Tag: Press

How the owner of Living Room Realty created a culture of giving

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Living Room Realty exemplifies how a business can be a force for good by giving back. As the founder and owner of Living Room Realty, Jenelle Etzel fosters a culture of giving among agents and staff. In fact, she built her business around it.

When she founded Living Room Realty in 2009 during the recession following the financial crisis, Etzel looked beyond candidates’ sales numbers when building her team, seeking shared values and selecting individuals driven by a sense of purpose.

“I made a big bet that people that have been involved in volunteering and giving back, when we came out of the recession, that they were going to be really successful,” Etzel said. “That bet paid off.”

That long-term view paid dividends. Living Room Realty is now one of the largest real estate companies in Oregon and is recognized for its charitable giving. The firm received a Corporate Philanthropy Award from Portland Business Journal in 2022.

Living Room’s certified B Corp status – and public pledge to donate 5% of profits to charity – demonstrates a commitment to high standards of social and environmental responsibility and transparency.

“When we succeed, that means that we can create even more opportunity to be generous with our community,” Etzel says.

Each fall the company rallies agents, staff and community to collect coat donations to support local charity Impact Northwest. They’ve donated more than 800 coats since this program began.

And the company’s commitment to intentional giving is reflected in the company’s two charitable funds.

The Loving Room Fund receives a percentage of agents’ commissions, and agents collectively decide which nonprofits to fund. Through the fund, agents have donated thousands of dollars to charity.

To establish a separate charitable fund to receive a percentage of Living Room Realty annual profits, Etzel worked with Oregon Community Foundation to create a corporate donor advised fund. Etzel empowers employees to support nonprofits and causes with grants from the fund.

“I have my own things that are near and dear to my heart, but I’m one of 25 people on staff here. I have to step aside and really listen to what’s important to my staff. I have, in effect, turned it over to them,” Etzel said.

“The staff has shown me that they deeply care about the people who live here. They’ve focused on organizations that create more opportunities for children and marginalized communities. They want everybody in our community to feel the same abundance, hope and optimism that we do here.”

Etzel describes the partnership with Oregon Community Foundation as a way to make the company’s giving more effective.

“They have allowed us to give with more educated choices. Knowing the things we care about, they help guide us to make a bigger impact,” Etzel said. “I’ve learned a lot working with Oregon Community Foundation. One thing is how deep the need is here in Oregon, especially for children.”

Etzel said she has often been surprised by the research findings provided by Oregon Community Foundation, such as learning the detrimental effects of poor childhood dental health on academic achievement.

“I don’t feel like I’m guessing, or I’m coming in to feel good or be the hero,” she said. “I feel like I am wisely using my resources to have the greatest impact. Those resources have come from my agents and the community. Oregon Community Foundation makes me feel confident that I’m a good steward of those dollars.”

Through engaged agents and employees, charitable funds and a culture of giving, Living Room Realty shows that business can be a powerful tool for creating a better world. The company’s commitment is a reminder to us all that when we focus on making a difference, communities benefit.

Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) works with donors and volunteers to award grants and scholarships to every county in Oregon. With OCF, individuals, families, businesses and organizations create charitable funds that meet the needs of diverse communities statewide. Since its founding in 1973, OCF has distributed more than $2 billion toward advancing its mission to improve lives for all Oregonians. For more information, please visit oregoncf.org.

Read the full article by the Oregon Community Foundation in the Portland Business Journal.

Median Sale Price for Clark County Homes Falls

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Potential homebuyers in Clark County face a difficult decision as the real estate market continues to normalize: Buy now or wait?

The median sale price for residential homes in Clark County continued falling last month, dropping from $514,000 in November to $479,900 in December, according to the most recent Regional Multiple Listing Service report. Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages also fell and are now just above 6 percent, according to the government-sponsored home mortgage packager Freddie Mac.

Given these relatively lower expenses, Living Room Realty broker Scott Cotrell thinks it makes sense to buy now.

“If they buy now, regardless of what they can afford, it’s always going to be better than renting because rent tends to always go up,” Cotrell said. “If you lock in a mortgage rate, it’s locked in for that life of the loan, and you know how much your expenses are going to be.”

Even as prices and interest rates fall, Cotrell doesn’t foresee housing affordability improving for potential homebuyers in the near future. Mortgage rates, though lower than their peak of 7.08 percent in November, are still high, limiting buying power.

…

Looking at the year ahead, Cotrell predicts interest rates could fall below 5 percent. If that happens, the market would “take off like crazy,” he said.

For this reason, he thinks buying now would be beneficial for those who want to avoid the stress of a hot market.

Read the full article by Kelsey Turner in the Columbian.

Improvements to Make and Enjoy Now That Will Pay Off When You Sell Your Home

Posted on by Living Room Realty

LRR Agent Bobby Curtis lends his expert advice to the Oregonian on remodels and upgrades to make to your home that will increase livability now, and improve resale value down the line. Read the full article HERE. 

Portland broker Bobby Curtis can’t count how many times his clients lament making costly home improvements not for themselves but for a new owner to enjoy.

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?” they ask Curtis of Living Room Realty as they are looking at photos of their now-stylish residence readied for the real estate listing.

Don’t wait. There are low- to high-cost ways to upgrade a residential property and increase its livability now that may bump up its value when it’s on the market later.

Another motivation: Putting off repairs could make the situation worse, and perhaps harder, or impossible, to sell the house later.

Unless the structure is a teardown, failing electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems as well as a bad roof and safety issues have to be repaired to sell a property to a buyer relying on an appraisal to secure a mortgage.

Housing Market 2023: Early Predictions to Know Now

Posted on by Living Room Realty

What, exactly, is the 2023 housing market going to look like? It’s a difficult question to answer. Some may envision 2023 shaping up to follow in the footsteps of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis with a possible bubble or crash.

The majority of housing predictions, however, don’t believe we’re in for a huge housing disaster. GOBankingRates spoke to real estate professionals for their take on what’s to come with the 2023 housing market. Here’s what they predict could happen next.

Interest Rates Could Reach 9%

Interest rates will rise as we fight back inflation, said Melissa Dorman, broker at Living Room Realty. Historically speaking, Dorman said a 9% interest rate is not out of the realm of possibility in the 2023 housing market.

If you feel nervous at the thought of 9% interest, try not to panic. There’s not an expectation that homes will sell at outrageous percentages, like 25% over the list price, anymore, said Kim Parmon, principal broker at Living Room Realty.

“If rates continue to rise in earnest I expect we will see both low supply and lower demand, which will likely create a relatively flat market,” Parmon said.

Interest rates, Dorman predicts, are anticipated to come down once we enter a recession. Buyers brave enough to buy now will be able to refinance their homes at a lower interest rate. As interest rates fall, likely in 2023, buyers will return to the market again.

Buyers Remain Cautious but Fortune Favors the Bold

Based on birth rates, a steady influx of new buyers in their early 30s will be in the housing market each year. Despite these birth rates, Parmon said buyer demand is down. The interest rates have risen and as a result, buyers are not rushing to purchase homes.

Buyers Remain Cautious but Fortune Favors the Bold

Based on birth rates, a steady influx of new buyers in their early 30s will be in the housing market each year. Despite these birth rates, Parmon said buyer demand is down. The interest rates have risen and as a result, buyers are not rushing to purchase homes.

Read the Full Article by Heather Taylor 

Portland Monthly: Property Watch

Posted on by Living Room Realty

A Pioneering, Climate-Friendly Home in Cully

Sometime in the late aughts, a pocket of the Cully neighborhood in Northeast Portland became the grounds for a mini, hyperlocal eco-renaissance, led by a group of like-minded neighbors. “We often call it an accidental intentional community,” said one resident. Dubbing themselves the Ainsworth Collective, and spread over the blocks near the intersection of NE Ainsworth and 45th Avenue, this unofficial group would meet monthly in support of living more mindfully with the environment. As such, several members bought land and built pioneering eco-homes that pushed the green technology of the day, seven of which were profiled by us in 2009.

One of those houses, designed by DeBar Architecture and built by W. A. Hughes Construction in 2008, is LEED-Certified Platinum and now for sale. It might draw on the past for its traditional gabled form, but everything else about it, from the rooftop solar panels, to the earthen floor in the living room, are forward-thinking, and aimed at reducing environmental impact.

Listing Fast Facts 

Address: 6022 NE 45th Ave, Portland, OR 97218

Size: 3,216 square feet/3 bedroom/3.5 bath

List Date: 10/28/2022

List Price: $874,000

Listing Agent: Aryne Blumklotz and Dulcinea Myers-Newcomb, Living Room Realty

Read the full article and get more amazing details on this home in the article by Melissa Dalton for Portland Monthly.

2023 Coat Drive Interview: Share Warmth and Joy

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Click the LINK to listen to an interview with Cristin Lincoln with Living Room Realty and Ada Dorch with Impact NW about the work Impact NW does with the homeless and less fortunate and the annual coat drive sponsored by Living Room Realty.

Learn more about Impact NW here!

Portland Monthly Property Watch: A Classic Portland Craftsman in the Sabin Neighborhood

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Original details mix with some charming changes in this classic Portland Craftsman in the Sabin neighborhood.

As far as Portland neighborhoods go, Sabin is a hidden-in-plain-sight gem. It’s not very big, yet there are two commercial corridors, NE Prescott cutting through its north section and NE Fremont along the south edge, which bookend the residential core. That core is filled to the brim with some classic, early-20th-century Portland homes. Not the ones built for the rich and fancy—these are for everybody else

This particular listing on Northeast 18th Avenue is charming from the start: the front porch spans the entire front and begs an afternoon sit chatting with the neighbors. It has a very symmetrical façade, with the wooden and glass front door centered on the front steps, and flanked on either side by an identical set of four windows.

Built in 1909, the home still has original details, like those aforementioned windows and interior woodwork, as well as some unexpected, and totally delightful, updates. Case in point: in the living room, there’s a skosh of painted trim (purple!) alongside the original stained wood. There’s also a skylight, one of six throughout the home, which must have been added at a later date to bring in lots of natural light everywhere, as Craftsmans, depending on their orientation and window layout, have been called dark in comparison to their modern counterparts.

The highly desirable Alberta Arts District is only one block away, giving this location a Walkscore of 93, and a plethora of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops to try nearby. Also close? The Sabin HydroPark, where the grounds beneath two water treatment towers were reinvented into a petite park, with a community garden, play structure for kids, and an off-leash area for pups. Just another way, aside from its modest housing stock, that this neighborhood proves how small can actually be quite mighty.

Listing Fast Facts: 

Address: 4715 NE 18th Ave, Portland, OR 97211

Size:  2,576 square feet/3 bedroom/2 bath

List Date:  9/15/2022

List Price:  $699,900

Listing Agent: Dulcinea Myers-Newcomb and Aryne Blumklotz, Living Room Realty

 

Read the full article by Melissa Dalton

Housing Market 2023: Early Predictions To Know Now

Posted on by Living Room Realty
What, exactly, is the 2023 housing market going to look like? It’s a difficult question to answer.  Some may envision 2023 shaping up to follow in the footsteps of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis with a possible bubble or crash. GOBankingRates spoke to real estate professionals for their take on what’s to come with the 2023 housing market. Here’s what they predict could happen next.

Interest Rates Could Reach 9%

Interest rates will rise as we fight back inflation, said Melissa Dorman, broker at Living Room Realty. Historically speaking, Dorman said a 9% interest rate is not out of the realm of possibility in the 2023 housing market.

If you feel nervous at the thought of 9% interest, try not to panic. There’s not an expectation that homes will sell at outrageous percentages, like 25% over the list price, anymore, said Kim Parmon, principal broker at Living Room Realty.

“If rates continue to rise in earnest I expect we will see both low supply and lower demand, which will likely create a relatively flat market,” Parmon said.

Interest rates, Dorman predicts, are anticipated to come down once we enter a recession. Buyers brave enough to buy now will be able to refinance their homes at a lower interest rate. As interest rates fall, likely in 2023, buyers will return to the market again.

Buyers Remain Cautious but Fortune Favors the Bold

Based on birth rates, a steady influx of new buyers in their early 30s will be in the housing market each year. Despite these birth rates, Parmon said buyer demand is down. The interest rates have risen and as a result, buyers are not rushing to purchase homes.

“I am seeing buyers be extremely cautious as they navigate purchasing right now. They are fearful that prices may come down in the future,” Parmon said. “Some buyers are choosing to sit out and watch the market and see what happens moving forward.”

However, it isn’t always possible to time any market. When Parmon has seen previous buyer behavior like this, the result has been buyers watch until they realize prices haven’t dipped. Then everyone enters the market at the same time again, creating more bidding wars and price increases with the existing low inventory.

Buyers may certainly be cautious about making a purchase, but some may not be content to sit on the sidelines for another year. The adage “fortune favors the bold” could be the new mantra for those brave enough to buy.

As mentioned earlier, interest rates are anticipated to come down once we enter a recession and allow buyers to refinance at a lower rate. If you’re brave enough to buy now, Dorman said buyers will benefit from a greater inventory, less competition and the ability to negotiate repairs with sellers.

“I think it is a good time to be a buyer. Sellers are having to make more concessions to find the right buyer. There is a larger inventory of homes available,” Dorman said. “The trade-off is the high interest rate.”

Strong Spring 2023 Market Ahead

Parmon, who is based out of Portland, Oregon, predicts buyers will wake up as early as Jan. 2, 2023, and decide to go home shopping. Generally, Parmon said she sees multiple offer scenarios earlier in the year. This levels out approaching the summer months when inventory increases.

Dorman also agrees early 2023 is likely to see a stronger spring market than the fall market. Prices may stagnant or fall in some markets, but the shifts should be nothing like what we have seen in the late spring and early summer of 2022.

“I think the market will balance out and have a slow ramp up as interest rates lower in late 2023 or even early 2024,” Dorman said. “Of course this is all a prediction and I don’t have a crystal ball to foresee the future. This is simply an educated guess based on what I see in the market today.”

Read the full article by Heather Taylor on Yahoo News HERE.

The 10 Best — and Cheapest — Cities for LGBTQ Homebuyers in 2022

Posted on by Ali Livolsi

Portland, OR

Median home list price: $550,000

“Portland has a huge queer population, so it isn’t surprising to me that it made the top,” says Rio Palomares, a real estate broker with Living Room Realty in Portland. “Portland has a small-town feel with a big focus on community—not just queer bars, but lots of different social groups. It holds space for lots of different identities.”

There is no shortage of gay bars with something for everyone—from laid-back Crush bar to the Eagle, a leather bar, home to the Oregon Bears. Portland also abounds with LGBTQ-friendly sports and recreation opportunities, including the Varsity Gay League, which organizes activities throughout the year such as kickball, soccer, yoga, strength training, and, yes, the occasional Mario Kart tournament.

Portland may be the most expensive city on our list, but home prices here are still substantially lower than other big cities on the coast—such as Seattle, with a median price tag of $850,000. That might explain why Palomares is working with many queer people looking to move to Portland from out of state.

“My clients have specifically shared with me that they are seeking a more welcoming and overall safer city to express themselves freely. Portland appears to fit the bill,” Palomares says.

Read up on the other cities included in the Realtor.com roundup HERE.

Portland Home Prices Soar in May, Defying Steep Rise in Mortgage Rates

Posted on by Living Room Realty

“We’re in a very strong seller’s market,” said Aryne Blumklotz, principal real estate broker at Living Room Realty. “There’s not much to buy.”

Blumklotz recently represented a seller in the Alberta neighborhood who got nine offers on a house that listed for $675,000. She held three open houses, all of them packed. The house hasn’t closed yet, so she can’t reveal the winning bid. A few weeks before, she sold a house in Alameda for $995,000 that had listed for $869,000.

Even so, there are signs that the market might soften. Blumklotz says she’s getting more emails from other agents about homeowners who are lowering prices. That’s most likely because of the rise in mortgage rates, she says.

“Most buyers are shopping for a monthly payment,” Blumklotz says. When rates were low, those people could stretch to borrow more money and still hit their target payment. “Now, those people can’t stretch,” Blumklotz says.

Continue reading the article by Anthony Effinger HERE.

‘Highest and Best’ vs. ‘Best and Final’: A Homebuyer’s Guide to Offers and Winning a Bidding War

Posted on by Living Room Realty

What does ‘highest and best’ offer mean?

When sellers ask for a buyer’s “highest and best” offer, they’re typically trying to spark a bidding war and plan to play potential buyers off one another.

“When I see a seller asking for ‘highest and best,’ I read that as code for the seller wanting a firm final number for price and great terms,” says Melissa Dorman, a real estate broker with Living Room Realty in Portland, OR.

It often also entails accepting a home as is, which leaves little wiggle room for negotiations after an offer is accepted.

What does ‘best and final’ offer mean?

A request for a buyer’s “best and final” offer means the seller wants to move fast and is not interested in prolonged negotiations.

“When I see a seller asking for ‘best and final,’ it means they are not planning on pitting buyers against each other,” Dorman says. “They want to give everyone an equal shot and end—or avoid—the bidding war.”

 

Learn about the best strategies for getting your offer accepted in both of these situations by reading the rest of the article HERE!

By Kathleen Willcox of REALTOR.COM

 

Manzanita Hosts Third Annual Plaid Friday

Posted on by Living Room Realty

The Manzanita Visitors Center will be hosting their third annual Plaid Friday from 8am-8pm on Friday Nov 29th at various shops in Manzanita, Nehalem, and Wheeler. The event is hosted by area merchants.

The name Plaid Friday came from the idea of weaving the individual threads of small businesses together to create a strong fabric that celebrates the diversity and creativity of independent businesses.

“Our merchant community were looking to do something a little more fun that what is normally associated with shopping the day after Thanksgiving,” Dan Haag, Manzanita Visitors Center, said. “When you think of Black Friday, you get images of people pushing and shoving each other in Big Box stores and shopping malls. We want shoppers to relax and enjoy their holiday shopping in the company of their friends and families.”

Bring the family and enjoy a fun day of shopping locally. Look for the “Plaid Friday” poster in ship windows. “When you shop at a small business, you are supporting that owner and their employees and putting money directly into the local economy,” Haag said. “You’re also contributing to the well-being of some great businesses who thrive on caring for each of their customers one-on-one. You see a few hundred people shopping while dressed in plaid and it’s hard not to smile.”

Living Room Realty’s Tosha Reinmiller will be doing gift certificate giveaways on her social media. Follow along for announcements prior to Plaid Friday and the winners will be able to pick up the cards on Plaid Friday for their shopping around town.

Find more deals and details HERE

Article by Hilary Dorsey, Tillamook Headlight Herald

Momma Stories with Jenelle Isaacson

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Momma Stories is a podcast featuring the stories and strength from moms about the adventure that is motherhood created by Sarah Baker. Sarah truly believes that moms sharing their stories can be so empowering and helps them to know they aren’t alone, they are enough, and they are loved.

On Sarah’s recent journey to Portland she sat down with Living Room’s own Jenelle Isaacson, a mom of two sweet girls. Jenelle has gone from punk rocker, to using those skills and experiences to launch her own incredibly successful Real Estate company. She shares how her focus on experience rather than the results can make a huge difference. Jenelle talks about how that lead her to focus on her community and building a business that truly cares for its people, their clients, and even the environment. Jenelle is a true Mompreneur and has a ton of great ideas and inspiration to share.

Listen to the episode now! https://www.mommastories.com/podcast/episode/421984dd/jenelle-isaacson

5 Compact Homes for Sale at $1 Million

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Nationwide, $1 million buys about 2,192 square feet, which is 14% less than in 2014. The price only covers 2,090 square feet – a 24.5% drop – in Seattle, which came in fourth in the study among the 100 most populous cities. Top-tier homes in 8th place Vancouver, Washington are now 22.1% smaller.

The reason buyers are getting less square footage? High-income earners are willing to pay more for a luxury condo or house, and developers want to build on underused land with a small home, as analyzed by real estate database Zillow.

What’s the seven-figure scene in Portland now compared to 2014? Not as dramatic, according to the study.

Portland is 36th in that ranking. In 2014, $1 mission homes in Portland were 3,770 square feet. Now, they are 3,318 square feet – 12% smaller. Here’s 5 examples of what $1 Million can get you in Portland today.

Pearl District Condo: A 2018 Vista condo at 1150 NW Quimby St #906 in the Pearl District is listed at $1,08,500. The northeast-facing home has 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and 1,612 square feet of living space, which breaks down to $673 a square foot.

Woodstock: A single level 1949 house at 5710 SE Woodstock Blvd in Woodstock sitting on a corner lot with two tax parcels totaling .33 acres with an alley along the back side is listed at $1,049,000. The house has 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and 1,762 square feet of space.Fountain Plaza Condo: The Fountain Plaza Condominiums unit at 1414 SW 3rd Ave #2502 is listed at $1,050,000. The condo, which was remodeled in 2012, has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 1,881 square feet.

Casey Condo: A condo in the Casey in the Pearl District at 311 NW 12th Ave #302 is listed at $1,025,000. The southeast-facing home has 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and 2,074 square feet of living space.

Midcentury Modern: A midcentury modern home on a 10,018-square-foot lot at 440 SW Hillside Drive in Bridlemile is listed at $1,090,000. The two-level Northwest Contemporary house was designed by William Fletcher and built in 1965, and has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and 2,708 square feet of living space, says listing agent Marisa Swenson of Living Room Realty.

 

Article thanks to Janet Eastman and The Oregonian 

Bye-Bye Boca! Retiring Boomers Are Flocking to These 10 U.S. Cities

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Do you have a dream retirement location? Maybe a sandy beach, senior-friendly suburb, or a city with everything a city has to offer?

