Portland
Blog: This Week in Portland May 26 - June 2 2012
Welcome to another weekend- Memorial Day Weekend- and another edition
of this all-local Portland blog! May flew by so fast and it's
hard to believe June is just around the corner. My garden is in full
bloom and mowing once a week is a necessity - not that I do. I'm
starting to notice more bees around and about- full of pollination
business- a sight that always makes me happy. I love to see all the
wonderful creatures come out in the spring and summer months. Even the
garden spiders who can somehow make a huge, intricate web overnight-
always somewhere most inconvenient like spanning from the backdoor to
the awning. Some mornings I discover half a dozen new webs but not so
far this year. Makes me wonder if the spider population is down or if I
have remembered incorrectly as to when they are the most prolific.
I've been enjoying the many wonderful photos our members have
uploaded as they are out and about this spring. Thanks to our thriving
online Portland community, we have amassed an amazing library of
Portland photos and invite you to enjoy our fine city
through their lens. Our pick of the best Portland photo gets featured in
our weekly Portland blog in addition to treating the artist to $20 at a
100% local Portland business. It's awesome- everybody wins.
Find more photos like this on PortlandNeighborhood.com
New Self Storage Facility in South
Waterfront – Now OPEN!
South Waterfront Heated Storage offers a State of the Art Self-Storage
facility located in Portland, Oregon. This modern day Self-Storage
Facility offers extravagant features including: A digital camera
surveillance system, personalized customer access codes and individually
alarmed unit doors. Also find multiple covered/heated loading areas,
freight elevators and a large quantity of flatbed carts; making your
moving experience a breeze!
Just minutes from John’s Landing, Sellwood and Lake Oswego; South
Waterfront Heated Storage offers you a convenient location while
providing great customer service. Also find moving and packing supplies
– Your one stop shopping center!
Visit
www.SouthWaterfrontStorage.com or call 503.226.7777 to learn more!
Open 7 days a week! Stop in for a cup of coffee and a tour of this
cutting edge facility – Great Move-in Specials Available!
Learn how you can receive up to 50% off your 1st 2 Months Rent!
The
Portland Photo of the Week
The Portland Photo of the
Week is by
local artist,
Stephanie Lynch.
This dramatic photo is entitled "Stag Close-Up" and was taken nearby
Lost Lake up by
Mt
Hood.
Our Portland
Photo of the Week winner gets a $20 gift certificate to a local Portland
business of our choosing. This week our winner is treated to
Powells Books, the largest indie bookstore in the world!
Powells Bookstore Portland Oregon -
If you're a book lover and you live in Portland Oregon, then Powells
Bookstore is no surprise to you because it is a local favorite. Powell's
City of Books is one of the most visited spots in town whether you're
visiting Portland and looking for popular places to visit, or whether
you've lived in Portland your entire life. they say 80,000 people
browse the shelves of Powells each day. If you're visiting with a
group, you can even arrange
a tour.
"From humble storefront beginnings in 1971 on a derelict corner of
northwest Portland, Oregon, Powell's Books has grown into one of the
world's great bookstores, with seven locations in the Portland
metropolitan area, and one of the book world's most successful dot-coms
(www.powells.com), serving customers worldwide." (Powells.com)
Learn more about the Oregon
coast.
Powell's Bookstore Picks
We
love Powells!
Portland
Book Review of the Day
Portland
eBooks
Powell's
Author Interviews
Come
and upload your Portland photos to the Photo Gallery
for your chance to win each week. Check back to see if your
photo is selected for a spotlight in the weekly Portland
blog!
Squared
Written by
PortlandNeighborhood Guest
Writer, Rob
Creighton Garrison
I had the best cheesesteak sangwich the other day.
If you haven't had one of these gustatory marvels, I suggest you consult
your physician and then ignore his or her cautions and go get one. Your
mouth will thank you, or would if it weren't so busy. My recommendation:
Steaks Fifth Avenue at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Easily located, just
follow the sound of collective “omnomnomz” forming a nimbus around the
cart.
While you're gnawing on the first of two (or is that just me?), take a
look around. You're downtown, but people are happy, eating lunch (or
whatever) and chattering away with friends and workmates. Portlanders
are very fortunate in that they have a cool downtown to enjoy. In other
cities I've lived in, the word 'downtown' was uttered like an epithet
(and sure, there are probably some who don't love Portland's either, but
I'm betting they are fewer than elsewhere). Those other places, they
should have a Pioneer
Courthouse Square.
The nickname for the square is “Portland's living room”, which to me
sounds a little mundane; the average living room doesn't feature
jugglers, live music of all stripes, impromptu political rallies, flower
festivals, charity events, food carts, a fountain, a weather machine,
statuary, movie nights with a few hundred of your fellow citizens, handy
access to public transport including route maps and tickets, AND, come
the season, a Christmas tree taller than your house.
