My Portland Oregon Home

Portland Homes & Portland Happy Hours: Two Great Values in 2012

Sharon Francis — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:09:50 +0000

Heathman Hotel in Portland

Portland Oregon has perhaps more Happy Hours than many cities, and in the darker days of winter, it’s a great time of day to enjoy inexpensive food & beverages. Last Sunday we spent a couple hours at the cozy Heathman Hotel bistro with friends, ordering many small plates, wine, & dessert. The Heathman’s bistro is in their beautifully classic paneled room (high tea area during the Holidays), with comfy seats, small tables, a roaring fire, and sometimes music in the evenings. On the weekend, the bistro menu starts at 3:00 and goes all evening.

Most Portland Happy Hours are limited to early nibbles from about 3P.M. To 7 P.M. and again for the after theatre crowd around 9:00 or 10:00 P.M. These small plates are not always so small: at the Hotel Deluxe there is a plate of 3 sliders in the retro Driftwood Room with its authentic Mad Men mystique, and the smoked chicken chowder is amazing. Some Happy Hours discount drinks while others discount food.

I always thought this tradition was based on Oregon liquour regulations requiring food offered with alcoholic beverages, but this might just be a rumour. Apparently most other U.S. cities don’t have this economical & enticing option for dining.

If you’re ready to test the Happy Hour waters, check out Urban Drink, which lists hours and offerings by neighborhood. This is a great value in Portland.

Another Portland value in 2012 is the price of Portland area homes, which as of December 2011 have decreased and average of 6.7% over the previous year. Even when comparing December 2011 home prices to November 2011, the signals were mixed about the future: average prices from .5% while median prices fell 3.7% The pace of sales however has picked up dramatically, while the inventory of homes for sale is just over 5 months. The Portland Housing Market Report December 2011 is issued by the Regional Multiple Listing Service by the middle of each month for the previous month’s results. The prices have been bouncing slightly up and down since last fall, and people in a position to buy Oregon real estate, can find a bargain in Portland homes for sale in 2012, and that includes even the more expensive neighborhoods of Lake Oswego, Dunthorpe, NW Portland, and the SW Hills of Portland.

Pending Home Sales Increase in Lake Oswego

Sharon Francis — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:07:22 +0000

Foothills Park on the Willamette in Lake Oswego

Although late to the recession party, even Lake Oswego home prices have been declining for the past couple years. Finally, the November 2011 RMLS Market Report has some good news for Lake Oswego home owners: pending sales increased a hefty 33.3% over October 2011, and showed an increase of 8.5% year to date over 2010.

Lake Oswego also saw the smallest decline in home value in the November report of all metro Portland areas. Prices decreased a mere 3.3% in Lake Oswego, with NW Portland and the West Hills in second and third places.

Is this a sign that Lake Oswego’s housing market is turning around? No one knows for sure, but it does show that Lake Oswego continues to be one of the most desirable areas in metro Portland. With the median price of a home at $365,500, Lake Oswego homes are $70,500 over the median price in the West Hills, greater Portland’s next highest priced area. For prospective buyers, the November housing report reinforces the resiliency of Lake Oswego real estate, and indicates that now could be a great opportunity to purchase a home there before prices go back up.

In November 2011, no Lake Oswego homes in the RMLS over $1,000,000 actually closed. A caveat is that on 10/31/11 and 12/1/11 two homes in that price range did close. There currently are 51 active listings over $1,000,000 in Lake Oswego.

In the price range between $300,000 to $500,000, 21 Lake Oswego homes sold in November. Seventeen Lake Oswego homes in November sold between $51,900 to $300,000. Of those, 12 were condos.

For the rest of greater Portland, pending home sales also saw an encouraging increase in numbers for November.

If you’d like to discuss this report more, or learn more info about the Lake Oswego or Portland housing markets, please give me a call at 503-516-8066.

Please comment on this post–would love to hear your opinion.

November 2011 RMLS Housing Market Report for Greater Portland & Lake Oswego

Portland Neighborhoods in Zillow’sTop Ten: Hillside, West Hills, Sunnyside

Sharon Francis — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:29:23 +0000

We know that lots of folks are relocating to Portland Or, but we were stunned to learn that Portland’s Hillside Neighborhood was the most searched U.S. neighborhood in September 2011 according to Zillow. But wait….there’s even more exciting news for Portland! Two more Portland neighborhoods were on that same Top Ten List, giving Portland 3 out of the 10 of most searched neighborhoods in the US for September. If you’re considering a move to Portland, you’ll want to explore the details of these popular neighborhoods to see if they meet your needs. Both Hillside and West Hills neighborhoods have median prices in the $500,000′s, but a home can be found in close in Sunnyside for the mid-$200,000′s.

Hillside Neighborhood in Portland

If you aren’t familiar with the Hillside neighborhood of Portland, perhaps you didn’t realize that when you visited the historic

Hillside Neighborhood in Portland

Pittock Mansion, or when you walked some of the Wildwood Trail, you were in the area of Portland called Hillside! Located above West Burnside, the old stagecoach road of the 19th century, Hillside homes with incredible views of Portland and Washington to the north, cling tenaciously to the hill. Curving narrow streets echoing those in Europe, display older homes–some grand, some not–with a few surprising contemporary homes wedged in. There’s even a condo complex, with access so steep off of Burnside, that the road is heated underneath in the event of a surprise winter freeze! Hillside adjoins the 5000 acre Forest Park, and its popular Wildwood Trail meanders through the neighborhood. I feel like I’m in a land far away when I’m in the beautiful and intriguing Hillside Neighborhood, as the streets entice me to find out what is around the next curve–and if you look at this map, you’ll appreciate how many curves there are! Sometimes this area is referred to as Kings Heights–and it’s not because we had royalty in Portland, but because a Mr. King took on the challenging task of devloping some of Hillside many years ago.

An old family friend, Will Bone, helped start the Hillside Community Center, designed by Portland’s famed architect Pietro Beluschi years earlier when it was the private Caitlin Gable School. Later it transformed into an arts school, and subsequently was put up for sale. Fearful that it could turn into condo’s or something else not compatible with the neighborhood, a devoted small group of homeowners, including Will, worked tirelessly to raise the funds to purchase it for a community center. Eventually some even mortgaged their homes in order to contribute. The Center was given to the City of Portland to run, and today the Belluschi Building remains–it was the old gym. This is an active area now, with tennis courts, soccer field, and meeting rooms.

If you’d like to check out the fascinating homes, you’re invited to search Hillside home listings.

Portland SW Hills Neighborhood

Zillow’s Top Ten home search list for September 2011 placed the SW Hills neighborhood as the #3 most popular US home search.

Map of Portland's SW Hills Neighborhood

For some, the SW Hills area above downtown Portland represents the quintessential look of elegant old Portland. Along Vista Avenue are the mansions of early bankers & lumber barons. I like to imagine how grand it must have been in the early 20th century–as in some Portland neighborhoods, you can still spot the iron rings in the curbs for tying up the horses. As Vista turns into the winding Patton Road, the grand mansions yield to an eclectic assortment of homes both old and new nestled in wooded areas, and then to more organized neighborhoods again on the west side of the hills. For the highest point in Portland, a visit to the 1000 plus foot high Council Crest will reward you with a view of 5 mountains, and a 180 degree view of Portland and its suburbs. Council Crest has a long history, from a meeting spot for Native Americans, to an amusement park in the early 20th century with streetcars ferrying people up the hillside. