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New Postings Posted: Fri October 9, 2009, 8:36 pm by Bill Metzker |
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A lot to write about today. I have real reservations about extending the $8,000 federal tax credit, for various reasons. I wrote about it on my Terradigm site, along with an entry today on how it might be extended at no cost to taxpayers. In a similar vein, the Mortgage Rescue Cafe talks about the trouble Ginnie Mae might be in, and also offers an idea for upside down home owners who might wish to refinance.
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PORTLAND... | ||
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| A trivia buff site URL correction, from an earlier blog: poodwaddle.com doesn't go anywhere very interesting, but... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Wed October 3, 2007, 1:59 pm | Bill Metzker |
| My daughter, Sarah, had decided to do her own blog. You can follow her thoughts by clicking Istanbuls Stranger. If... | ||
| Tech Support | Thu September 27, 2007, 2:28 pm | Bill Metzker |
| My grandfather was a teamster (a real one) in the early 1900's. His advice was to always buy the best, because the best... | ||
| Market Trends | Mon September 17, 2007, 2:49 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Well, it continues to be a great market if you're a buyer and a so-so one of you're selling. In the Hillsboro MLS... | ||
| The Market | Sun September 16, 2007, 9:46 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I worked an open house in Sherwood today. Yeah, it's a long ways away, but you do what you have to do. There were... | ||
| Amusing Website | Thu September 13, 2007, 12:09 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Check this one out: poodwaddle.com It's for true trivia lovers!... | ||
| Foreclosures | Thu September 13, 2007, 11:57 am | Bill Metzker |
| Interesting info from Civic Realty, a PDX firm specializing in short sales and mortgage workouts: 1. What percentage... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Thu September 6, 2007, 3:25 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Long-time readers of this blog know that I occasionally write about my daughter, Sarah, who lives in Istanbul with her... | ||
| Market Trends | Thu September 6, 2007, 3:11 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Market data and trends from RMLS has been out for a few days. While it's too soon to make any definitive judgments,... | ||
| Giants' Fans | Tue August 28, 2007, 8:55 am | Bill Metzker |
| Is anyone excited about the future of the SF Giants? I remember the Braves in the early 1990's, when they were a... | ||
| Zillow | Thu August 23, 2007, 11:48 am | Bill Metzker |
| Over the weekend, I once again became a non-agent house hunter. I think real estate agents often forget what it's like... | ||
| Market News | Wed August 15, 2007, 4:17 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Watch for (or if you don't get it--ask for) my newsletter, coming out probably next week. It talks about market... | ||
| Orenco Station | Mon August 6, 2007, 4:06 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I just returned from a wedding of my young cousin at Lake Tahoe, CA. Wonderful time! She's an adorable young woman,... | ||
| Market Conditions | Fri July 27, 2007, 5:33 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Activity was slow, then it tapered off. Wish I had some good news, but it seems as though buyers are outta here so... | ||
| Thanks | Tue July 17, 2007, 4:28 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Before I forget, I'd like to give a quick and sincere thank you to all the neighbors who have referred someone to me,... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Tue July 17, 2007, 4:21 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Well, Sarah and baby Ender departed for Turkey on Monday after staying with us for a month. They're gone and we're... | ||
| Home Sales | Tue July 17, 2007, 4:00 pm | Bill Metzker |
| This is the time when I'm supposed to offer some sort of perspicacious analysis of the market data (see the link Data... | ||
| Fallout from Politickin' | Thu July 12, 2007, 12:07 pm | Bill Metzker |
| My July 3 blog generated the second highest number of replies since this site began. One neighbor said she was... | ||
| Pardoning Scooter Libby | Tue July 3, 2007, 3:22 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Newshounds have been patiently waiting for the moment when President Bush would/should/might/won't pardon Scooter... | ||
| Currently Reading | Tue July 3, 2007, 2:37 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I'm currently reading Cosmic Jackpot by renowned physicist Paul Davies, author of the popular work, "The Mind of God."... | ||
