Oregon Coast Real Estate Blog - Living on the Oregon Coast » Coastal Home Ownership

We Love Our Pets and Our Books

Dean — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:02:05 +0000

Lincoln County Animal Shelter

Last week the property owners of Lincoln County, our own Pacific Wonderland, voted to dig a little deeper into personal resources and approved two tax (ugly word) measures which will allow the continued operation of the Lincoln County Animal Shelter and to fund continued operation of our fabulous Lincoln County Library system. The animal shelter is a safe haven for lost and abandoned dogs and cats. This is a no kill shelter and every effort is made to find appropriate adoptive homes for pets while housing them in a safe clean environment. Just as important is the Library system which serves the entire county from pre-school ages to seniors. Full inventories of printed material are available as well as DVD and musical recordings. One of the most popular items is free internet access for those who may not have access at home or are travelers. Both the Library and the Animal Shelter are staffed by full time professionals and backed up with well trained volunteers. Visitors and new residents are encouraged to stop in and make use of both of these wonderful opportunities here on the Central Oregon Coast.

Newport Oregon Public Library in the Spring

Pricing Your Home to Sell on the Oregon Coast

Dean — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:29:01 +0000

It has been said for years that the three most important factors in selling a home on the Coast are Location, Location, Location. This remains true with an added element that is often times overlooked. This is the element of Pricing. Buyers today are generally very sophisticated and come to the Oregon Coast prepared with information in hand — including market and sales trends. Going back to the peak years of 2004 & 2005, we saw homes selling in our Coastal market for an average of 98% of the list price. This meant that a Seller, working with their Realtor could list a home at 2% over value and expect to sell quickly for 98% of the list price.

This trend has not maintained. The ratios have dropped to 90% in 2008 and for the first part of 2009 it has dropped further to 89%. Just what does this mean to Sellers and Buyers? Great news for Buyers and not so great for Sellers. While selling prices have declined to some degree, the average sold price in 2009 is quite close to previous years. The big shift is the relationship between the list price and the Selling price. When properties are priced to sell they will move more quickly with less strain on both Sellers and Buyers.

One might ask, “What’s wrong with over pricing? Buyers can always offer less.” While this may be true in rare instances, most Buyers are looking at very specific price ranges and typically will not pursue properties that are priced more than 10% over market. My job as a Realtor is to provide accurate and timely data for Coastal properties to Sellers regarding accurate pricing of their homes on a continuing basis. We all have our “wants and needs”. The wants are an objective that may not be realistic or attainable in the short term. Rarely does a Seller say, “List high and we’ll let the market come up”. Most Sellers have motivation to move the property fairly quickly in order to get on with their lives.

In order to accomplish this goal, I present accurate pricing information for the current Coastal market. If my Sellers can gain an understanding of the value of strategic pricing, we will more often than not have a successful and positive relationship. If not, we end up in endless conversations as to why the property is not being shown and if it does get showings why no offers are being generated. All real estate is local and activity may be driven to some degree by market activity in other areas. However, when pricing your Oregon Coast home to sell, see me and we can get the job done.

March To-Do’s for the Oregon Coast Homeowner

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 13:18:15 +0000

This is a good time to mark the location of all your flowering bulbs. They’re beautiful and fleeting. If you mark them with a little wooden marker, you won’t disturb them when you plant your beds. March is also a good time to double check shrubs, especially blueberries and cane berries to remove any dead wood or damaged branches.

Preparing Your Oregon Coast Home for Sale

Dean — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:41:08 +0000

We all have heard that times are tough in the real estate market, but that doesn’t mean houses aren’t selling. The houses which are selling have been priced right for today’s market. Probably what draws people to look at your property is the right price and a good first impression. This means excellent exterior photos that show your home at it’s best. Even a home that is priced to sell will not draw Buyers if it uses poor quality advertising photos . When the Realtor brings a Buyer for the first visit they want to see a clean, neat yard and evidence of pride of ownership.

Now to the interior. Our prized possessions are many times “junk” to the Buyer. Less is more when preparing the home. Anything that detracts from the Buyer’s ability to really see the home with their own possessions installed needs to be packed up and stored, even on a temporary basis. “Deep cleaning”, carpet cleaning and even refreshing the paint is a small investment with big returns. This is a good time to fix all those little items that we may have gotten used to over the years and ignored (the squeeky door, the sticky drawer, dim light bulbs, etc). Try to view the home from the eyes of a potential Buyer and a “picky” one at that. My approach is to work with the Seller to stage the home to show in the very best light before the sign goes up in the yard. Once the exterior and interior are ready to show I can use the magic of the Internet to provide potential Buyers with a terrific photo tour of your home that inspires Buyers to schedule a visit.

Benefits to Living near the Oregon Coast Aquarium

Dean — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:10:15 +0000

As a charter member, I can’t remember a time that I haven’t been fascinated and enthralled by the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Each time I stop in (about once a month) I learn something new, find a new exhibit, or see and learn about a new creature. One of my favorite stops is Keiko’s old home. (Keiko was the orca that starred in the Free Willy movies and that was nursed back to health here before being released back to the wild). Keiko’s tank has been converted into Passages of the Deep—basically large acrylic tunnels that you can walk through – and on – allowing you to feel as one with the creatures of the ocean. As a retired builder I am always fascinated by how they constructed this exhibit. The sea otters are always fun as are the birds in the sea bird aviary. The touching (tide) pool has been a wonderful attraction for all my grand-kids from toddler to teenager. Near the touching pool are the most amazing displays of jelly fish. Special exhibits of all kinds of sea life are rotated through at least twice annually. Plan to spend at least half a day or more at the Aquarium.

For those of you who haven’t visited before, easy to follow directions can be found here: http://www.aquarium.org/visitDirections.asp?sid=1 .