Have a seat at a table or on the steps and all of Portland walks, or
dances, or runs, or bikes, or skates by. No kidding, on a weekend you'll
feel as if you've sat within six feet of everyone in the city. It's like
that Chinese parable about sitting on the side of the road and watching
the parade of humanity in its entirety march past. Or is that a Hindu
thing? Greek? I don't know, my Google's busted.
You can do all sorts of things at Pioneer Courthouse Square, or you can
just sit, munch, sip, and observe. You can still spot mohawks at the
square. You can see just how much metal a face can hold without fraying.
You can watch a flute-and-drum medley performed with an empty bottle and
a skateboard, and once I saw a guy who was pan-handling by blowing into
a flute he didn't know how to play (he made a killing from people paying
him to sit somewhere else, sort of a musically-challenged remittance
man). And everywhere the recursive and reciprocal observing of others
watching others. It's a smorgasbord of voyeurism.
You can even sit on yourself. For $100 you can buy a brick with your
name on it. That's a bargain for a slice of immortality (Im-mortar-tality?).
Take a look. I'll be watching you.
Read and comment on the
original post
here.
Like this article? Check back weekly for a peek into Rob's world.
Portland Oregon - by
photographer Gerry Villani
Featured
Portland Events this Week
May 14, 2012 to May
31, 2012 – Discovery
Museum, Washington Park
Come visit the
Discovery Museum at the World Forestry Center in Portland's Washington
Park with a discounted admission of only $5 per person for the month of
May. it's a deal! Organized
by World Forestry Center | Type: discounted,museum, admission
February 4, 2012 at 10am
to May
27, 2012 at 5pm –Portland
Art Museum
One of the most controversial internationally known German avant-garde
artists of the postwar years, Beuys (1921-1986) was an influential
theorist and teacher for several generations of European arti…Organized
by | Type: exhibition
April 24, 2012 to May
31, 2012 – Concordia
University George R White Library and Learning Center
Come join us daily 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. for our annual art show featuring
the works of Concordia University students and faculty. For more
information, visit www.cu-portland.edu/library/events/.Organized
by Concordia
University | Type: art, show
April 24, 2012 at 7:30pm
to May
27, 2012 at 7:30pm –Artists
Repertory Theatre - Alder Stage
When it comes to race
is justice blind? In this complex, complicated world acknowledging
prejudice is an ugly venture into discomfort. In Race, two lawyers (one
black, one white) take on a case that…Organized
by Artists
Repertory Theatre | Type:performance
May 4, 2012 to June
25, 2012 – SCRAP"inteREor"
is a wonderfully clever collection of furniture and decor made almost
entirely out of reused materials by fabREfab and LeDoux. SCRAP's
Re:Vision Gallery features artwork made from a minimu…Organized
by Alyssa
Kail | Type: gallery, show
May 11, 2012 at 8pm to June
2, 2012 at 9:30pm –Imago
Theatre
Imago’s The Black Lizard will be a verbally sophisticated, physically
energetic, and visually sumptuous play—attempting to bring a
contemporary fusion of kabuki and melodrama to Portland audiences. T…Organized
by Imago
Theatre | Type: theatre
May 26, 2012 from 12pm to
4pm – Portland
We begin at
Coalition, a small 10 barrel brewery in the inner SE where we taste
their handcrafted, highly drinkable beers that reflect traditional
brewing techniques and NW innovation. Our next spot…Organized
by Brewvana
- Portland Brewery Tour |
Type:brewery, tour
May 27, 2012 from 2pm to
4:30pm – Portland
We begin sampling new and usual beer styles at Hair of the Dog, a very
small 4 barrel brewery in the inner SE that is known for bottle
conditioning beers that improve with age. We then head to Widmer…Organized
by Brewvana
- Portland Brewery Tour |
Type:brewery, tour
May 31, 2012 from 9pm to
11pm – Quaking
Grass Wear
your favorite duds after walking Alberta Arts for their wild Last
Thursday celebration. The brighter and more outrageous, the better! Or,
come as you are! Everyone welcome. All Ages. Mingle. Dan…Organized
by Heather
Straube | Type: costume, dance,party., last, thursday., alberta, arts.
June 3, 2012 from 9am to
1pm – KeyBank
parking lot
The popular Woodstock Farmers Market will begin its 2012 season on
Sunday, June 3, offering shoppers even more organic food choices, more
produce vendors, hot prepared food, a longer market season, a…Organized
by Amy |
Type: farmers, market
June 2, 2012 from 11am to
4:30pm – Colonel
Summers Park
Dharma Talk and Panel Discussion on the Theme of Transforming the Heart
Ceremony with Blessings for All Beings Activities for Children Tabling
by Buddhist Communities Workshops Shared Food (Potluck f…Organized
by Heidi |
Type: free, festival
June 8, 2012 at 5pm to June
9, 2012 at 11:45pm –Downtown
Molalla
Molalla Brew Fest in conjunction with Molalla's Second Friday
Celebration Friday, June 8, 2012 5pm to 12:30 am Saturday, June 9, 2012
- Noon to 12:30 am. Located at corner of Ross St. and Molalla Ave. –…Organized
by Molalla Brew Fest | Type: brew, fest
Add your own events to our
Portland
events calendar! Its totally
free. If we like it, we'll include it in this weekly Portland blog.
