DO NOT READ THIS BLOG IF YOU DON”T UNDERSTAND SILLY.

I was having a fun conversation today with a couple of Realtor friends of mine, and I came up with a theory about why I like to work with buyers so much.

Working with a buyer is like dating. And since I have been happily married for over 17 years at this point, I don’t actually get to (have to?) date. And to be honest, I like getting to know people in the way that you do when you spend that kind of time together.

When you get into a realtionship with a buyer, there are distinct stages usually. There is the finding each other stage. Now I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t use me as their Realtor. I can’t quite figure out why not, but houses do get sold without me, so I know it happens. So therefore, we didn’t meet and find out if we were “attracted” to each other.

Next there is the having coffee, getting to know each other stage. I like to do this one at my office, show them pictures of my dog, crack a few jokes, and ask questions about who they are, and what they are looking for in life (which is more helpful than knowing what they are looking for in a house. Most people don’t really know what they are looking for in a house, they just know it when they see it).

Then we decide we’ll go out. Generally involves spending a lot of time driving around together. We look at houses, and wonder what it would be like if we lived here. This is how “I” would remodel this place. If things are going really well, then there is always a chance that we might go out for a drink. Or there may not be those kind of sparks, so it is just a quick kiss on the cheek (not literally), and maybe we will try this again some other time.

Then the buyer finds a house, and that’s when the relationship might get a little rocky. Thing aren’t so perfect anymore because there is “someone else” involved (usually the seller and their realtor). But you have put time into this relationship, and you are going to see it through and be there for them. And you do, you work things out.

And then “BOOM”. they buy the house, fall in love with it and they move in and on with their lives, and suddenly they don’t need you as much anymore. You hope that they liked you well enough that they may introduce you to some of their friends who might want to date you, but the dating ends. You still see each other on occassions, but its just not the same anymore.

And the Realtor moves on…to date again.

The other conversation I had today was with my lovely wife, and we were joking about dating other people. (Seriously, we were joking). And after I had this thought about how buyers are like dating, I can now let my wife know that if she wants me to be faithful to her, she just needs to find me more buyers.

I can just see my ad now….(insert sexy voice over here) looking for a good time? Call Adam…he’ll show you all the real estate in Ashland like you’ve never seen it before.

The biggest difference is the temperature…and the low temp in Bend is makes it unbearably cold to me at night in all but the summer months. The averages are only about 5 degrees difference, but look at the charts for the extremes. The exteme low on record for Ashland is -5 degrees, where in Bend the extreme low is about -25 degrees.

ASHLAND, OREGON (350304)

Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary

Period of Record : 7/ 1/1892 to 4/30/2009

BEND, OREGON (350694)

Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary

Period of Record : 4/ 1/1901 to 4/30/2009

Next time on compare Oregon Weather, we will look at the difference in cloud cover between Ashland and Portland.

Now that the Ashland fire is apparently under control, I can return to the boring statistics of Ashland Oregon real estate. I’ve come to the conclusion that statistics are not exciting for anyone to read. I post them because I personally find them fascinating, but I don’t consider myself to be a boring person. I’m not really sure what that says about me.

So perhaps I should start with a joke. This actually comes from the homepage of the American Mensa Societywhich I was looking at to see what you had to do to be part of Mensa. I have no idea what Mensa meetings are about. It seems kinda strange to me, but I got curious yesterday. But when I found that one of their incentives to get you to join was people will understand your jokes. Now that got me interested.

Also, for the record, I’m a sucker for “walks into a bar” jokes. I named my dog after one.

But first, the stats. Ashland specific stats were requested by my friend, and a local lender for BofA, Linda Fitzgerald.

Currently there are 234 Residential listing in the city of Ashland. 33 Pending sales, and 22 places closed escrow in the last month. That actually is pretty good news as far as I am concerned.  An absorbtion rate (length of time at current sales volume for inventory to run out) of just over 10 months is really pretty good in the current market. The breakdown goes like this:

• 13 Listings under $250k with 6 pending sales and 4 closed transactions last month…absorbtion rate of 3 months.
• 55 Listings between $250k-350k with 14 pending sales and 9 closed transactions last month…absorbtion rate of 6 months.
• 80 Listings between $350k-500k with 8 pending sales and 5 closed transactions last month…absorbtion rate of 16 months.
• 48 Listings between $500k-750k with 4 pending sales and 2 closed transactions last month…absorbtion rate of 24 months.
• 22 Listings between $750k-1 million with zero pending sales and 1 closed transactions last month…absorbtion rate of 22 months.
• 16 Listings over $1 million with 1 pending sale and 1 closed transaction last month….absorbtion rate of 16 months.

You’ll note that below $350k is really strong as far as sales go…and that between $500k and $750k is the hardest competition for sales. By that I mean the fewest sales compared to the number of places listed.

Now:

The CEO of Geico walks into a bar with his spokesperson the lizard from all of those commercial. Bartender comes over, and after getting an autograph asks them what they would like to drink. The CEO says I would like a Bombay Blue Sapphire martini, and can you get a half pint of Guinness for my friend Tiny here.

Bartender says sure, but why do you call him Tiny?

The CEO say well, obviously because he’s my newt.

(Let the groans commence)

The start of this week saw 19 foreclosures either be listed for sale for the first time in Jackson County, or come back on the market after a previous offer didn’t pan out.

The highlights are

West Medford, 1120 square foot 3 bedroom home (looks like maybe a townhouse) for $59,900

East Medford, 1650 square foot home on a third of an acre for $130,500.

Talent 2004 home built  by Suncrest for $169,900. This is a Great Buy. Seller says they will assist with closing costs.