More and more baby boomers these days are opting for the city life, and spending their golden years in urban areas that have walkability, great restaurants, culture, good public transportation, and decent prices.

As the largest generation ever to retire, around 74 million people – 10,000 per day hitting age 65 – they are having major effects on many of the hottest neighborhoods of many U.S. cities. Which locations are feeling the strongest effects of the silver tsunami?

  1. Tuscon, AZ – With 286 days of sun a year and reasonable cost of living, AZ is a perennial favorite among retirees. The desert city of Tuscon offers a surplus of 65+ retirement communities as well as a vibrant downtown, extensive bike paths, gorgeous hiking trails, and an award-winning Sun Tran bus system.
  2. St Louis, MO – With ultralow prices, a thriving restaurant scene (St Louis took home the #5 spot on Food & Wine magazine’s list of best food cities to visit in 2019), and cultural cornerstones makes St Louis a great option.
  3. Tampa, FL – Florida has a killer combo of sun, shoreline, and beneficial tax law that make it a home run for boomers. There are plenty of cultural and recreational activities – not to mention the crystal clear waters and white sand beaches are some of the nicest in the country.
  4. Denver, CO – Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year, easy access to outdoor adventures like fly fishing, skiing, rock climbing, and hiking trails. Basically, you can do just about anything here!
  5. Atlanta, GA – Atlanta has lots of cool neighborhoods, although gentrification is an issue in this vibrant and diverse community. The Beltline, a former railway that connects 45 neighborhoods, is 33 miles of multi-use trails and many new properties along the Beltline are within walking distance of new breweries, restaurants, and shops.
  6. Las Vegas, NV – Las Vegas isn’t just for bachelorette weekends, the desert metropolis has an abundance of all inclusive, 55+ communities within the city limits. Sun City Summerlin, the largest active-adult community in Nevada, sits right at the base of the Spring Mountain Range and has nearly 7,800 properties spread across 2,400 acres.
  7. Albuquerque, NM – Albuquerque has a relaxed vibe, dry climate, and breathtaking landscape appeal to folks who are looking to slow down but stay active. Boomers who move to the Land of Enchantment are often outdoorsy types who love all of the options the high desert offers. The Sandia Mountains, directly to the east of the city, are great for hiking and biking. The Rio Grande flows right through town, offering kayakers easy access to the water and providing walkers and cyclist miles of trails that wind through its wooded banks.
  8. Portland, OR – Eight seasons of the show “Portlandia” gave the world a satirical, but oh-so-accurate glimpse at the type of people who live in this crunchy city of bearded hipsters, quirky entrepreneurs, feminist bookstore owners, and yes, older couples navigating retired life.  “Portland is a top destination for boomers because of its proximity to a range of outdoor splendors, many walkable neighborhoods, thriving food and drink scene, public transportation, and relative affordability,” says Lance Marrs, a local real estate broker at Living Room Realty.
  9. Sacramento, CA – California’s capital city has long been known as the state’s sleepier alternative to San Francisco. But young professionals – as well as aging boomers – are changing that. Drawn by the ultra-low prices, they’re transforming the city.
  10. New Orleans, LA – Boomers in search of a city bursting with beautiful architecture, culture, Cajun grub, and Mardi Gras have been heading south to the Big Easy. While often thought of as a party town for millennials, the city’s world-class festivals, warm weather, low cost of living, and affordable public transportation for seniors are particularly appealing for retirees.

Article originally published on realtor.com by Sara Ventiera

As Home Sales Slow, Portland Could See Buyer’s Market

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Amanda Haworth, a 12-year REALTOR® with Living Room Realty, sees a steady amount of homes being listed on the market in Portland, but a tendency toward caution and hesitation in buyers.

“Everyone’s really afraid of paying too much right be fore a potential recession,” Haworth said. “I think people are really remembering what happened 10 years ago and don’t want to get into a situation where they’re left holding the bag.”

With a less competitive housing market, Haworth is seeing more and more buyers getting last-minute buyer’s remorse and backing out of contracts, or buyers being slow on decision-making without the pressure to quickly decide on available houses.

“I am seeing a little more fear-based decision-making in the younger first-time home buyers,” Haworth said. “It’s a large investment, and if they are getting more time, they can talk themselves out of it. Whereas in the last few years, when you had a multiple offer situation, you didn’t have a lot of time to question your decision.”

Haworth predicts that the real estate market will shift over to a buyer’s market in the near future, although it will be a different reality compared to 10 years ago with more stable lending.

“I do see that it’s going to shift over to a buyer’s market,” Amanda said. “But I don’t read the amount of drop that we saw last time. While we will see some market stabilization, I don’t see the type of recession that we saw before happening.”

The Downtown Opportunity Zones program and fewer people moving to Portland than expected are both factors that could ultimately help stabilize Portland’s housing market, she said.

 

Read the full article by Hannah Sievert published at www.bizjournals.com

After 10 Years, Living Room Looks to Keep Portland Cool – and Housed

Posted on by Living Room Realty

A decade ago, Jenelle Isaacson was selling real estate in Portland for the Hasson Co.

A Portland native who’d once been in a punk band called Spread Eagle, Isaacson had many clients who were connected to both the Portland music scene and several cooler local companies carving out their niches at the time, including Stumptown Coffee.

She liked how Stumptown created a whole culture around coffee while also treating its employees differently. “Here was an employer who took care of their employees, honoring their creative life and letting them pursue that,” Isaacson said, “and then also offering them wages and benefits so that they were actually able to buy homes and change their whole financial futures. I was really inspired by taht and some other businesses at the time.”

