Village Building Convergence Works Magic

The City Repair Project is now underway with its annual Village Building Convergence (VBC) event.  This is where volunteers from all over Portland come together to work on community space projects, like Sherritt Square and the Sunnyside Sunflower. 

City Repair has gained a name for itself across the City for its ingenuity in making public places more pedestrian friendly and attractive.  For example, to slow traffic at a neighborhood crossroads, a large art work will be painted onto the asphalt as a way of drawing the driver’s eye.  Naturally, cars slow down as they approach a beautiful piece of art work in the center of an intersection.  They often build earthen shelters for seating, and community boards as part of their Intersection Repair projects.

This year’s Convergence has a ton of projects being worked on, including community gardens and a unique statue.  For more info, or to get involved, visit http://cityrepair.org/.  Download their “Village Builder” directory for all the details of this years projects and events.  There’s music going on each evening!

FHA grows to expand home buying opportunities

The FHA loan program just got yet another injection to help expand the buying opportunities for first time home buyers.

Months ago the US Treasury announced that it would offer an $8,000 tax credit to first time homebuyers (considered those who haven’t owned a home in the past 3 years) who purchase before December 1, 2009.  This replaced the prior incentive program which was a $7500 loan which had required repayment.

Now, the Housing & Urban Development department has announced that the FHA program is going to allow the $8,000 tax credit to be used upfront to help pay for closing costs, including an interest rate buy down.  Now, first time home buyers need only come up with the 3.5% down payment.

This should help increase the number of active, first time home buyers in the market, helping to lower the amount of excess inventory at the entry level. 

As a side note, I hear the Oregon Bond program will be once again have funding available in June.  I’ve been told by a loan officer source that now is a good time to put reservations of funds in place, because it will likely become bombarded with applications once they formally announce the availability of funds.

23rd Annual Great Blue Heron Week

Paddle, anyone?

Did you know that Portland adopted the Great Blue Heron back in 1986?  Neither did I!  I’ve just learned about a great annual event the City sponsors to help showcase the habitat restoration work that is underway all across the Metro region to support the health and vitality of this precious native species. 

The City is inviting us to grab our kayaks, bikes, and walking shoes for free tours around our wetland habitats and sitings of heron, cranes, and eagles.  I’m stunned that I’ve lived in this city, what 10 years now, and I’ve never heard of this event. 

Here are some of the events coming up next week: 

Thursday May 28th, Morning Bird Walk at Nadaka Nature Park, 7:30 am to 8:30 am.  In celebration of Great Blue Heron Week, join Jim Labbe with Audubon Society of Portland and Lee Dayfield with Wilkes East Neighborhood Association for morning stroll through Nakada Nature Park in West Gresham. We’ll explore the natural and human history of this unique neighborhood nature park and learn about efforts afoot to expand the park, improve access and environmental interpretation, and enhance its wildlife habitat. We’ll also begin the documenting bird species inhabiting the park and discuss the value of urban natural areas to avian biodiversity. This is a Connecting Green, Wild in the City trip.  There is no charge, but pre-registration is required. Register HERE.

Thursday, May 28th, Bike by the Riverside, 6pm to 8 pm.  Join Gerry St. Pierre of Willamette Riverkeeper for an evening bike ride along the Springwater Corridor, between the Hawthorne and Sellwood Bridges. We’ll ride along the Eastbank Esplanade past OMSI to the Portland Opera House, zigzag through the neighborhood (about ½ mile) to the Springwater Corridor, then ride along the trail as far as the Sellwood Bridge before returning.  Along the way, we’ll stop to talk about restoration activities along the Esplanade, the Springwater Corridor, Ross Island, and Oaks Bottom.  We’ll point out good bird watching spots along the way, and keep an eye out for herons, osprey and eagles.  We’ll also scope out the progress of one of the largest murals in the U.S., featuring larger than life images of flora and native migratory birds on the west side of the Portland Memorial Mausoleum. Meet in the parking lot of the RiverEast Center (SE Clay at SE Water) parking in the lot available after 5:00 pm.

Pre-registration required by contacting Gerry at  503-223-6418 or gerry@willametteriverkeeper.org. 

Friday May 29th, Columbia Slough and Blue Heron Golf Course Sunset Bike Ride, 7:30 pm to 9pm.  The ride will start at Kenton Station Restaurant: 8303 N Denver Avenue.  Join Portland Parks & Recreation City Nature staff Karl Dawson for a beautiful sunset bike ride of North Portland’s hidden treasures, the Heron Lakes Golf Course and Columbia Slough Trail.  This 5.5 mile loop ride will start at Kenton Station Restaurant and explore 3 different heron rookeries in the Columbia Slough bottomlands.   Helmet and reflectors or lights are required. Qustions?, call 503-823-1650 or email Karl at kdawson@ci.portland.or.us.  This ride is free and requires no pre-registration.  For route description:  http://tinyurl.com/sloughandgolfbikeride.   For more information go to :  www.PortlandParks.org. 

