Portland Oregon Real Estate - Donn's Blog

Eating Healthy The New / Old Paradigm Shift

Donn's Blog — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:05:49 GMT

Have recently watched three documentary movies that demonstrate the benefits of eating healthy. The movies followed participants who practiced healthy eating habits that dramatically changed their lives and health in a positive direction. Some of the results were amazing to say the least. I recommend all three as wake up calls to anyone thinking about changing their lifestyle to a more healthy status. It's time to unwash our brains and release ourselves from the corporate shackles.

Forks Over Knives - 2011 PG 96 minutes
Focusing on the research of two food scientists, this earnest documentary reveals that despite broad advances in medical technology, the popularity of modern processed foods has led to epidemic rates of obesity, diabetes and other diseases.

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - 2010 NR 97 Minutes
Focusing on two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity and illness, this documentary chronicles the rigorous healing path -- including a two-month diet of fruits and vegetables -- that both attempt in a bid to rescue their health.

Food Matters - 2008 NR 77 Minutes
With a staggering number of Americans suffering from obesity and other food-related maladies, this film takes a timely and hard-hitting look at how the food we eat is helping or hurting our health, and what we can do to live (and eat) better. Nutritionists, naturopaths, scientists, doctors, medical journalists and more weigh in on everything from using food as medicine to the value of organic food and the safety of the food we consume.

Until next time... Cheers!

Donn

Portland, Oregon Metro Area Real Estate - January 2012 Statistics

Donn's Blog — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:23:07 GMT

Inventory levels in the overall Portland Metro area are starting to increase with 7 months of supply shown for the month. The Portland Metro area had 1,224 closed sales last month and 1,823 accepted offers. Closed sales are up 18.3% from January of 2011 and accepted offers are up 22.4%. Market time has also improved, decreasing from 160 days to 136 days.

So... the business is out there, people are still buying and selling homes in this market. Are you positioned to take advantage of this?

For a more in depth view, click on the link below to read the January RMLS Portland Metro Area Market Report for yourself.

Metro Portland, Oregon RMLS Market Action Report - January 2012

As always, feel free to contact me at DonnRasch@comcast.net or 503-658-5000 if you have any questions or if I can be of service to you.

Cheers,

Donn Rasch
Broker - RE/MAX Equity Group
9200 SE Sunnybrook Blvd., Ste 100
Clackamas, OR 97015
Cell: 503-658-5000
Fax: 503-495-3235
www.equitygroup.com/drasch
Donn's Blog

Condominium Considerations

Donn's Blog — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:40:23 GMT

As mentioned in the video, to see if a condo project is government approved in your area,
CLICK HERE.

Before You Build That Deck…

Donn's Blog — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:52:53 GMT

Just Sold in Oregon City, Oregon, Closed Escrow 2/3/12.

Donn's Blog — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:57:13 GMT

Bank owned fixer home on 10 acres with city water. Great close in Oregon City location. Just closed escrow on 2/3/12.

20296 S May Rd., Oregon City, Oregon 97045 - Sold for $190,000.

For a free, no obligation consultation, please give me a call at
(503) 658-5000. I can get the job done!

Happy Valley, Oregon Real Estate Report

Donn's Blog — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:13:12 GMT

RMLS Statistics for detached - stick built single family residences in Happy Valley, Oregon.

207 current listings for sale as of 2/2/12 with asking prices from $81,000 to $1,948,888.
56 pending sales as of 2/2/12 with last asking prices of $175k to $937k.

For the month of January 2012 there were 27 closed sales reported, priced from $115k to $525k. The average sales price was $326,649 with an average of 3,000 sq ft and an average of 102 days on market.

For the entire year of 2011 there were 333 closed sales reported, priced from $36,750 to $933,700. The average sales price was approximately $346,000 with an average of approximately 2,955 sq ft and an average of approximately 148 days on market.

Want a free, no obligation analysis of your home's value? Give me a call! (503) 658-5000.

Damascus, Oregon Real Estate Report

Donn's Blog — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:34:54 GMT

RMLS Statistics for detached - stick built single family residences in Damascus, Oregon.

49 current listings for sale as of 2/2/12 with asking prices from $109k to $1.5 million.
19 pending sales as of 2/2/12 with last asking prices of $195k to $575k.

For the month of January 2012 there were 8 closed sales reported, priced from $188k to $505k. The average sales price was $292,750 with an average of 2,557 sq ft and an average of 203 days on market.

For the entire year of 2011 there were 105 closed sales reported, priced from $82.5k to $750k. The average sales price was $285,879 with an average of 2,505 sq ft and an average of 157 days on market.

Want a free, no obligation analysis of your home's value? Give me a call! (503) 658-5000.

Wells And Septic Systems

Donn's Blog — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:07:56 GMT

Just Listed 8-Plex Townhouse Style Units in Southeast Portland

Donn's Blog — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:14:10 GMT

Don’t Let The Internet Price Your Home!

Donn's Blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:11:25 GMT

Portland, Oregon 2011 Real Estate Market in a Nutshell

Donn's Blog — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:08:00 GMT

Simple and sweet statistical overview below:

Inventory levels in the overall Portland Metro area are at a 3+ year low with just a 5.3 month supply in the month of December 2011. The Portland Metro area had 1,612 closed sales last month and 1,443 accepted offers. For the entire year of 2011 there were 19,682 closed sales!

