It's a good time to be a seller in the Portland real estate market right now as home prices continue to rise. But if you're a home buyer, you might be realizing that the inventory is low and prices are rising rapidly.

In a recent article by CNN Money, Oregon was the top destination for people who moved out of state in 2015 but why is everyone moving to Portland? Unfortunately, the more popular it gets the less affordable it will also become.Portland real estate 

Portland has a lot to offer its residents; you could drive 90 minutes west and you're at the beach and if you have the other way their snowcapped mountains. This thriving food scene, great coffee, wine, microbrews and outdoor activities only Portland an extremely popular location.

Oregon was the most popular state to move to last year according to the United Van Lines. Between November 2014 and 2015 home prices jumped over 11%, one of the biggest increases in the country at the time. Rent prices also went up nearly 14%.

Currently, the median home price in Portland is $345,000. This is an extremely affordable median home price if you consider that the median home price in San Francisco and San Diego is over $1 million.  

However, according to the article, many wages just haven't kept up. New residents with high-paying jobs let them work remotely and they can maintain the salaries from where they used to live even though their cost of living in the Portland area is much lower. This makes it really hard for locals and natives of Portland to compete. Many people say that the city is simply getting away from them. For an average couple making between $70,000 and $90,000 a year it can be very difficult to buy anything over the $300,000 mark. People moving here with millions of dollars or that million dollar salary can afford much more naturally increasing the median price.

Many people say that the city is simply getting away from them. For an average couple making between $70,000 and $90,000 a year it can be very difficult to buy anything over the $300,000 mark. People moving here with millions of dollars or that million dollar salary can afford much more naturally increasing the median price.

 People are making outlandish offers as well, sometimes offering 10% to 30% over asking price. Developers are also cashing in on this housing crunch inventory by buying lots of homes and replacing them with either larger homes or multi family rental units. This alone can change the feel of the neighborhood and set it in motion for a different type of neighborhood. Most of these developers are not from this particular neighborhood so they don't understand what the locals are trying to maintain. Many of these newer buildings are significantly taller and have hundreds of units compared to what was just a 10 or 20 unit building before. All of this adds up to traffic as well and parking in the city has gotten worse as many residents lose their sunny backyards to the towering shadow of the next new building.

Locals are a little worried that we're turning into San Francisco but we're certainly not there yet. The key is to have the right real estate agent and lender available to you at all times in order to make the right offer and the right move when the time comes. This is why getting a pre-approval on alone is so vital ahead of time. When the time comes for the right property you need to be prepared and ready to go to make a solid and tight offer.

Call me today for information on the market and how fast homes are selling in a particular market.  If you need help with home loans click the link below.

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