Friday, May 29th, 3 Creeks Natural Area, 9 am 1 pm.  Tour America’s favorite wetland and upland oak forest, with the all-volunteer Tsunami Crew!   This will be a nice stroll through 89 acres of 400 year old White Oaks, soggy bottoms, grasslands, duck ponds, heron hideaways and years worth of serious habitat restoration.  Surrounding Mt. Scott Creek this land was once filled with garbage, campers and a vigorous weed display.  The Three-Creeks has improved dramatically since work began in the late 1990’s.  The tour will look at salmon habitat, restoration techniques, birds and peaceful tranquility right next to major roads and industrial areas.  This rare oak habitat is threatened by major road expansion and new road building.  Meet at the North Clackamas Aquatic Park at 7300 SE Harmony Road (this is near the intersection of 82nd Ave and Sunnyside Rd by the Clackamas Town Center).  The tour is free and all are welcome.  Dress for the weather.  Email or call Chris Runyard to RSVP:  crunyard@msn.com or 503-239-5844.

Saturday, May 30th, Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, 1 pm to 4 pm.  Join Mike Houck for a stroll around the 160-acre Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge.  Mike has led tours at the Bottoms for over 30 years and is intimately familiar with the history of Oaks Bottom being designated as Portland’s first official urban wildlife refuge and current efforts to restore fish and wildlife habitat throughout the refuge.  This trip is appropriate for families.  The walk is a two-mile loop on both paved and uneven dirt paths, with two moderate hills.  This is a Connecting Green, Wild in the City trip.  There is no charge, but pre-registration is required. Register HERE.

Saturday May 30th, Kelley Point Park: Gateway to the Willamette, 10 am to noon.  Join Portland Parks and Recreation City Nature staff Emily Roth and discover the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.  You will see this park’s history in its landscape. Bring your binoculars to see a variety of birds. We could see eagles, heron, warblers, and many other species as they fly across the rivers between Sauvie Island, Vancouver, and Kelly Point Park. This walk is free and requires no pre-registration. Take Marine Drive west of I-5 about 3 miles to the park entrance on the north side of the road. Follow the park road to the furthest north parking lot. Call 503-823-3601for more information.  For more information go to :  www.PortlandParks.org.

There are events planned all the way through June 7th, so click here  for a full schedule on the Audubon Society’s website.  I hope to see you there!

Portland’s Housing Market Relatively Stable

Once again, I’ve culled the latest housing stats to see where Portland stands in relation to national trends.  This time, I’ve gathered the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.  They compile quarterly stats across all the metropolitan areas, and calculate averages for the various parts of the country.  Their data came out recently for the first quarter of 2009, and I’ve charted it below:

What is most significant to me is that Portland’s median, single-family home value has now surpassed that of the West Coast’s average.  Notice the difference back in 2006, prior to California’s bust.  Now that markets like San Francisco, LA, and Vegas have taken a nose dive, Portland stacks up a bit neater – with a loss of values far more moderate than many of the markets illustrated here.

Portland’s market has been relatively stable, experiencing a loss of values of roughly 11% since 2006 compared with a national avarage loss of 24%, and and even beat Seattle’s value loss of 13%.  And for a West Coast city, with a typical value loss of 32%, Portland looks really stellar.

Now, Portland’s Market Action report was just published as of April’s sales data.  Everything improved from March data – inventory dropped by a month to 11 months total inventory, median price adjusted upward by 1.4%, and pending sales increased by a solid 13%.  Portland’s affordability rating now stands at 141, which means that households who earn median area income can afford 141% of the mortgage payments on a median family home in Portland.  Make sense?  This is the highest it has been since December 2004.  Very good news from from every angle.

Community Open House

Spacious cottage in Lents

Join Portland Community Realty at our Community Open House to showcase a wonderful new listing in the Lents neighborhood.  This roomy cape cod features 4+ bedrooms and 3 full baths, with a detached, finished office.  Great for the home-based business running a family.

Community Open House – Sunday, May 17th, 1-3pm

4145 SE 91st Avenue, Portland OR  97266

Get some of Jeff’s famous chocolate chips cookies, and take home some wildflower seeds and guides to the Lents urban renewal area and special financing opportunities through the Portland Development Commission.