Estate sales heat up with housing market

Monday, July 18, 2005
MIRIAM GOTTFRIED
The Oregonian

Donna Kloster thinks estate sales have a bad rap. They're not only held to sell the possessions of people who have died -- in fact, she's swamped these days with business from elderly retirees eager to take advantage of the white-hot real estate market.

Working primarily in King City and other retirement areas in Portland's western suburbs, Kloster says her schedule is booked solid until mid-September.

"I used to be able to book all sales in advance," she said. "Now people call me when their house goes on the market, and it's sold a few days later. They call back and say when can you do the sale? How about next week?"

She can do only one sale a week, she said, so she's had to turn customers away.

Kloster, 72, lives in the 2,100-person town of King City. When this and neighboring retirement communities were developed about 35 years ago, nearly all residents were 55 or older. Many are now in their eighties and are too old to live alone. That's where Kloster comes in.

She goes to homes, prices everything from fine art to unopened cans of food and holds a public sale. Kloster sells what's left to auctioneers, giving the final leftovers to Goodwill. She takes a 30 percent commission for her work.

Kloster, who has been in business for 10 years, is one of about 20 estate salespeople in the Portland area. She's not the most experienced -- a few started selling 25 years ago -- but she has successfully tapped into the constant supply of customers in her tight-knit community in a business that depends heavily on word-of-mouth advertising.

"I think she has found a great niche because the people in that community know her," said Cynthia Fischborn, who worked with Kloster before starting her own estate sales business three years ago. "There are other people working in that area, but she lives there, and people like to go to someone local."

Fischborn, who focuses on Southwest Portland, said she's noticed the same trickle-down effect from the frenzied housing market. She's doing six sales in the next five weeks.