homes in neighborhoods "before they get so gentrified that people can't afford them," Yuill said.

Low-income buyers will be screened by the land trusts and qualify for a mortgage. Then, they'll go shopping with a real estate agent and pick a house they can afford.

The land trusts will cover the cost of the land where the chosen house sits and help pay for renovations to the house once it has been purchased. The land trusts plan to provide subsidies of $60,000 per house.

Once the homes become part of one of the land trusts, they are kept permanently affordable. The organizations keep the purchase price of a house low by paying for and keeping the land where it sits.

The two agencies are joining forces to share policies, marketing and contractors. They'll also make joint funding proposals, said Allison Handler, executive director of the Portland Community Land Trust. The Home Depot Foundation has pitched in some early funding for operating expenses, but the agencies have a long way to go before they raise enough capital to make the program work, Yuill said. -- Sarah Hunsberger

©2005 The Oregonian

Real estate still real attractive

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

PULSE: Edward D. Murphy

Portland's real estate market is settling down from its robust nature of last summer, but it still remains very healthy.

For the year, prices increased 16 percent, according to figures from the National Association of Realtors, outpacing the national increase of 8.2 percent and the regional increase of 15.4 percent.

But the gain in the fourth quarter slowed dramatically from midyear.

Portland's gains in home prices led the Northeast region in the first and second quarters of 2004, but for the final three months of the year, the metropolitan area slid well back into the pack.

The area still saw median home prices rise 9.3 percent in the fourth quarter to $236,600, but that rate of increase was behind a dozen cities in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Part of the reason for the slightly slower rate of growth might be that the increase was so rapid a year ago. In the April-May-June quarter of 2004, for instance, home prices in Maine shot up 23.4 percent; it's unlikely that pace will be exceeded this year, so expect those numbers to show a "slowing of the market" in a few months, even if prices are still up over last year.

There's no sign that buyers are no longer interested in homes in Cumberland County, said Alan Peoples, president of Home Sellers of Maine.

Peoples said there's talk all the time that the real estate market must be cooling, but that talk never seems to translate into reality. "Every time I look at it and I start to break it apart, it's not going down," Peoples said. "It's holding its own."

Peoples noted that sales prices continued to increase in January and days on the market - the average length of time it takes for a house to sell - has barely moved for two years.

In 2002, a house was on the market for an average of 61 days. The next year, it was 67 days. Last year, the average length of time on the market was 69 days.

That suggests that houses are still moving - an extra week to sell over the course of two years does not suggest a market that is stagnating, Peoples said.

Peoples also pointed out that interest rates remain very low and are not likely to rise rapidly, although they are forecast to move up over the next year. The labor market in Portland is still solid, with unemployment well below national averages, and inflation remains tame, Peoples said.

The only ominous sign for real estate is that rising prices have made it increasingly difficult for local buyers to afford a home - but prices are being pushed up anyway because of buyers from away, Peoples said.

Peoples said those moving here from Boston or New York see the Portland area as safe, it offers a simpler and easier pace of life than many cities, it provides the cultural amenities of larger cities and it's in a great location near the water on the East Coast.

Those four factors, Peoples said, are enduring attractions that continue to attract people to the area. And, because many of them are moving here from places where home prices are even higher, the prospect of a median-priced home near a quarter of a million dollars isn't daunting.

For them, "the water's flowing in the right direction," Peoples said.