No one, however, was doing that in real estate.

“There wasn’t a Portland brand that reflected the community of Portland that I was living in and working with,” Isaacson said. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute. How come we’re not showing same-sex couples on our website? Why aren’t we showing single women and showing all the funky ways that people are living here?’ I mean, these were the people who were buying homes here…but the real estate kept showing the same white picket fence kind of fantasy and I’m like, ‘Who the hell are those people?”

So, in the fall of 2008, just as the market had collapsed into the Great Recession, Isaacson set out on her own, founding Living Room Realty. A decade later, Living Room has become one of the metro region’s 10 largest firms, based on sold-dollar volume. It hosts six offices with 130-plus agents, and it’s expanded its offerings to include buying, selling, property management, commercial real estate, tenant placement, and city tours.

Through it all, Living Room has kept its unique approach. “I mean, that’s our work,” Isaacson said. “Maintaining that and staying true to who we are.”

Good in the ‘Hood

Despite the rough market in which Living Room started, the company grew almost from the get-go. Isaacson said foot traffic around her Northeast Alberta Street office, next to the popular brunch spot Tin Shed, kept things humming.

“People were just streaming in all the time and it helped us have business when there was no business,” she said.

Whereas some real estate agencies would cherry-pick clients to showcase on their websites, Isaacson featured all of her clients, rough edges, idiosyncrasies and all, to better reflect the larger Portland community. She also played up Living Room’s commitment to Portland’s distinct neighborhoods, all of which began to appeal to both more clients and more REALTORS® looking to join a different kind of firm.

By 2015, Living Room employed more than 60 agents in three offices. By then, Isaacson had also figured out a key to Living Room’s continued success, supporting brokers with all the services they need, including marketing, transaction coordination, and other administrative support.

“Agents are really great at selling real estate, as they should be,” she said. “At other real estate companies, you have to wear, like, 15 hats. That doesn’t even make sense.”

“The depth of the support here for agents is pretty incredible,” said Cristen Lincoln, a veteran broker who joined Living Room five years ago.

Both she and Isaacson said Living Room also focuses less on the numbers than other firms. Sales are important, but they’re not everything.

“Here, everybody’s individual success and goals are celebrated,” Lincoln said. “When I came here, I felt like the person I am and the contributor I am to this community is what’s going to be celebrated more than how many sales I have on the board. Interestingly, being in that kind of environment, my sales have gone up.”

Keeping It Personal 

With 10 years behind it, Living Room heads into its second decade poised for more growth. Isaacson said Vancouver will be a big focus for Living Room in the near term as it continues to offer a popular and more affordable option than Portland. She also said there’s lots of room for growth in Living Room’s property management division and its tenant placement services.

The company will continue trying to make Portland more equitable, in part by seeking more diverse agents for its ranks. Thanks to its extensive documentation of its processes, the Living Room model could work in other cities nationally, but that’s not yet happened.

One thing Isaacson said Living Room will always do, however, is continue sharing the stories of the communities it serves.

“You can go back on our website and see every story, all these thousands of people who have moved here,” she said. “Why did they move here? What were they looking for? What their story is. That’s really fun to me. It’s really delightful for me to think about what the next 10 years of stories are going to look like.”

 

Article by Jon Bell, originally published in the Biz Journal. Read the full article HERE. 

Entrepreneur Role Fuels Real Estate Broker’s Inventive Fire

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Ross Seligman’s quest to find a better client management system leads to online success. 

With 14 years of experience in the Portland residential real estate market, Seligman’s main job is as a principal broker with Living Room Realty. More recently, though, he’s been filling his spare time promoting Sphere, an online client relationship management system that he developed for real estate brokers.

Sphere stands out for two main reasons:

The first is that Sphere focuses on growing a business based on relationships while other client relationship management systems are built on what Seligman describes as “scraping the internet for leads.” The second unique feature is that Sphere didn’t come from minds in Silicon Valley.

It’s the only CRM I know where an actual active broker who’s in the trenches every day is the creator – and that makes a huge difference,” Seligman said.

Learn more about Ross Seligman’s creation of Sphere in the Business Tribune article by Stephanie Basalyga HERE.

Mid-Century Modern Homes Rock in Gresham

Posted on by Living Room Realty

East Multnomah County has a treasure trove of hip homes and two are on a May tour. 

The Gresham area is a treasure trove of the popular and meticulously designed mid-century modern homes and two of them will be included on a Saturday, May 11, regional tour of these in-demand houses.

“There are some hidden gems in great little neighborhoods” in East Multnomah County, says Marisa Swenson, a REALTOR® and specialist in mid-century modern homes. She is the proud owner of one of the Gresham mid-century modern homes on the tour.

Swenson’s home was designed by architect Day Hilborn and constructed by commercial builder Paul E Emerick. The other Gresham residence on the tour is a beauty built in 1976 by local mid-century master Robert Rummer.

Although always in demand, mid-century modern homes have enjoyed a major resurgence in popularity recently, brought on in part by the wild success of the TV series “Mad Men” set in the stylish, Kennedy-era 1960s and more recently “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” set in 1958. The clothing, furniture, and other designs figure so prominently in these shows that they essentially become a recurring character.

Learn more about these stylish abodes in the article by Teresa Carson HERE

What to Expect in 2019 Real Estate

Posted on by Living Room Realty

2018 began as the year of high home prices, low mortgage rates, and closed out on the opposite end of the spectrum. In 2018, real estate prices hit an all-time high mid-year, and American wage growth slowed. At the same time, it was estimated that nearly half of US housing markets were overvalued.