| Market News | Wed June 27, 2007, 12:26 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Well, it's in: For May,listings are up and both closed and pending sales are down 8.3% and 16.4% respectively.... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Wed June 20, 2007, 10:49 am | Bill Metzker |
| Istanbul meets Portland Metro for about a month, as daughter Sarah arrived with son (grandson) Ender James over the... | ||
| Mortgage Rates, House Prices | Wed June 13, 2007, 5:31 pm | Bill Metzker |
| What will rising mortgage rates do to house prices? Last week, a client closed a loan at 6.2% or so. The loan had... | ||
| Survivor | Thu June 7, 2007, 5:08 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I've written a little about my daughter in Istanbul, but this time, I'd like to talk about my younger son. Ben is 31... | ||
| Istanbul Update | Wed June 6, 2007, 11:39 am | Bill Metzker |
| Chores we consider routine in the U.S. have a different slant in Turkey. Here's sarah's rendition of a recent outing... | ||
| Hamlet Follow-up | Sat June 2, 2007, 12:04 pm | Bill Metzker |
| How do I deal with the conflict raised in an earlier blog? I pretend as hard as I can that I'm buying the house and... | ||
| Lobbyists | Sat June 2, 2007, 12:02 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Between 1998 and 2004, 43% of ex-congressmen and congresswomen became lobbyists at salaries near or exceeding $1... | ||
| A Hamlet Moment | Wed May 30, 2007, 2:49 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Ever thought your real estate broker wasn't representing you? I was having lunch with an attorney friend at Hale's... | ||
| Latest Market Action | Wed May 30, 2007, 10:19 am | Bill Metzker |
| We have a mixed market in Portland Metro. Closed sales increased a measly 1.4%, while new listings shot up 23.1%.... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Mon May 21, 2007, 3:09 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Sarah's mother-in-law, Sirin, called her again to ask about Ender. Sirin says, "How is he," and Sarah says, "He's... | ||
| Market Musings | Tue May 15, 2007, 4:35 pm | Bill Metzker |
| It's weird how some homes are staying on the market for months, while others are still getting multiple offers. The... | ||
| Market Report | Tue May 8, 2007, 4:54 pm | Bill Metzker |
| ORENCO STATION MARKET REPORT (Last Five Months from 5/8/07, according to RMLS) Rowhomes ... | ||
| March Market Action | Mon April 30, 2007, 4:52 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Portland Metro is showing clear signs of slowing. New listings have increased nearly 24% (check the Data and Trends... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Sun April 22, 2007, 9:26 am | Bill Metzker |
| My daughter, Sarah, has been fretting over getting her new baby son, Ender James, an American passport. She's had to go... | ||
| Last Place Giants | Tue April 17, 2007, 1:09 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I kind of suspect the SF Giants will trade for some major offense. They've got a closer available in Benitez and even a... | ||
| Market Musing | Mon April 9, 2007, 12:04 pm | Bill Metzker |
| The latest RMLS reporting period (ending 2/28/07) notes a 5.2 month supply of homes in the Portland Metro area. It's... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Sun April 1, 2007, 12:21 pm | Bill Metzker |
| We just returned from nine days and eight nights in wonderful Istanbul and can confirm that our new grandson, Ender... | ||
| EFIS, LP Siding | Sun March 18, 2007, 7:55 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Two months ago, I submitted an offer for clients on a home in the $300,000 range (not in the Orenco neighborhood, I... | ||
| House Values | Wed March 14, 2007, 1:56 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Before looking at a house on which she thought she might want to make an offer, a buyer sent me a list of homes sold in... | ||
| Low Mortgage rates | Thu March 8, 2007, 3:00 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Th San Francisco Chronicle reports today that mortgage rates hit the lowest point yet for 2007. Freddie Mac says that... | ||
| Market Time | Mon March 5, 2007, 2:41 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I'll be updating the market Data and Trends later today or tomorrow, but there's really not much new. The current... | ||
| Economic Development | Tue February 27, 2007, 3:38 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Yesterday, I attended a part of an all-day economic trends workshop at the civic center downtown (thanks to a tip from ... | ||
| It's a Boy! | Mon February 26, 2007, 2:11 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Sarah gave birth to a marvelous and healthy baby boy. Ender James weighed in at 8 lbs. after kind of a hard birth from... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Tue February 20, 2007, 3:09 pm | Bill Metzker |
| A baby alert just arrived from Istanbul. Saturday will mark Sarah's 42nd week of her pregnancy. Her water is okay,... | ||
| Listed and Sold | Tue February 20, 2007, 2:36 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I don't know how many real estate agents live in our neighborhood, but please-if you're going to list your home for... | ||
| Reality Bites | Tue February 20, 2007, 11:08 am | Bill Metzker |
| Reality does bite at times. In January of this year, closed sales in the Portland Metro area fell 9.4%, while new... | ||
| Market Musings | Fri February 16, 2007, 10:21 am | Bill Metzker |
| A seller called me yesterday on her home, which I have listed for sale. She lowered the price last week from $250,000... | ||
| There Are Faces I Remember | Thu February 15, 2007, 2:01 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Why do real estate agents nearly always have their mug shots on their business cards? I've done a random interview... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Mon February 12, 2007, 3:35 pm | Bill Metzker |
| A warning from the Turkish doctor! Sarah's doctor is a German-Turk. Or Turk-German. She's Turkish, but grew up and... | ||
| Market Heating Up? | Mon February 12, 2007, 3:28 pm | Bill Metzker |
| We drove through several East Side Portland neighbrhoods yesterday to look for invesment properties. I was struck by... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Sun February 11, 2007, 9:59 am | Bill Metzker |
| We're going crazy. It occurred to us first thing this morning that Sarah's baby is due today. We called, and... | ||
| Pending Sales (Redux) | Thu February 8, 2007, 1:25 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Today I re-thought the issue of posting pending sales. I think I'm right not to post them as "solds," but I probably... | ||
| Rowhome Insurance | Tue February 6, 2007, 4:58 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Most major companies offer two types of homeowner insurance--detached and condominium policies. Insurance for detached... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Sun February 4, 2007, 9:59 am | Bill Metzker |
| Sarah finally sent us pictures of herself so we could see what she looked like when pregnant. A very emotional moment... | ||
| What Happened in 1971? | Tue January 30, 2007, 9:24 am | Bill Metzker |
| 1971 Was a big year. Here are a few of the events that occurred: New York Times begins publication of classified... | ||
| Quick Notes | Mon January 29, 2007, 9:39 am | Bill Metzker |
| Several people have asked when stuff gets updated. Like this blog, maybe, or market stats. I've tried to be as regular... | ||
| Market Time by Type | Fri January 26, 2007, 5:24 pm | Bill Metzker |
| The average time-on-market varies by residence type, i.e., condominium, rowhome/townhome, or detached home. For the... | ||
| Istanbul Diaries | Tue January 23, 2007, 4:20 pm | Sarah Metzker |
| More from daughter Sarah on idiosyncracies of Istanbul society. She teaches there and along with her husband, Engin,... | ||
| Market Update | Tue January 23, 2007, 2:37 pm | Bill Metzker |
| Ok, according to Regional Multiple Listing Service: All of Portland Metro has a 4.5 month supply of houses. Closed... | ||
| Market Opinion | Wed January 17, 2007, 2:40 pm | Bill Metzker |
| After visiting with all the other agents, I think we're in a nether market. Not "neither," as in neither buyers' nor... | ||
| Stasis | Wed January 3, 2007, 11:45 am | Bill Metzker |
| We had our first REMAX sales meeting for 2007, where the Hillsboro agents kvetch in the conference room. Actually, we... | ||
| Istanbul Diary 12/17/06 | Wed December 27, 2006, 10:36 am | Bill Metzker |
| Well, my daughter finally got around to e-mailing us pictures of our first grandchild. This has been difficult for... | ||
| A Modest Proposal | Wed December 13, 2006, 1:14 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I'm English major. I worry about lots of stuff. Not just sometimes, but somewhere between all the time and most of... | ||
| All Real Estate Is Local | Mon November 6, 2006, 2:26 pm | Bill Metzker |
| OK, real estate market time! We've all read the news articles and have seen statistics. So, what does that mean to... | ||
| Istanbul Diary | Sun November 5, 2006, 5:58 pm | Bill (and Sarah) Metzker |
| ISTANBUL, Turkey -My daughter, Sarah, lives in Istanbul, where she's married to Engin Erdemir. Sarah, who received her... | ||
| Voice Mail Hell | Sun October 22, 2006, 3:14 pm | Bill Metzker |
| I'll try to be both accurate AND useful with this blog, depending on the time of day I might be writing it--in which... | ||
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