Central Point, 4 bedroom, 2 bath on almost a half acre. $174,900

Ashland, which has the fewest foreclosures in the county had no new one this week.

Buying REO properties have their own challenges, so if you are interested in doing so, contact me with questions about whether it is the right decision for you.

As a departure from the real estate news of this blog, I wanted to share some photos of the fire that is burning in Ashland, Oregon today. I want to start with saying that my thoughts and energy is with the people fighting this fire, and hope they are all safe. I personally know a couple of friends who I know are part of the fight. My wife who trained with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) was called and dispatched to help…although I hope only with traffic control or the like.

I took some photos at about 11:00 this morning from Mistletoe Road. The intention of the photos was to show that even a town as beautiful as Ashland Oregon can on the wrong day, from the right angle look a little apocalyptic.

Reports from the Mail Tribune indicate that 

A fast-moving fire has scorched between 30 and 50 acres on the southern edge of Ashland and filled the skies over town with thick smoke and hot ash.

Witnesses said homes and structures had burned, but fire officials didn’t have details yet. The burnt remains of a home in the 1500 block of Tolman Creek could be seen.

(Mail Tribune Online  1:29pm on Monday September 21st).   I hope this is under control soon, and that the loss of property is at a minimum. And most importantly the loss of life is non-existent.   Animals included. Tomorrow I hope to be back to talking about Ashland Real Estate.

In the last two days, the latest foreclosures to be listed for sale are in Central Point.

*One located on Ester Way and looks like a good bargain. A little over 25oo square feet on 1.78 acres. The house was built in 2001 and currently appears to be owned by Wells Fargo. The price on this house is $299,900.  This is a rural piece on a well, but also on RVS sewer.

*The other new bank owned property in Central Point is on Bush street. It is under 750 square feet, and looks a little rough. But it is priced just below $100k at $99,900.

I have not been out to see these properties yet because they are so new. If you or someone you know want to take a look at them, I would love to go out and be surprised, or horrified with you. When looking at Foreclosed properties, you never know what you are going to find. Every once in awhile they are in good shape, but more often than not, there is a lot of work that needs to be done.

*Information provided by SOMLS and is deemed to be reliable, but not guaranteed.

A quick search of the Southern Oregon MLS shows that today there are 133 bank owned (REO) forclosed houses currently for sale.

These properties are all kinds…in all price ranges.

On the bottom end is a $55,000 house in Evans Creek on an acre that has fire damage. But more realistically, there is a house in West Medford on Grape street that is listed at $65,000.

Then on the other end of the spectrum, there is a 388 acre Rogue river front property with 3 houses, plus fitness center….etc….that would make an awesome retreat. It is listed for sale at $4,850,000.  Or perhaps a 26 acre horse ranch is Ashland is your idea of a great foreclosure deal, that one listed at $1,200,000.

Here is a breakdown by Area

• East Medford    32
• West Medford   17
• Central Point     16
• Talent                     1
• Ashland                  6
• Jacksonville         1
• Eagle Point            9
• Shady Cove         12
• White City            15
• Gold Hill               10
• Other areas          14

Price range for the active forclosed houses are:

• Under $100k       7
• $100-140k          31
• $140-200k          39
• $200-250k          25
• $250-350k          17
• $350-500k           9
• Over $500k          5

So whether you are looking for a $4 million dollar foreclosure deal, or a $65,000 foreclosure deal, I can help. There are some special requirements when dealing with negotiations with bank owned properties, but I would be happy to assist you with them.

If you would like to be put on a list and have new foreclosure properties (in whatever price range) sent to your email as they become available, contact me and I will set that up for you.

As always, you can conduct your own searches for Ashland Oregon Real Estate at my website www.Agentinakilt.com.

The government sponsored first time home buyer credit of $8000 or 10% of the purchase price of a home is set to expire at the end of November.

With recent national news that the real estate market is doing better, the government may think that extending the credit is not necessary. While I personally feel that the credit has been responsible for a lot of the positive news that is being reported, and that it should not only be extended, but expanded to include all home buyers buying a primary residence or legitimate second home. That may not be the conclusion of the congress or president.

Now I know it is only August, and  November may seem like a ways away…BUT…you must remember that the house has to close escrow before that date.

Which means with new lending rules and appraisal issues in effect, a first time home buyer is looking most likely at 45 days from the date an offer is accepted on a property. Then with many of these sales being bank owned properties (forget trying to close a short sale on a timeline), the time it takes from writing the offer to getting is accepted is probably a week.

So back that timeline up and a first time buyer needs to have found the right house by the end of September….and it now being the end of August…that is about 4 weeks left to find that first house.

So if you, or someone you know is sitting on the fence debating stepping into the housing market…have them call me or their favorite Realtor to see if now is the time for them.

Adam

I am just a little amused by Zillow at the moment. I just watched a tutorial video about the accuracy of the Zestimate, and found that they keep track of how accurate they are on a state by state, and county by county basis.
So obviously I go to see how Jackson County Oregon rates…and wow…Zillow gives itself 3 stars (out of 4). Pretty good, huh?
So trying to figure out how good they are, I look at the numbers.
Of the houses that have sold that had “Zestimates”, 21% of them they were within 5% of the sales price.
An additional 22% were within 10% of the sales price.
Then an additional 22% were within 20% of the sales price.
That means 35% of the houses they were MORE than 20% off on.

So if you have a house they say is worth $400,000, there is a 35% chance that is worth less than $320,000.

That is not that accurate…

I am trying to budget a way to get to this conference. I have heard great things about it over the years, and being the head of the technology committee for our local board, I know there would be tons of valuable information here.

If you have been to the Inman Conference before, please drop me a note and encourage or discourage me from going.