So... the business is out there, people are still buying and selling homes in this market. Are you positioned to take advantage of this?

For a more in depth view, click on the link below to read the December 2011 RMLS Portland Metro Area Market Report for yourself.

Metro Portland, Oregon RMLS Market Action Report - December 2011

As always, feel free to contact me at DonnRasch@comcast.net or 503-658-5000 if you have any questions or if I can be of service to you.

Cheers,

Donn

Rehab Your Home Before You Move In!

Donn's Blog — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:43:24 GMT

To learn more about FHA Loans, click the link below or give me a call.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k/203kabou

Realtor.com - Smart Phone Application Review

Donn's Blog — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:22:20 GMT

As promised, here is the first review of one of the applications I have loaded on to my Droid Bionic smart phone.

The "Realtor.com" app is a useful house hunting tool when you are out on the road. Because of the GPS feature of smart phones, you are able to pinpoint your location and search for nearby homes for sale with this application.

It takes a little getting used to and you need to play around with it a bit. But I was finally able to get it to do a decent job of searching and viewing homes for sale. It has some pretty cool features that really allow you to get a fair idea of each homes general overall features, location and curb appeal.

Of course, the best way to view a home is in person. But with this tool, you can do an "on the fly" search and recon mission. You can identify homes that warrant further research after a quick look with your smart phone.

One of the nice features that the application has, that is worth familiarizing yourself with is the "Scout" button. It basically allows you to scroll around on the map to locate all listings in a given area. It seems to "lose" listings in a given area sometimes, so you may to have play around with it a bit and zoom in more to show all the listings available in a given area. Find something interesting and click on its map icon to bring up more details. Click again and you get even more details and photos. Don't forget to scroll on the various screens as you may miss features on some pages that are hidden further down or to the right.

All in all I would give the application, a score of 8 out of 10. Of course as with any computer application. The more you play with it the better you become using it. You will find "hidden" features that are not readily apparent the first couple of times you use it.

Bottom Line: A useful tool for the general public looking for a home while they are out in the field. Great back-up tool for the Broker on the road as well. Well worth loading on to your smart phone. And best of all it's FREE! So what have you got to lose?

Fixer-Uppers – Cost vs. Value

Donn's Blog — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:02:04 GMT

To check out the the National Association of Realtors’ ‘Cost vs. Value’ web page, click HERE!

Yelp! I Need Somebody. Yelp! Not Just Anybody.

Donn's Blog — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:44:00 GMT

Confession time.

I wasn't hip. I didn't have the latest greatest phone. I was cruising along with my semi-smart phone for the last two years thinking what's the big deal?

Well, I have a whole different attitude now. What was I thinking? How could I have survived without this modern technological marvel for so long?

I had watched from afar as people around me were Yelping & Grouponing their way through life on little computers that fit into their pockets. I always told myself "You don't need that, you've got your laptop. It's portable, you can take it anywhere you go."

When we visited with our daughter she would always have her I-Phone and would constantly be using it to find nearby stores, places we needed to go & get reviews on services / restaurants. I thought "that's pretty cool, but do I really need it?".

Then last Monday I did a survey in our "Mastermind Group" we have at work. It's a core group of approximately 8 Real Estate Brokers that I work with at RE/MAX Equity Group. We get together every Monday morning to discuss ways of improving our businesses and support each other in our day to day industry challenges.

The results of the survey were a little shocking to me. I was the only one without a smart phone. How could this be? I've always considered myself fairly technologically savvy. Apparently I had been asleep at the virtual wheel.

Well not any longer! As soon as I got out of the meeting I marched across the street to Costco and upgraded my phone to a "Bionic Marvel". I decided on the "Droid Bionic" and I am "VERY APPY" (pun intended) so far. The available "apps" and what they do are nothing short of amazing.

In fact, I've decided to share with you in my future blogs, reviews of the various "apps" I install on my new phone in the coming days / weeks.

Stay tuned, it will knock your socks off. That is if you haven't already taken the plunge for yourself!

Donn

Beware Of ‘Bait And Switch’ With Online Rates!

Donn's Blog — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:50:00 GMT

Just Sold In Eagle Creek, Oregon. Closed Escrow 12/16/11

Donn's Blog — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:28:52 GMT

This wonderful Eagle Creek home was on the market for only 53 days before we accepted an offer. Just closed escrow Friday 12/16/11.

27902 SE Gerber Ct., Eagle Creek, OR 97022 - Sold for $362,000.

For a free, no obligation consultation, please give me a call at (503) 658-5000.
I can get the job done!

Just Listed - Huge Dayranch on Estate Sized Lot in Wood Village

Donn's Blog — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:43:31 GMT

Just Listed - Clackamas River Front Home in Eagle Creek!

Donn's Blog — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:12:12 GMT

Hilarious Poor Dog Video

Donn's Blog — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:09:14 GMT

My wife sent me this video the other day and every time I watch it, I can't stop laughing. Dog lovers will relate to it the most I'm sure. Click on the play button and enjoy!