New to
the site and want to add your own two cents to the
Portland
blog? Please
do! But please remember to keep it real and community
focused. Read our terms
of use and don't spam the planet
with self promoting material or weird stuff as it will just get deleted
and you might get banned. We have a zero spammer policy to
keep the site valuable and hassle free for our members.
Thanks!
Tryon Creek State Park by local
photographer Michael Barton
University Park - A Portland Neighborhood Real Estate Report
By
Ross and Leah Seligman
University Park is located in North Portland and is bordered by
Cathedral Park, St. Johns, University Park and Linnton neighborhoods.
To learn more about University Park, click
here.
If you are looking for homes in the University Park neighborhood, visit
this link where you can search for homes by particular neighborhood: Click
Here
On to the
report:
Here is the overall chart of inventory, sold, and pending for
the University Park neighborhood in the last 15 months:
In April 2012, there were 38 closed sales, 53 pending sales, and 113
homes on the market in the University Park Neighborhood.
One year change from April 2011 to April 2012:
Inventory (how many homes on the market for sale): Down 39.6%
Homes sold: Up 31%
Homes pending sale: Up 89.3%
Chart for
average price per square footage:
In the past 15 months, the average price per square footage in the
University Park neighborhood has been between $101 and $129/sq. ft. In
April 2012, the average price per square foot in the University
Park neighborhood was $123.
One year
change from April 2011 to April 2012:
Change in Price Per Square Foot:
Percentage Change: Down 4.8%
Days on Market,
Sold/List Price:
This chart is showing us two things. First, how many days on the
market that a home is spending, on average, before being sold. In
April 2012, the average time on market for a home in the University
Park neighborhood was 54 days.
The second thing that this chart is showing you is what percentage of
the listing price the owners actually are getting when the house is
sold. This is a great indication of the pressure on prices. In
April 2012, sellers in University Park received, on average, 96% of
their original listing price.
More stats for
you:
Change from April 2011 to April 2012:
Time on Market: Down 34.9%
Sold/List price % difference: Up 2%
Average price
for sale vs. average price of sold:
This chart shows us that the average listing was and what the
average sale was. In April 2012, the average price of a house on the
market in University Park was $194,000. The average sale was $196,000.
More stats over one year:
Average active price: Down 4%
Average sold price: Up 2.1%
Months of
Inventory:
Months of inventory gives a time line of how long it would take for all
of the current listings to sell. Anything above 4 months is considered
a buyers market. This figure is a good indicator of supply and demand.
April 2012 in the University Park neighborhood had 3 months of
inventory.
By the way, this does NOT mean that it will take 3 months for your home
to sell. That figure was, on average in April, 54 days. Inventory is a
figure that means that, if not another home were to come on the market
in University Park from this point forward, in 3 months there would not
be another home to sell. They would all be sold.
In my monthly Portland real estate report, I always talk about how each
individual neighborhood is a micro-market. The first thing you will
notice about individual neighborhoods as compared to the overall
Portland reports are that the numbers can be wildly different month to
month. Basically, the bigger the pool of data you are working with, the
smoother the stats become. As we focus on smaller areas, many different
things can happen month to month.
If you are looking to buy or sell in a particular neighborhood, the most
crucial information that you need to know is what is going on in that
neighborhood. In this situation, the overall Portland market report is
less important and the national real estate report is just about
useless. This posting is a real estate report for the University
Park neighborhood of all homes in all price ranges. Feel free to request
particular neighborhoods in which you are interested in buying or
selling and I am be happy to do a report, just contact me on this forum
or at http://www.propertiesofportland.com.
Visit our
website where you can contact us and search all Portland Metro Area real
estate and homes for sale from the RMLS, including school and
neighborhood reports at
http://www.propertiesofportland.com
Best Deals in Portland this Week
Visit our website where you can contact
us and search all Portland metro area homes for sale and real
estate from the RMLS, including neighborhood and school
information: www.propertiesofportland.com
Did you know there are
nearly 100 unique Portland neighborhoods?
Read
and learn all about these interesting urban communities.
Stub Stewart State Park by local photographer Lindsay
That's
it for now
We
hope you enjoy reading our weekly Portland blog. Want to see
more or less of something? Let us know! Once again,
thanks for being here and making this Portland website such an asset to
the community! If
you love this site as much as we do, tell your friends!
Have a great weekend!
PS
-- Want to read back issues of this blog? Here ya go!
|
