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March 2015 Market Action Report

April 14th, 2015

“Real estate activity picked up this March in the Portland metro area, and closing sales led the way. The 2,457 closings represented a 32.3% increase over the 1,857 closings that were posted in March 2014, and a 49.1% increase from last month’s 1,648 closings. The last March when closings numbered more was in 2007, when there were 2,775 closings for the month.”
Source: RMLS
For the complete Market Action Report for the month of March, click here: http://www.rmlsweb.com/v2/public2/loadfile.asp?id=8273

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Credit Score Myths, Loan Qualifying Tips & Recent Market Highlights

July 16th, 2014

A good credit score can mean lower premiums for home and car insurance as well as lower rates for home loans, but there’s a lot of misleading information out there when it comes to that topic.

With that in mind, here are some helpful tips on how to boost credit scores and qualify more easily for a home loan.

Credit Score Myths and Loan Qualifying Tips

Myth 1: Cancelling Old Lines of Credit Is Helpful

“Wait a minute, isn’t doing away with my credit cards a good sign?” One would think so, but in reality older credit lines can boost your credit rating by …

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Portland Metro Market Action Report For March 2014

April 24th, 2014

“Real estate activity had a fine start the first quarter of 2014, although perhaps not as robust as 2013. The 8,113 new listings represent a 1.9% increase over the 7,963 new listings posted in the first quarter of 2013.There were 6,258 pending sales and 4,892 closings, down 3.2% and up 2.2%, respectively, from the 6,466 pendings and 4,789 closings posted in the first quarter of 2013.”
Source: RMLS

For the complete Market Action Report for the month of March, click here: http://www.rmlsweb.com/v2/public2/loadfile.asp?id=7738

 

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Interest Rates & Average Rates By The Decade

April 1st, 2014

Borrowers are often worried about rising interest rates as they rightfully should because it impacts their monthly payment and the overall house they can afford. However, those of us who have been in the business long enough know that these rising rates (projected to be above 5% in Q1 of 2015) are still a great deal! To put this in perspective, Freddie Mac has been tracking mortgage interest rates since 1971 and recently released this chart:

Decade
Average 30-year fixed mortgage rate
Approximate Payment (P&I) on a $200,000 Mortgage

1970…

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How To Be a Successful Buyer in Multiple Offer Situations

March 4th, 2014

Multiple offers are very common in today’s housing market.

Sellers aren’t necessarily accepting the highest offer anymore and there are multiple factors that are affecting their decision.

So, what are the other factors that buyers need to take into consideration?

See below for just a few of the bid strategies that can increase a buyers chance of coming out on top:

To view this entire article from the Wall Street Journal, click here: http://goo.gl/64s36S

 

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