Canola Sunshine

After Art Walk’s January break, we are super excited to be back for the rest of the year!  This Friday, February 3rd from 5 to 9 pm we invite you to join us at 700 E First St, on the corner of College and First, for a great experience involving beautiful and local art, wine, and great company.

This Friday we are featuring Jeanne Cuddeford, oil painter and Oregon native!  The following short bio is taken from Jeanne’s website, www.jeannecuddeford.com.  Please don’t miss this event!

“I specialize in realistic/impressionistic oil painting. I am a native Oregonian and love the diverse seasons and temperaments of Oregon, which you will see in my work.

Whether I am painting gardens, landscapes, a still life, or orchards the atmosphere and spirit are important elements. Art is important because it enriches our view of the familiar and of the world.

The artist is a perceptual window. A dark, rainy day is not so gloomy if we focus on the brightly colored umbrellas. And just as a smile encourages the weary, a painting should encourage the viewer.”

Porto Venere

Valley Skies

Flaming Crimson

On the first Friday of every month the very best of local art is on display – all in one centralized location! You’ll see talent that has been encouraged and developed by our very own landscape – the vineyards, the mountains, the buildings, the people… It’s nothing short of inspiring. And although the art is the reason we gather, it gives an opportunity for tasting fantastic local wines and engaging with others our community. You won’t be disappointed if you do come out for a few hours. You’ll be surprised by how much fun it is and impressed by everything that Yamhill County has to offer.  We look forward to meeting you at Bella Casa Real Estate Group!

Here are this morning’s mortgage rates courtesy of Lori Petersen at Valley Mortgage Group!

The following properties have sold or gone pending this past week in Yamhill County real estate.  Questions about listing your property for sale, buying a home, or just interested in the market?  Contact one of our experience Realtors® anytime!  We would love to help you with all your real estate needs.

The following properties have sold or gone pending this past week in Yamhill County.  Search for all Yamhill County real estate for sale.

Every square foot of your home is valuable. Here are seven storage solutions that take advantage of underutilized nooks and crannies. And just for fun, we did some back-of-the-napkin calculations based on the average price per square foot of a U.S. home ($81)—so we could attach a theoretical value to the bonus space.

1. Tuck pull-out drawers under sturdy stairs. They’re ideal for stashing extra linens and seasonal items. Each drawer provides about two square feet of storage. If you really could calculate this on a value per square foot realized, that’s roughly $162 worth of extra space per drawer!

2. Basement crawl spaces or open areas under apartment floors can be lined with shelves and outfitted with folding stairs to hoard anything. A finished 10-square-foot crawl space uncovers about $8,100 of space value and can even lower your energy bills.

3. Sleep Away Storage. Not enough room for a Carrie Bradshaw closet? No problem. This mattress lifts to reveal a hidden compartment great for stashing bulky blankets. It could save you about $200, the price of a linen cabinet, and it provides about 20 square feet or about $1,587 of extra storage space.

4. Locker Room. Gain more kitchen space without a costly remodeling job. Reclaimed high school gym lockers sport a new use as built-in pantry compartments. These add 18 cubic feet or $243 in square feet of extra space.

5. Some things are best left hidden, and kitty’s business is one of them. An inexpensive, storage cabinet doubles as a rest stop for this tabby, who enters and exists via a small framed opening. Store the litter box and all its accoutrements in one spot and gain about $205 worth of storage space.

6. Overhead Room. Give your storage space a lift—overhead areas, such as narrow hallways, make an ideal place for floating shelves and cabinets. You could gain up to 2.5 square feet, valued at $203 of space, in no time!

7. Keep wrapping paper out of sight but not out of mind by suspending it from your closet ceiling on a simple cradle of wire. It’s easy to reach but won’t get torn or creased. In a closet that’s 6 feet wide by 2 feet deep, this trick makes 12 more square feet of storage worth about $972.

We end the year with a good note and begin the new year with good hope.

Closed sales numbers in 2011 were up 4% over 2010. That is good news but the message is actually better than that:

• First, pending sales are up 6% over 2010, and
• Second, virtually all of the good news in 2011 came since September. Perhaps it now can be called a trend (not just a ‘blip’/anomaly).
• Third, last December we saw what in hindsight a blip of good sales; this December we are over 10% stronger on closed sales and almost 20% better on pending sales compared to the last December.
• Fourth, the closed sales numbers in December are the highest of the last 5 years; that is significant!
• Fifth, available inventory continued to drop again this year which is good for stabilizing pricing in the market. That sounds hopeful!

Depreciating values continued at about 7-8% for average and median sales prices. This is a lower but slower decline than the previous 2 years; but still too high. We also know we still have to contend with a continuing supply of distressed sales (defaults, desperation, and short sales) and a backlog of foreclosed (REO/bank owned) properties. We need to correct our way out of this hole.

Anecdotally, the mood in the marketplace is changing. Buyers believe that downside risk of buying now is dramatically reduced; they also believe that the affordability index is perhaps the highest in 40 Years. Contributing to that perception are universally acknowledged low prices (finally), and historically low interest rates (last week 3.89% on 30 yr fixed loan). Many complicating factors in the past such as lenders not willing to lend, or wildly insane appraisals, are less of an issue now. There are also enough positive gains incrementally in the general economy that many believe we are coming out of this slowly. Many believe that to buy today and hold for 2 to 5 years will not result in being penalized.

We do not lack threats to this optimism. In addition to distressed inventory, Europe’s financial condition is not hopeful. There still is no peace in the Middle East, and still no peace to be found in an election year back home.

In recent months our numbers of showings of properties are way up, offers are coming in, and our closings (and our incomes) are up. We are seeing sales in types of properties, and in price ranges, not seen in much too long. We are very busy right now, not just trying to find new business, but serving our clients well. At our recent Bella Casa broker’s meeting there was near universal optimism for 2012. I trust that 2012 will be the best year ever to buy real estate. If that happens then our sellers will also be happy to finally sell and be able to buy extremely attractively as well.

Glad to have your thoughts anytime. Our very best to you and thank you for supporting us while we serve you with everything we have.

Randy

View or download the full Market Action Report for December 2011.

*These rates are available with a 640 minimum fico score, based on a 1% Origination fee and 45 day lock using approved lenders and subject to loan approval

ZERO DOWN – 100% VA or USDA loans.  USDA loans are only available in towns of 25,000 per less population. Income limit for a family of 1-4 persons is $82,800.  Check out the website for more info or just call me. http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do.  Forest Grove and Wilsonville are eligible and all of Yamhill County except McMinnville.

3% DOWN – Fannie Mae Homepath loans.  Restricted to Homepath foreclosed homes.  3% down for owner occupied properties and a possibility of 10% down for investors. Visit www.homepath.com for more information.

3.5% DOWN – FHA – We have the new loan limits $362,250 in Yamhill, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington County.

5% DOWN– the 95% is available on conventional with mortgage insurance.  Borrower may need their own money for the 5% down payment.

Special thanks to Naida Paris for this information!

The following properties have sold or gone pending this past week in Yamhill County.  Please visit Bella Casa Real Estate Group online to search for all Yamhill County real estate for sale.