Is Corvallis depressed? (Salem: for sale, mortgage, buying a house)

[Reader123]

Corvallis is on our list of places, and my husband has been reading the local paper which talks of Weyerhauser layoffs, HP leaving, etc. Is Corvallis depressed anymore than the rest of the country at this point? I've read housing is in a slump there, but isn't it in a slump almost everywhere? What attracts us to Corvallis is OSU, which presumably isn't going anywhere. Thanks!

[Silverfall]

HP has significantly downsized in the past few years that is true. I haven't heard rumors of them leaving and my husband does business with them a lot. They have moved some divisions elsewhere, I think.

I think Corvallis' woes are on par with the rest of the country.

[NightBazaar]

Like Silverfall said, the housing slump is pretty much the same as the rest of the nation. It's pretty much of a buyers market. A lot of houses are up for sale. It seems like there's kind of a standoff between buyers who want to pay a lot less than market value, and sellers who don't want to lose too much.

Why are you attracted to OSU?

[Nell Plotts]

A University provides a lot of economic stability to an area, however, the south Wmt. Valley is still impacted by the wood products industry... and wood products are impacted by home construction. Setting that aside, Oregon is not immune from the mortgage mess.

[DavePautsch]

Corvallis's housing market is actually been very stable, especially compared with the rest of the country - and even in relation to the rest of the valley.

During the winter months, there was a bit of a slowing, but at present there is less than 5 months of inventory for sale (a Realtor term, I know - but in general terms, 6 months or less means a SELLER'S market). Median sale price has been flat over the past year also, as has the dollar per square foot value of the homes that have been SOLD during that time. There are 300 jobs going away at HP and we may not yet have seen the impact of THAT...but Corvallis will likely be ok.

Dave

[Comedy]

How is the job market as a whole, and what about the surrounding areas? How is the commute to Salem? Also I have seasonal allergies during the summer for grasses. I was in Corvallis in June and got my a$$ handed to me. Do you think I'll have similar seasonal allergies that I have here in Colorado, or will I miss the entire beutiful Oregon summer inside my house?

Don't forget when buying a house you need to be the seller. Here's what I mean, if a house is listed at $250k, and it comps at $250k and you think that is too high and you offer $215k do you think that is a good investment. Well if they accept that offer you made a great deal but now you own a home that depreciated $35k in vallue. Remind the buyers please.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by Comedy

Don't forget when buying a house you need to be the seller. Here's what I mean, if a house is listed at $250k, and it comps at $250k and you think that is too high and you offer $215k do you think that is a good investment. Well if they accept that offer you made a great deal but now you own a home that depreciated $35k in vallue. Remind the buyers please.

I don't understand what you mean. Are you saying that it is bad to make an offer to buy a house for less then its comp value because if the offer is accepted and you buy the house then its market value will be less than it was before?

Please explain!