2019 is expected to bring relative relief to consumers. “2018 is looked at as one of the most competitive home-buying markets in history,” says Kathy Cummings, SVP of homeownership solutions and affordable housing programs at Bank of America. “So as a contrast, in 2019 consumers will feel some relief. Inventory shows signs of rising and diversifying with prices reaching the lowest seen since 2014.”

Here’s what you can expect in 2019 residential real estate.

Mortgage rates will likely continue to rise, but at a slower rate 

  • The Fed raised mortgage rates in December 2018, and it’s expected to do so again in 2019, though at a slower rate than 2018. Housing inventory will increase but will not meet demand, which will drop prices, but not significantly. And with wage growth still sluggish and rent prices on the rise, many may find it tough to save for a down payment.

Millennials will continue to make up a large segment of homebuyers 

  • Millennials made up the largest share of homebuyers in 2018, according to the National Associations of REALTORS®, and in 2019 this demographic will continue to lead in home purchases.

The 18-hour city will continue to rise in popularity 

  • American workers with high-earning jobs are finding themselves priced out of gateway cities like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, giving rise to growth of 18-hour, or secondary, cities like Huston, Raleigh, Phoenix, and Philadelphia. Cities like Seattle and Austin, who were among the first “wave” of secondary city growth, are arguable edging into the primary city halo as cost of living blooms.
  • Matt Guy, managing principal broker for Living Room Realty states “in markets like Portland, there will be high demand and multiple offers for very desirable areas and competitively priced homes, characteristics of the hotter markets of the pervious years. We expect to see continued migration from more expensive areas like California to places such as Portland which are perceived as more affordable.”

Article originally published at HouseMethod.com – read the full article HERE

Buyers Pay More for Homes with Special Kitchen Ingredients

Posted on by Living Room Realty

A home’s location and price lure potential buyers, but what can seal a deal? A study released in April 2019 shows that houses touting specific entertainer-friendly kitchen amenities sell for more.

Of course, it’s not surprise that a well-equipped kitchen renovated by Kitchen Renovations Brisbane plays a big role in buyer interest. But which design ingredients or gadgets should you flaunt in a listing?

According to Zillow’s 2019 Home Features that Sell report, based on 4.6 million home sales in the US, these perks fetched a higher-than-expected price for properties based on their other traits and location: Steam oven, pizza oven, wine cellar, open shelving, pot filler, waterfall countertop, prpe sink, outdoor kitchen, and dual range oven.

12505 SE Callahan Rd in Happy Valley is listed at $1,075,000. The Northwest contemporary-style house, built in 1974 on 1.09 acres, has four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and 4,468 square feet of living space plus TimberTech decks, heated outdoor kitchen, and onsite brewery, says listing agent Gabrielle Enfield of Living Room Realty.

See more photos of delicious kitchen amenities in the Oregon Live article HERE.

Oregon’s Coolest Mid-Century Modern Houses: Builder Bob Rummer’s Enduring Legacy

Posted on by Living Room Realty

Traditionalists turned up their noses and scratched their heads when they saw Robert Rummer’s wide-open, glass-walled modern homes in the 1960s. The tract developer, now 91, had an uphill battle with banks, building inspectors and homebuyers who couldn’t see the allure of dwellings designed to encourage then-revolutionary indoor-outdoor living.

But Portlanders who appreciated Frank Lloyd Wright’s later work and developer Joseph Eichler’s atrium-centered homes in California instantly understood the appeal of soaring living rooms with see-through sliding doors that opened to patios.

Marisa Swenson of Modern Homes Portland – Living Room realty, calls Rummer a risk taker who “brought unique, bold home designs to our area, changing the real estate landscape, challenging home buyers to live differently.”

Read more history on Robert Rummer in Janet Eastman’s Oregonian article HERE.

How Punk Rock Helped Me Rock the Business World

Posted on by Living Room Realty

On the Road 

After graduating from college, I started a punk band called Spread Eagle with three girlfriends. I was the lead singer and played guitar. It wasn’t that we loved punk rock; it was just all we could play. That’s the beauty of punk rock. You don’t need much skill. You just need something to say and the courage to scream it. For the next two years, I screamed, yelled, and sang in clubs and dive bars from Seattle to Los Angeles, Austin to Chicago and everywhere in between.

You might think this was a detour from my life as a business owner and entrepreneur, but, really, it was just the beginning.

At 22, I was negotiating contracts, marketing our band, managing budgets, creating and selling merchandise and getting comfortable leading a crowd. And, just as in business, I was negotiating sexism. In those two years, it became clear that I’d earned a Master of Business Administration on the road and obtained the skills -and grit- requited to build and run a business. I also gained confidence knowing I could rock anything in heels.

Going Solo 

Fast forward 10 years, and I had the vision and idea to start Living Room Realty after being a real estate broker for a few years. I saw a need for a new real estate company that would help its clients make room to live. I saw a need for a company that could reclaim the home as a place to live, build community and celebrate our lives – not just a short term investment. It was a simple idea to flip the focus from house to the people.

It was 2009 and the housing market had just collapsed. I was having a hard time finding money or support for my idea. People told me I was crazy, and I was warned about certain failure and the threat of making myself irrelevant in the market. I felt  everything was against me. I’d get in the car and hear horrible news on the radio about the future of housing and the real estate industry. I finally turned NPR off and Eminem up! My only option was success, not failure.

