We want to provide some great links to help you if you are one of the 40 million who are moving this year:

Here is a link to a great moving checklist.

Have a garage sale and list your sale gsalr.com.

Use Yelp.com to find great movers.

Find free boxes by searching Craiglist under “For Sale – Free” link or visit this link for used carboard boxes (Think Green!)

Hire a professional and experienced real estate agent to sell your home and find you a new one (like us)!

1. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home. Make the mental decision to “let go” of your emotions and picture yourself handing over the keys to the new owners. Say goodbye to every room.

2. De-Personalize. Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can’t see past personal artifacts, and you don’t want them to be distracted.

3. De-Clutter! People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Remove all books from bookcases. Pack up those knickknacks. Clean off everything on kitchen counters. Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.

4. Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets. Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out!

5. Rent a Storage Unit. Almost every home shows better with less furniture.

6. Remove/Replace Favorite Items. If a buyer never sees it, she won’t want it. Once you tell a buyer she can’t have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow your deal. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.

7. Make Minor Repairs. Replace cracked floor or counter tiles. Patch holes in walls. Fix leaky faucets. Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls.

8. Make the House Sparkle! Clean everything inside and out. Pay attention to the little details and make sure your house doesn’t have funky odors or smells.

9. Scrutinize. Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you? Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer. Tune in to the room’s statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz? Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You’re almost finished.

10. Check Curb Appeal. If a buyer won’t get out of her agent’s car because she doesn’t like the exterior of your home, you’ll never get her inside. Keep the sidewalks cleared. Mow the lawn. Paint faded window trim. Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive. Trim your bushes. Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.

Comparing March 2012 with March 2011 shows improvement in both pending and closed sales, which were also up compared to the previous month. There were 2,272 accepted offers, 12.8% more than the 2,014 reported in March 2011 and 7.7% more than the 2,109 in the previous month. The 1,694 closed sales represent a 4.9% increase over the same month last year, when 1,615 were recorded, and 34.2% more than the 1,262 sales in February. New listings this March (2,886) were down compared to March last year (3,056), but rose 15.8% compared to February (2,492). The combination of fewer new listings and more closed sales contributed to the lowest unsold inventory since June 2007. It would take only five months to sell the 8,391 active listings at the March rate of sales.

First Quarter Report

Comparing first quarter 2012 with the same period in 2011 shows closed sales increased 12.2%. There were more closed sales in the first three months of 2012 than in any first quarter since 2007. Pending sales were up by18.2% in the quarterly comparison, with new listings decreasing by12.0%. A comparison of first quarter prices this year and last shows average sales price declined less than one half percent. The average sale price was $251,700 in the first quarter of this year and $252,800 in the comparable period last year. The median sale price decreased 1.4% ($212,000 this year and $215,00 in 2011). Total days on market decreased by 17.9%, going from 165 in the first quarter last year to 135 in the first quarter of 2012.

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Intelligent house layout and design, and home features such as dual-pane windows, air-tight ductwork and high-caliber wall and attic insulation, are curbing energy consumption. And when coupled with solar energy, captured through photovoltaic panels, these homes are becoming their own mini power plants that feed electricity to the grid.

Obviously you need to live in a pretty sunny area to get enough sun to cover all your energy costs and more but there are ways to get your utility bills next to zero.  Insulating walls and ceilings, upgraded windows and energy efficient appliances will go a long way in reducing your monthly bills.

The main feature of these homes is not necessarily the solar panels.  The reason these homes are able to generate electricity is because of the efficiency, there is little energy used so it’s easy for the solar panels to cover the energy demand, and then some.

Not only is interest in these types of homes building, but the cost of owning one is on it’s way down.  The cost of solar energy has dropped 50 percent over the last two to three years — from about $8 per watt to $4 per watt.

http://www.inman.com/news/2012/03/5/green-homes-give-back-grid

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Also, Banks are now lending 3.5 times borrower earnings, versus 3.2 times at it’s lowest.

The clearest example is the loan-to-value ratio which is now at 82 percent compared to 2010 when it was 74 percent.

http://linkd.in/IP3U5P

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com

The year has started off on a positive note. Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued to show improvement in closed and pending sales when comparing this January to the same month a year ago. Closed sales experienced a 18.3% increase, posting the highest numbers for January since 2007. Pending sales saw growth of 22.4% in the same comparison. Market time also improved, decreasing from 160 to 136 days. There were 16.5% fewer newly listed residential properties. The combination of higher sales and fewer new listings helped to create a much lower listing inventory for this season than seen in the previous two years. At January’s rate of sales, the active listing count of 8,514 would be exhausted in only 7.0 months.  Comparing month-to-previous month, closed sales fell 24.1% (1,612 v. 1,224) when compared to December 2011, pending sales increased 26.3% (1,443 v. 1,823) and new listings climbed 53.7% (1,700 v. 2,613).

