When do y'all think houses will get cheap out there?

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by gatorman

The Case Schiller index for Portland includes 7 counties (Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clark (WA), and Skamania (WA).) !!

Thrown in this index you've got everything from pig farms to strip malls and cookie cutters to craftsmans.

That's true, and some of the close-in neighborhoods are only down few (4-5) percent this year, according to the particular neighborhood breakdown.

On the other hand, on trulia.com, you can check a box to return only listings where the prices have been reduced from the original listing price, and there are currently 56 of these reduced-price homes just in the 97214 zip code of Southeast, Irvington, and Grant Park areas where I'm looking; most have been on the market for several months, and one gorgeous remodeled Craftsman in Ladd's Addition was reduced by over $40K (still out of my price range!) and has still been sitting since.

That indicates to me that sellers were overly optimistic about the market and overpriced the houses to begin with, thinking prices are where they were a year or two ago, and that there is a fair amount of inventory that needs to be absorbed before the supply becomes tight enough to force prices up very much.

[emh]

Originally Posted by angelbug

That's true, and some of the close-in neighborhoods are only down few (4-5) percent this year, according to the particular neighborhood breakdown.

On the other hand, on trulia.com, you can check a box to return only listings where the prices have been reduced from the original listing price, and there are currently 56 of these reduced-price homes just in the 97214 zip code of Southeast, Irvington, and Grant Park areas where I'm looking; most have been on the market for several months, and one gorgeous remodeled Craftsman in Ladd's Addition was reduced by over $40K (still out of my price range!) and has still been sitting since.

That indicates to me that sellers were overly optimistic about the market and overpriced the houses to begin with, thinking prices are where they were a year or two ago, and that there is a fair amount of inventory that needs to be absorbed before the supply becomes tight enough to force prices up very much.

Yep, like this one in my neighborhood of Overlook Park. $799,000 on 3/22/09. Five price reductions later it's at $599,000. $200,000 reduction in five months!!!

4081 North Overlook Boulevard, Portland OR - Trulia

[Nell Plotts]

REDC is auctioning bank owned properties in Portland metro in the next week or so. Note the 5% buyers premium. As they have been through foreclosure there will be no warranties so check them out carefully.

The impact of layoffs in the last 6 months haven't been seen yet, folks who need to sell because of job loss haven't mailed in their keys. Portland Housing Blog is a 'bubble blog'. Scroll through that forum for a sense of the market. I don't think housing will ever get 'cheap' so long as there are jobs in Portland metro. The place to find inexpensive housing is where employment opportunities are few.