Agent Profile
Tony and Libby Kelly, MBA, M.Ed. are ranked in the top 1% of REALTORS in Portland Metro. They have been featured on HGTV's "House Hunters" 3 Episodes & "My House is Worth What?" 4 Episodes.
The Green Way to Deal
Portland Going Green and Away from Asbestos
When buying or selling a home, consumers frequently relay questions to their agents. Many old homes may need repairs or renovations, especially in locations that are susceptible to natural disasters. Many things may go unnoticed, such as obsolete forms of construction that can be a cause for concern. Having the assistance of an honest and reliable Portland real estate agent can make all the difference.
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral that was utilized in millions of building and construction applications throughout the 20th century. This substance may still appear in roof shingles, insulation, piping and flooring in homes built before 1980. This should not make you jump out of your chair because exposure to asbestos is easily avoidable by taking simple precautions. There are many green, eco-friendly materials that replace the need for asbestos and can reduce energy costs annually.
Recently, congress passed an economic stimulus package that promotes energy efficiency for home and business owners. The American Recover and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 includes incentives for upgrading to more eco-friendly/sustainable methods of energy and insulation. The move to a greener lifestyle will build on the change to healthier methods of building products, home remodeling and renovation.
A rare, but severe form of asbestos lung cancer known as mesothelioma is caused solely from exposure to asbestos. The risks involved with asbestos were hidden from public or worker knowledge for financial gains by manufacturers. The negligence involved with most asbestos-related incidents has lead to mesothelioma lawyer firms providing assistance in advocating and protecting victims’ rights for their wrongful illness.
If any suspected asbestos is in good shape, it’s posing no apparent risk. If it’s in bad shape, it could be a problem. If a home inspector suggests removal is necessary, it must be performed by a licensed abatement contractor who is trained in handling hazardous materials. They can perform the removal in public facilities, homes and work places.
Sustainability and energy guide many aspects of life in Portland. The Oregon Environmental Council protects what many citizens of Oregon want to keep: clean air, water, no pollution and healthy food. Their goal is to help individuals move to greener living, help business adapt to these new models and assist political officials in creating clear policy. Moving to a green eco-friendly paradigm has become an important part of Oregon’s Real Estate market. Insuring buildings, homes and apartments are up to date is vital to the success of companies and their investments.
Building green with proper insulation will save you on bills. Rather than expensive and mal-treated wood, interior walls can be made from steel and concrete, avoiding many of the problems associated with asbestos and other insulation methods. There are now many green alternatives to asbestos insulation. Many are unaware to the fact that utilizing eco-sustainable products such as cotton fiber and lcynene foam can cut annual energy costs by 25 percent.
Cotton fiber is made from recycled batted material and treated to be flame resistant. With the implementation of these recycled materials, waste is also decreasing in landfills. These options will provide a safe and healthy home, free of any damaging materials.
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
New Tools For Home Buyers
First, we have an iPhone application that has been created by Zillow.com that allows you to look up a listing while you are out and about. A lot of home searching is done on the move, driving around neighborhoods you are interested in. This way you can find out the price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the square footage without having to go home and log on your computer. This app uses GPS so the map can follow you.
InvestorLoft.com is a website with a new tool called PropScout that can help out those who are looking for the investment. There are those buyers out there who do not care what the house looks like, only what the house could be worth. Included are search filters that can find the biggest discrepancies between the listing price and the estimated value. They can also be ranked by amount of profit or percentage of profit.
Trulia.com has a new filter that enables consumers to search listings for price reductions. You can also look up the number of times the price has dropped, when it dropped, by how much and the percentage of the reduction. This way you can gage how desperate the seller is or if they are due for another price reduction.
Some say the future of real estate marketing is in video. Which is why YouTube and Coldwell Banker has started a channel where you can watch agents talk about real estate in their specific areas. It will even feature video listings which can offer greater detail of a home before you even head out to see it in person.
Finally we have Cyberhomes.com for a market report. This service costs $9.95 and offers projections for specific neighborhoods and includes 12- and 24-month price-change forecasts. It also reports the number of distressed, foreclosure and REO properties within a ZIP code and then compares that to the rest of the metro area and the state. You can also find the strength of your market and the predicted volume of sales in the next year.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0906/gallery.New_homebuying_tools/
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Portland Rocks!
We already knew that there were millions of reasons to love Portland Oregon, but now we have one more. Portland has been ranked the #1 city for the most courteous drivers! We are less likely to curse, honk or run red lights. But don’t you all move here at once!
http://www.katu.com/news/local/48210792.html
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
Portland OR Market Report
May Residential Highlights
Sales activity in May for the Portland Metro area continued to march upward compared to the prior month, but lagged behind 2008 levels.
Comparing May 2009 with the same month in 2008, pending sales were down 7.4% and closed sales decreased 23.4%. New listings also dropped 25.1%.
On the other hand, comparing May 2009 with April 2009, pending sales grew 5.8% (1,967 v. 1,860). Closed sales also rose 9.6% (1,427 v. 1,302). New listings increased 1.9% (3,879 v. 3,808).
Inventory dropped to 10.2 months, down from 11 months in April – the fourth straight month of decline. Active residential listings in May rose to 14,493 – up from 14,328 in April. Active listings appear to be increasing at a slower rate than usual for this time of year.
Year-to-Date
Comparing January-May 2009 with the same period in 2008, closed sales were down 28.1% and pending sales decreased 17.5%. New listings also dropped 23.8%.
Sale Prices
The average sale price for May 2009 was down 13% compared to May 2008, while the median sale price also dropped 13%. Month-to-month, the average sale price and median sale price both posted small gains when compared with April levels; the average sale price was up 0.1% ($291,400 v. $291,100) and the median sale price was up 0.04% ($250,000 v. $249,900).
Pending Home Sales on the Rise
Due to low interest rates and an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, pending home sales have gone up for the third month in a row.
It varies greatly from one area of the country to another, here in the West the Pending Home Sales Index rose 1.8%, to 94.8, but is 2.9% below a year ago. A pending home sale is a contract for a home sale that has been signed but the home sale has not closed yet.
Total number of existing-home sales is expected to improve in general but some corners of the United States have already bottomed out and started to recover while others are still falling slowly.
Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing-home sales.
It has noted that pending sales have increased, which is a sign that we’re moving in the right direction, but that we are still drastically below where we were at the peak of the market. We probably should not be comparing our numbers to the peak of the market though. That was just the extreme the other way and ideally we’d like to be plain ol’ steady.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db2009062_031070.htm
PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com
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June Residential Highlights While inventory continued to stay low in the Portland Metro area, sales activity saw both increases and declines. When comparing June 2010 with June 2009, closed sales increased 13.3%. Pending sales and new listings fell 25.2% and 4.9%, respectively. Comparing June 2010 with the previous month, May 2010, closed sales dropped 1.9% (2,012 v. [...]Agency Info
Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere
17700 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd
Portland, OR 97224