ART SHOW

What happens in the fall that is better than pumpkins, apple cider, changing leaves, and corn mazes?? The RE/MAX equity group Broadway Art Show! Not only was it a huge success this year, it was a record breaking year for art sales and donations to our partner charity- NW Kidney Kids!

This year's show was filled with 185 pieces from over 50 local artists and donations from 3 local sponsors- Elephants Deli, Rev Nat's Cider, and CREO chocolate. The halls were buzzing with agents and clients alike who enjoyed the wide variety of styles and techniques displayed by the pieces chosen for this year's theme "On Our Streets".

The show ran for 3 weekends and boasted a total of almost $10,000 in sales! 30% of these sales will go toward NW Kidney Kids to help children with kidney disease and their families. We are proud to have sold over 40 pieces of artwork to the 400 people that came to the show and to have had the support of our 20 wonderful sponsors, without whom we could not have put on such a great event.

Thank you to all who came and supported our local artists!

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls"- Pablo Picasso

Cider and Art!

As we prepare for our annual art show, we have lined up some local sponsors who will be helping us put together this great event! One of these sponsors is our favorite taproom, Reverend Nat's Hard Cider. In case you don't know of these guys, they are making a pretty big splash in Portland these days. 

Rev Nat West started experimenting with hard cider in his basement more than 10 years ago. He used a 20 ton house jack in the garage and some old timbers to make a juice press. He says of his early days, "As a die-hard craft beer revolutionary, I experimented with beer yeasts, wild fermentation, Belgian ale spices, aromatic west coast hops and local fruit juices. My search for superior ingredients to make unusual ciders was all-consuming. As an historian of cider-making (I have the largest cider book library in Portland), I recreated forgotten cider styles and practiced juicing and fermenting techniques long out of fashion. Permeating all these experiments was a desire to make ciders that no one else wake

As Reverend Nat's grew into a blossoming business, Nat moved into an abandoned warehouse in inner NE Portland near the Rose Quarter and has continued to expand ever since. Rev Nat's is now sold in 5 states and has a taproom right down the street from our office- 1 block North of Broadway between MLK and N Williams. We are happy to announce that Rev Nat's will be hosting a table of cider at our annual art show this year! They will have a representative from their taproom to talk about the great flavors and ingredients used to make this amazing creation.

http://reverendnatshardcider.com/

The Millennial Game

Recently, our office has had a lot of conversations about "millennials" and the challenges or questions they are presenting in today's market so we thought it would be a good topic to discuss in this week's blog.

 So first things first. Who are "they"? "Millennials" (also referred to as Gen Y) are the group of people born in the 1980's- early 1990's who now number almost 79 million! They have surpassed "Baby Boomers" in size and are well noted for their love of technology, independent thinking, and delay in settling down.

So why are they making such a big impact on the real estate market? Although it is hard to characterize millions of people with 1 or 2 similar traits, it has been noted that this generation is a different kind of buyer than those of Gen X and Baby Boomers. A recent article in the Oregon Real Estate News Journal noted, "...millennials are less likely to be homeowners than previous generations and that the pace of household formations and rate at which they head their own household have also fallen. It (a 2014 Council of Economic Advisors' report) also noted the increase of young people living with parents. The consequence for the housing market is obvious- less demand for housing units and all that fill them. However, the reasons cited for these changes are not all bad".

So, we see and feel the effects of this change but there are perhaps bigger socioeconomic reasons driving this change and we, as a community of realtors, need to focus on the solution not the problem. Perhaps this means more rentals, condos, buyer assistance programs, etc. Perhaps this means new and innovative forms of marketing via social media and networking as opposed to "old school" mailers. Regardless of what this ideological shift in home ownership may bring, we look toward the future with open minds and a reminder that we are in an industry that is constantly changing so the only that is constant, is change.

Summer Stats

As the summer draws to a close and we begin to reflect on the market this summer, some July statistics come to mind. We are REALLY hurting for houses to sell. July's inventory was at 1.7 months which means if we continue to sell properties at the current rate of sales, there are only enough properties to last 1.7 months!

July also showed us that prices continue to rise in 2015 compared to 2014. The median price this year to date (January-July 2015) rose to $304,900 this month. That is a 7% increase from the same period of time last year.

It is a clear sign that buyers are having to move quickly as agents closed 28.9% more sales this year over last year and the total market time in July fell to a quick 45 days- down 12 days from last year.

All of this goes to show that there are just not enough properties for sale in Portland and that buyers are having to jump in quickly to close the deal if they want to buy right now. We hope that with the change of the season comes more listings and a breath of fresh air for both buyers and sellers.

Big Decision!

Well- the time has come to announce that we have finally chosen a charity for our 5th annual RE/MAX equity group Broadway art show! DRUMROLL PLEASE.....

The charity we chose is....NW Kidney Kids! 

They are a great group of people working very hard to help children with kidney disease and the parents that work hard to give those children the support they need. We are very excited to announce that over the course of the 3 separate days of the art show (October 3rd, 11th, and 18th), NW Kidney Kids will not only be with us but will be sending families, doctors, and the foundation coordinator to share of their stories and introduce some of the kids who have benefited from this amazing charity!

Welcome to the 2nd blog entry of PDX Real Estate Roost! We are so excited to be a part of the blogging world and have already found some great blogs and articles shared by agents, title companies, mortgage lenders, and other leaders in our industry! There is so much information out there in this day and age that it can be hard to disseminate what is relevant or important sometimes. It is great to find blogs that have links to market statistics or news articles that can help buyers and sellers make informed decisions. Speaking of links, our very own Julee Feslman from Equity Home Mortgage has created a website to help everyone from new buyers to experienced sellers to even your grandma simplify the daunting mortgage process. The link is www.workshopmortgagepdx.com  Check it out!

Last week, we wrapped up our annual school supplies drive for "Friends of the Children". This is a great charity that helps underprivileged kids get backpacks, lunch boxes, and the school supplies they need to succeed in school this year. We collected 44 filled backpacks in total and exceeded our goal of 35! Giving back to our community is important not only for us as a collective but as individuals who live, work, shop, walk, and talk with those who are less fortunate than us every day. It brings a real sense of joy to be able to pay it forward.

The biggest news of the week is that the July numbers are out...and the results are good! The Portland metro area saw increases across the board compared to July of last year. There were 3,452 closings, 3,494 pending sales, and 4,273 listings. This was in fact the best July for closings in Portland on the RMLS record! Stay tuned for more info next week on July numbers and how the market will look this fall.

Vilkomen! Bienvenue! Welcome- to the very first blog entry of PDX Real Estate Roost! This blog will give you all the latest news, updates, and data on the real estate market in Portland and the lowdown on great events happening at RE/MAX equity group on Broadway. 

This week, we are focusing on planning the 5th Annual RE/MAX equity group Broadway Art Show! This is an amazing annual event in which we invite local artists to submit paintings, drawings, photographs that will be hung in our office and displayed in our open house art show in October. The event will be catered and will offer clients and friends of the agents a chance to purchase some one-of-a-kind pieces! The proceeds from this show will then go to a local charity chosen by our office as a way for us to give back to our community. The theme of this year's show is "On Our Streets"- a celebration of the artists, families, and businesses that make our community truly unique.

In the coming days, we will be making a final decision on what charity will be our partner for this great event and announcing some other big news about our new office space so stay tuned!