Explore Portland’s Waterfront Park
It’s Spring! Let’s go for a walk.
Let’s walk through Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Downtown Portland and run up a clean grassy hill, past folks playing Frisbee or picnicking while gazing out at the Willamette River and the east side of the city.
Let’s walk past a seafood restaurant resting on the river and order fish and chips and a soda while we enjoy the sights of the city— and the sight of the lovely lady sitting across from me.
Let’s take a walk past the moorings used for anchoring the ginormous boats during the Rose Festival; a festival which reminds us why this amazing city is called the City of Roses. Let’s keep moving through the park, past the bridges that crisscross the city and make travel from East to West Portland a breeze.
Let’s walk past friendly bearded gentlemen playing acoustic guitar while people dance. I never saw the sixties, but I imagine this is what the sixties were like.
Let’s walk past the fountains, where children play in the summer, business men and women enjoy their lunch breaks, tourists stop to take […]
When to Buy What: How to Find Bargains Year-Round
Close your eyes and picture this:
It’s the third Friday of November-1am, parking lot full of mini-vans and soccer-mom mobiles, bundled up shoppers shrouded in fleece are lined up at the locked doors of any major retailer in America- all determined to just save a few bucks. That’s right- it’s Black Friday. Quick open your eyes- it sounds more like a horror film doesn’t it?!
I get it- these days it is almost embarrassing to admit to paying full retail price for major purchases like home electronics or appliances. And why should you? There are TONS of ways to save all year long! From “members only” discount shopping sites like www.OneKingsLane.com (a personal fave) to discount retailers like www.Amazon.com or TJ Maxx, consumers today have so many ways to avoid paying full retail all without waiting in a parking lot in the middle of the night!
According to a few recent studies (Decide Inc, Wall Street Journal and Sales.com), consumers can actually be strategic all year long as they plan their purchases to get the most bang for their buck. Additional reports from AARP and LifeHacker […]
Portland- A Book Lover’s Paradise
Portland, Oregon- recently named the #1 City in the US for Book Lovers, and for those of us lucky enough to live here, this should really come as no surprise.
In many parts of the world, books made of paper, glue, and cardboard may be unwell. They may be residing in the ICU—maybe even on life support; but they are not dead which means there is always hope they will pull through, survive, and live long, healthy lives.
Powell’s City of Books, located in the Pearl District of downtown Portland, Oregon, is helping to keep these books alive. This independent bookstore, the largest of its kind on the planet, houses over a half a million books. It also offers free parking to patrons, inexpensive coffee and tasty treats, and readings and book signings from authors all over the world.
Getting to Powell’s from from most parts of Portland would be a breeze. Coming from Cedar Mill, I could take a Tri-Met bus and be there in less than a half hour, or I could drive through the glorious West Hills, past Wildwood Trail, Hoyt […]
Portland Housing- Low Rates Mean High Affordability!
It’s an exciting time in the Portland real estate market – amazingly low rates and affordability! This is not just exclusive to Portland; the housing market nationwide is on the uptick after nearly a decade of decline. This is indicated by increased home sales and home prices, along with falling mortgage rates. Due to these historically low mortgage rates, real estate in Portland is friendly to both buyers and sellers in the market, making this an excellent time to both purchase and sell a home.
Real estate in Portland, and nationwide, continues to be a wise investment for you and your family. In the past, the average mortgage rate was nearly 9%, but we are currently experiencing record lows, with most rates sitting at around 3.49% nationally. Potential home buyers in Portland are benefitting. Now is the best time in recent memory to seriously consider purchasing a home.
We continue to see the signs of a steadily improving marke nationwide: home sales increased by 7.8% last month, with a seasonal adjusted rate of 4.82 million units, a 9.3% increase over last year.
Contact us […]
Good News for Portland Real Estate
Are you a homeowner in Portland looking to sell? Are you a potential home buyer looking to purchase a house in Portland? Well there’s good news for you either way! We now find ourselves in a unique real estate market that is friendly both to buyers and sellers.
Since the housing market crashed a half decade ago, we’ve seen the prices of homes steadily go down- until now! Thanks to an extremely low inventory of homes for sale in Portland, (the lowest in 3 years) prices are starting to inch back up. Craig Reger observes, “We are seeing the effects of the low inventory on a daily basis. We are working with literally dozens of buyers who simply cannot find a home that meets their needs. There’s an urgency today that we just haven’t seen in the past few years- we are on the ground getting clients into properties as soon as they hit the market, and networking with other agents to get them in houses before they even hit the market. We have to because we know our buyers face a […]
Portland Housing- A Seller’s Market
The Regional Multiple Listing Service released its latest Portland home sales numbers this weekend and all news points toward a continued housing recovery. In spite of typical seasonal slowing, when compared with a year ago, November’s sales and prices both were up. Perhaps of more interest is that the imbalance between Portland homebuyers and sellers that has defined the 2012 market continues. “At November’s sales rate, it would take only 4.2 months to sell all 7,216 homes currently on the market. Six months of supply is considered a balanced market, with anything below indicating demand outpaces supply,” explains Elliot Njus from The Oregonian.
This is always good news for homeowners considering a move. While many homeowners are resistant to putting their house on the market in winter, Craig Reger explains why it can actually prove to be the best time of year. “Think about who is looking to buy a home in Portland in December or January- they are serious buyers who have to find a house. While in spring and summer we have lots of half-interested folks, often just curious to see the insides of nice houses, in […]
WOW! Craig Reger Group is giving away an iPad Mini!
When were you “Wow-ed” by exceptional customer service?
We’re 100% dedicated to giving our clients the best possible experience when buying or selling a house, and we are always looking for ways to improve what we do. We’ve all had countless customer service experiences- and we want to learn from the best. There are some amazing companies out there that have truly perfected the art of customer service (Disney, Nordstrom, Zappos to name just a few…) and here’s where we need your help! We want to hear about a time when you were completely “Wow-ed!” by a customer service experience- could have been anywhere- the coffee shop, the gas station, the dentist, online shopping, wherever! Tell us what made it so great and why you walked away saying, “Wow!”
To thank you for your time and help, you’ll be entered in to a drawing to win a brand new iPad Mini- just in time for the Holidays!
Here’s the scoop:
One story per person- you can earn up to 3 tickets for the drawing!
Earn 1 ticket when you […]
Building Permits at Best Levels Since 2008!
More signs of a national housing recovery- today it’s in the world of new construction:
Building permits hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 812,000 in July, the best level since August 2008. Permits were up 6.8% from June and 29.5% from July 2011.
For more on this and today’s financial reports click here: http://money.msn.com/market-news/post.aspx?post=274e2738-6452-4924-b3f6-84c3e2d9e563
Congratulations Facebook Winners
Congratulations to our friends Carrie Schaffer and Arbor Custom Homes- winners of last month’s Facebook giveaway for tickets to the Eugene Olympic trials!
Be sure to “like” us on facebook and be on the lookout for a special give away coming next month!