I refused to back down. You see, punk rockers don’t need permission. They don’t care about standards and rules, and they aren’t waiting to be invited to the table. I decided it was time to put the “band” together and make some noise. I’m always looking for other “punks” – people who are willing to take a chance. In this case, it would be real estate agents who had something to say and, despite the market conditions, wanted to rock. Punk rock taught me that technical proficiency is overrated and, in 2009, I wasn’t going to hire or recruit based on an agent’s current production or numbers as an indicator of their future success. I looked to assemble a team who joyfully served others through community activism, volunteer work, or an organized hobby.

The New Band 

That was 10 years ago. Since then, we’ve grown to 132 agents, 19 staff, six locations, and two states. We’ve won several awards and have been named a best place to work. I’ve had agents come to me and ask, “How did you know I was going to be successful? Why did you take the chance on me?” It was easy, really. My response is usually along the lines of “How many fully tattooed agents are there in Portland?” or “How many agents have a skate ramp in their backyard or bartend lesbian arm wrestling nights?” The bottom line is the same: Each one had a captive audience, authenticity and the trust of a community that no one in our industry was talking to before.

Enabling our agents to be themselves has been a key to our success. Each agent shares client stories on our blog without censorship or Photoshop airbrushing, no matter how funky or non-photogenic our clients are. Each post is headlined on our front page. Some of my favorite client stories include It’s a Gay Gay World, Best Little Whorehouse in Portland, Small House, Big Sexy Man and, my latest favorite, Milwaukee-the Blue Collar Riviera. These are the posts that make their way around the Internet and get shared hundreds of times on social media. Without the advertising dollars of our competitors, we’ve managed to amass more Facebook likes than any other local brokerage and grow from US$35 million to US$350 million in sales in just five years.

Being punk means being raw, unapologetically real and comfortable pissing a few people off. It scared some of our agents initially, thinking we would alienate the higher-end market with these stories and photos. In fact, it did just the opposite, and our web leads result in higher average sales price point than our other deals. When buyers come to our website and see themselves in a story of two women who wanted to find a house with a garage to convert to a “spa-rage,” they’re not thinking about the price point. They are feeling the connection of having their needs and perspective understood. There is humanity and humor, and whether you’re a poor punk or a rich punk, there’s a connection and trust that you don’t get from searching Zillow.

Going Mainstream

You may be thinking, “This is Portland. You can get away with tattoos and punk rock. How does this scale? How does this relate to my own business?” But you’d be missing the point. The reason our brand looks like it does is because it’s a mirror reflecting the people we serve. Living Room looks like a lot of things depending on where you live and how you live. In Carmel, Indiana, it likely looks like Christian book clubs, basketball, and the chaos of raising four kids. My vision is to see this company in every city in America because everyone has a story, a desire to be seen and a need to feel connected and belong. Everyone has the right to love where they live. We ask our community “Where’s Your Living Room?” and celebrate the answer, no matter what it looks like.

I used to end every show with my punk band by saying “I want to thank you all for participating in my rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.” Guess what? I still feel the same way when I go to work and know we have now told more than 3,000 unique stories of people we have helped #MakeRoomToLive here in our community. And I’m certain punk rock fantasies do come true.

By Jenelle Isaacson – Originally published in the Octane Blog: Insights from Leading Entrepreneurs

Bye-Bye Boring: Remaking the Common Ranch-House

Posted on by Living Room Realty

There’s a lot to love about the common ranch-style house. Most of the horizontal, ground-hugging ramblers built for middle-class families in the 1950s and 1960s boom years had hardwood floors, brick fireplaces, and layouts that were easy to expand into the big, grassy backyard.

Architecture snobs sneer at the “granny ranch” or deride one as “just another ranchburger.” And yet, the appeal of a ranch reigns. It’s adaptable. Add a family room off the kitchen. Create a separate apartment in the daylight basement. Or, strip away decades of adornments to create a sleek, midcentury moderns with glass w alls, says Marisa Swenson of Modern Homes Portland and Living Room Realty, who specializes in cool post WWII dwellings.

Alyssa Starelli, an agent with Living Room Realty who focuses on “period-perfect” midcentury homes, also applauds ranches’ solid construction and large inventory.

If a remodel-minded client wants a ceiling vaulted, walls removed, or the fireplace remade, if it’s not possible in one ranch house it certainly will be in another, says Starelli, who posts vintage house plans on Instagram.

Even without modifications, the ranch has elements buyers want today: Living rooms connected to dining spaces, bedrooms on the same floor and wide hallways, making it easier for people with mobility limitations to maneuver.

Click HERE to read the full article by Janet Eastman in the Oregonian and see some before and after photos of remodeled ranches.

Here’s What $1M Gets Homebuyers in Portland

Posted on by Living Room Realty

In 2017 Regional Multiple Listing Service reported that the Portland metro area had 1,498 properties listed at $1 million or higher, with 670 selling at that price point.

Matt Guy, managing Principal Broker for Living Room Realty, points out that pending sales of homes costing between $1 million and $2 million are up by 18 percent over the last year. New listings for such homes are up by 26 percent.

Yonette Fine, a Living Room Realty broker whose buyers primarily occupy the $1 million-plus range weighs in on what buyers in this price range want: “Quality of finishes is huge – features like commercial grade ranges, moveable walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, radiant floor heating, swimming pools, and custom built-ins of all types.” Guy said his primarily Eastside buyers look for “location, size of home, and the quality of the construction and finishes are important, but the ability to entertain and have a floor plan that allows for that is important as well.”

Click HERE to read the Portland Business Journal article to learn more about $1M listings and buyers.