Buses return to the downtown mall

Beginning this Sunday, buses will return to their normal routes along the downtown mall. Transit mall upgrades are now complete to support the new Max Green Line. For about two years now, buses have been shifted over to Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue while construction was taking place. Now, they return to the Fifth and Sixth Avenue pattern.


Big change for motorists though. Right turns on Fifth and Sixth avenues are no longer allowed with one exception, Sixth Ave at Harrison. Plan accordingly or else you will be making three left turns to arrive at your destination.


The new Max line will begin operations in the fall.

picture from trimet.org web site

Current Real Estate Market News

Portland Real Estate market showed signs of improvement in April. Below are some of the highlights as reported by the Real Estate Association.

• Pending sales for April were 13.6% higher then March.


• Closed sales for April were up 10% from March.


• Pending sales for 2009 are rising at a faster rate then they did in 2008 - 13.6% vs 6.8%.


• Inventory levels continue to decline. Now at 11 months vs 19.2 months in January.

While we are still at levels lower then last year, we are clearly on the upswing.

Below is an interesting chart from RMLS. It shows the average number of times homes are shown for each day of the week. Clearly Saturday is the most popular day to view houses while Monday is the least preferred.

Save the Coliseum ... Not

Time for me to chip in on the Memorial Coliseum debate.

I find it interesting that we have been thinking and planning for years to find a use for this old building and now that we finally have a really good idea, i.e. a new baseball stadium, the plan gets thrown out by our mayor.

I have lived in Portland since 1991 and ever since I moved here, I've been hearing about how old and outdated the coliseum was. We built a new sports arena called the Rose Garden to solve that problem, then began to figure out how to make the remaining area vibrant and attractive. Ten or more years later, we still have the same old building, vacated restaurant spaces, and a completely failed entertainment zone.

This dying area has been off the radar for years as no one seemed to care... not the city nor the Trailblazers. Now along comes a terrific plan to move minor league baseball onto the site of the old coliseum. Baseball games bring people who are ready to spend some money. We have the mass transit in place, the parking in place, the views of downtown in place... everything you could want to create a vibrant and sustainable entertainment district. It makes perfect sense.

But wait, a group of architects and people who love old buildings say not so fast. Can't take it down. It has significant value as an example of modern arena design. The mayor listens, kills the baseball plan. He calls for yet another planning session - as if the last dozen or so were somehow flawed or incomplete... there has to be an even better idea.

Lets face it Portland, the coliseum is old, outdated, and serves no useful function. It is not a catalyst.... it's a dinosaur.

I love old buildings as much as anyone but I am also a financial realist. The city needs to create forward momentum for the Rose Quarter to achieve it's potential. Baseball yes, Coliseum no.

Maybe those intent on maintaining the status quo could figure out a way to move the old building to Lents where we can all look at and admire it for it's beauty.

Rules for new Mortgage Modification Program.

A recent article in Realty Times talked about how a person could qualify for the new Home Mortgage Modification program. Below is an excerpt from that article:

The Treasury Department recently released its Home Affordable Modification Program Guidelines (part of its Making Home Affordable initiative), which include eligibility requirements to determine which homeowners qualify for relief under the plan. Following are the eligibility requirements as specified in the guidelines:

• Mortgage must have originated on or before January 1, 2009.
  
• Home must be an owner-occupied primary residence – this program is not designed for investor-owned properties.
• Home must be a single family 1-4 unit property (including condominium, cooperative, and manufactured home affixed to a foundation and treated as real property under state law).
• Home may not be vacant or condemned.
• Borrowers in bankruptcy are not automatically excluded from consideration.
  Borrowers in active litigation regarding the mortgage loan can qualify for a modification without waiving their legal rights.
• First lien loans must have an unpaid principal balance (prior to capitalization of arrearages) equal to or less than:
  1. 1 Unit: $729,750
  2. 2 Units: $934,200
  3. 3 Units: $1,129,250
  4. 4 Units: $1,403,400
• Foreclosure actions are suspended (not cancelled) during the trial period or while borrowers are considered for alternative foreclosure prevention options. If homeowners fail to qualify, foreclosure proceedings may resume.
• No minimum or maximum LTV ratio for eligibility purposes.
• Loans are eligible for only one loan modification under the program.
• Subordinate liens (such as second mortgages or home equity loans or lines of credit) are not included in the Front-End DTI calculation, but they are included in the Back-End DTI calculation. Back-End DTI is used to determine whether the borrower will be required to undergo credit counseling as a condition to modification.
• Servicers should follow any existing express contractual restrictions with respect to solicitation of borrowers for modifications. Applicants will be accepted into the program only until December 31, 2012 (the program expiration date), but incentive payments will continue up to five years after the date of entry into the Home Affordable Modification Program. Monitoring will continue through the life of the program.

Source: Realty Times

Picture of the Week

Portland's Waterfront Park last weekend.

Condominium Sales Continue to Improve

We are seeing some signs of improvement in the downtown condo market right now. During the month of April, 32 condo units closed escrow. That's compared to 72 for the entire first quarter of the year.

But even better news is that during April, 47 units went "Sale Pending". Clearly buyers are now willing to write offers and move forward with purchase plans.

Astronomy Day at OMSI

Saturday, at OMSI, is Astronomy Day. Visitors will learn about meteorites, constellations, universe and telescopes.

Astronomy Day 2009 is a world-wide event designed to promote International Year of Astronomy 2009. Local astronomy representatives will be at OMSI during the celebration, including the Rose City Astronomers Club, Oregon Parks and Recreation, Vancouver Sidewalk Astronomers, and more.

According to wikipedia, this event was started in 1973 by Doug Berger, the president of the Astronomical Association of Northern California. His intent was to set up various telescopes in busy urban locations so that passersby could enjoys views of the heavens. Since then the event has expanded and is now sponsored by a number of organizations associated with astronomy.

Photo by Tony Rowell / Astrophotostore.com