Sale Prices

The average sale price of $249,100 for January 2012 was virtually the same as the $248,900 posted in January 2011, while the median declined 3.5%. Compared to December 2011, the average price fell 4.5% ($260,800 v. $249,100) and the median fell 4.2% ($216,600 v. $207,500). Over the rolling twelve month calculation shown to the right, which compares February 2010-January 2011 with February 2011-January 2012, the median price dropped 6.9% and the average price declined 6.1%.

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Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued to show improvement in closed and pending sales when comparing this December to the same month a year ago. Closed sales experienced a 10.3% increase, while pending sales saw growth of 19.3%. However, there were 11.7% less newly listed residential properties. Month-to-month, closed sales rose 6% (1,521 v. 1,612) when compared to November 2011, pending sales fell 14.4% (1,685 v. 1,443) and new listings dropped 16.1% (2,026 v. 1700). At the month’s rate of sales, it would take approximately 5.3 months to sell the 8,612 active residential listings. Due to the drop of active listings in December, along with the rise in closed sales, low inventory resulted.

2011 Summary

Comparing activity from 2010 with that of 2011, closed sales rose 4% and pending sales rose 6%. New listings fell 25.4%. Total sales volume for 2011 was about $5.2 billion, down from $5.3 billion in 2010, and $5.5 billion in 2009.

Sale Prices

The average sale price for December 2011 was down 6.2% compared to December 2010, while the median declined 5.8%. Compared to November 2011, the average price rose 0.5% ($259,400 v. $260,800) and the median fell 3.7% ($225,000 v. $216,600). For the year, the average sale price dropped 6.7% compared to 2010. The median price fell 7.9%.

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http://www.originaldinerant.com/

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Similar to last month, sales activity in the Portland Metro area showed improvements in closed and pending sales this November 2011 compared with November of last year. Closed sales went up 18.9% in November 2011 compared to November 2010. Pending sales rose 18.2%, while there were 18.1% less newly listed residential properties. A month-to-month comparison of the previous month of October 2011 with November 2011, shows closed sales rose 3.2% from 1,474 to 1,521. Pending sales fell 10.3% from 1,878 to 1,685. New listings were down from 2,433 to 2,026 (-16.7%). At November’s rate of sales, the 9,451 active residential listings would last about 6.2 months. Interestingly, this is the lowest active listing count in the last three years.

Sale Prices

The average sale price in November 2011 fell 4.6% when compared to November 2010. The median sale price also was down by 3.4%. Prices increased when comparing November 2011 to the previous month of October 2011. Average sale price went up from $258,700 to $259,400 (0.3%), while median sale price rose by 3.3% from $217,800 to $225,000.

Year-to-Date

A comparison of January- November 2011 with the same period last year shows improvements in closed and pending sales. Closed sales increased 3.4% (17,385 v. 17,968) and pending sales rose 5.3% (18,436 v. 19,411). New listings, however, saw a decline of 26.0%, falling from 43,658 to 32,315.

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Similarly to last month, sales activity in the Portland Metro area showed improvements in closed and pending sales this October 2011 compared with October of last year. Closed sales went up 14.1% in October 2011 compared to October 2010. Pending sales saw a rise of 15.1%, while there were 22% less newly listed residential properties. A month-to-month comparison of the previous month of September 2011 with October 2011, shows closed sales fell 7.1% from 1,586 to 1,474. Pending sales saw a slight increase of 0.9% from 1,861 to 1,878. New listings were down from 2,501 to 2,433 (-2.7%). At the month’s rate of sales, the 10,012 active residential listings would last about 6.8 months.

Sale Prices

The average sale price in October 2011 fell 6.5% when compared to October 2010. The median sale price also was down by 6.7%. Prices declined when comparing October 2011 to the previous month of September 2011 as well. Average sale price went down from $268,200 to $258,700 (-3.5%), while median sale price decreased by 5.6% from $230,800 to $217,800.

Year-to-Date

A comparison of January-October 2011 with the same period last year shows improvements in closed and pending sales. Closed sales increased 2.1% (16,033 v. 16,372) and pending sales rose 4.5% (17,167 v. 17,939). New listings, however, saw a decline of 26.3%, falling from 41,051 to 30,243.

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