I Love Portland Homes

little t american baker is now open in the Clinton Condominiums building! There’s already quite a bit of buzz about it around town and we had the pleasure of dining there this past sunny Saturday afternoon. YUM! The bread used for the sandwiches was so tasty! (My husband is French and I think whenever he says bread is good it’s a big compliment.) 

I also highly recommend the currant doughnut! It was soft and light and had just the right amount of sweetness. It practically melts in your mouth. I can’t wait to go back over there to try some of their other offerings. I may just head over right now…

I just saw on Design*Sponge that Brooklyn Modern has been released.

This is what the publisher’s website says about the book:
“Brooklyn Modern is the first book to explore the connection between Brooklyn’s astounding rebirth and its emerging architecture. As the new cultural heart of New York, Brooklyn has recently attracted many young people interested in creating their own sense of space, as well as in renovating brownstones and townhouses. The results are homes that express the optimism, resourcefulness, and experimentation of many of Brooklyn’s bohemian residents. Cutting-edge new public buildings have also enhanced the area’s cachet.Working with spatial and financial restraints, architects in Brooklyn have demonstrated deft solutions to urban living everywhere. Likewise, the architects working in Brooklyn are no longer just local firms, but “star-chitects” such as Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, and David Adjaye, among others. Essays by two very popular bloggers, Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge and Jonathan Butler of Brownstoner, give perspective on new ways of living as aesthetics and landscape change.”

You can also check it on Amazon here.

Enjoy an evening of art and a beautiful house this Thursday 04.17.08 from 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.  You will have a chance to explore the furnishings and art of this Eichler inspired home by Robert Rummer in the light of the evening hours w/your host Jim DeMarco of Meadows Group Inc., Realtors.  Food & drink served. Please RSVP to jedemarco@comcast.net

13925 SW Bonnie Brae St., Beaverton, OR
 ML #8011938

This might only be funny to those who look at a fair amount of real estate listings, but check out Norm Fisher’s Unbelievably Bad Real Estate Photos Hall of Fame! I love the one with the man sleeping in the dark living room!

(Thanks to Lucy for the tip on listening to the commentary! I had the volume off on my computer so I missed it the first time…but the Hall of Fame is even more funny if you hear what he says about each photo.)

If you live in Portland, check out Paula Rebsom’s new art show Outskirts, opening this Thursday at Tilt gallery and project space. Growing up in North Dakota, where prairie dogs abound, Rebsom had various relationships with the little critters over time. For this project she created a suburban development for the prairie dogs and watched how they interacted with their new town.  In her artist statement, she says, ”In the Outskirts project I explored my own personal relationship with these animals and also created a domestic paradox of human and animal relationships that balances on the edge of absurdity.”

Outskirts
Paula Rebsom
First Thursday Reception, April 3rd from 6-9pm
at Tilt gallery and project space
625 NW Everett #106, Portland, OR

My principal broker forwarded an email to us that she received from an agent down in Arizona. He kindly gave me permission to repost it here. Enjoy!

The Media’s Attack on the Real Estate Industry

The Media’s attack on the real estate industry is nothing new.  For decades they have practiced doom and gloom tactics and in some cases have actually caused real estate prices to decline short term.  The good news however, is each and every short term decline has been temporary and has been followed by long term price appreciation. 

Today we are in the middle of a window of opportunity to purchase attractive real estate at the best prices we may see in our lifetime and to receive “incentives” on our purchases on top of it!  The incentives, which are being offered by builders and developers, will not last any longer than they need to.  Once the market begins showing signs of a rebound, these incentives will dry up.

Sit back and enjoy some of these dire media projections from yesteryear and allow them to mirror the wide variety of “fear factor” type “media” comments that exist today. 

“The prices of houses seem to have reached a plateau, and there is reasonable expectancy that prices will decline.”
- Time Magazine, 1947

“Houses cost too much for the mass market.  Today’s average price is around $8,000 - out of the reach for two-thirds of all buyers.”
- Science Digest, 1948

“The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs about $28,000.”
- Business Week, 1969

“You might well be suspicious of ‘common wisdom’ that tells you, ‘Don’t wait, buy now… continuing inflation will force home prices and rents higher and higher.’”
- NEA Journal, 1970

“The era of easy profits in real estate may be drawing to a close.”
- Money Magazine, 1981

“The golden-age of risk-free run-ups in home prices is gone.”
- Money Magazine, 1985

“Most economists agree…. [a home] will become little more than a roof and a tax deduction, certainly not the lucrative investment it was through much of the 1980’s.”
- Money Magazine, 1986

“Financial planners agree that houses will continue to be a poor investment.”
- Kiplinger’s Personal Financial Magazine, 1993

“A home is where the bad investment is.”
- San Francisco Examiner, 1996

“Home prices experience historic drop.”
- CNN Money.com, 2007

Each and every negative prediction by the Media was short-lived.  At the time such predictions made it appeared real estate would never go up again in value - similar to the way it feels for many now.  The good news is found in the few lines below.  This time is no different than times past!  

FACT:  National real estate values have appreciated 

•    88%               since 1996
•   340%              since 1977
•   685%              since 1969
• 2650%              since 1948

This article was posted with permission by the author, Terry S. Forsberg.

Solar Oregon just announced a handful of upcoming workshops, including the Basics of Going Solar in Portland (which happens to be free!). They’re also having a Net Zero Home Tour on May 3rd where participants can spend the day learning how to make a net zero home a possibility and visiting four inspiring homes. Please see their website for more information!

If you live in Portland and are a mid-century architecture enthusiast, you might be interested in attending or joining Portland’s own Atomic Age Alliance.  The Alliance is a group of people committed to raising awareness of and preserving Portland’s mid-century architecture and signage, while enjoying umbrella’d drinks with like-minded people. Sounds like fun to me! Their latest endeavor is working on finding a new home for the historic Crown Motel sign on Interstate Ave. The motel is slated for demolition in March.

The next Atomic Age Alliance meeting is Sunday, Feb 24th at 6PM at the Alibi Lounge (4024 N Interstate Ave.)
For more info, please visit their website.

The Portland Spaces launch party on Thursday night was out in a big warehouse in the industrial area of NW Portland. We arrived around 7:30 and the place was packed! The floor was covered in sod and the decor was like a summer garden party, an interesting juxtaposition to the cement walls and exposed beams.  The sod made the air very humid, but being a native Oregonian, I much prefer that to dry air.  It gave us a chance to feel transported to another place in a warmer season and escape the cold rain for a while. We eventually succeeded at making our way through the crowd and over to the bar for some deliciously refreshing blood orange drops.  And after a while of wandering around, we started running into friends and acquaintances.  That’s one thing I love about Portland — in a room full of strangers at any given event you’re bound to come across a friend or two.  There were some speeches and the unveiling of the magazine cover (shown above).  We each got a copy of the magazine, which I promptly started reading upon my return home.  It was a fun evening!  I look forward to seeing future issues of the magazine, as well as the website, which is set to launch on Monday.

The launch party and unveiling of the new magazine and website, Portland Spaces, is tonight! Check back for a full recount of the party by Monday!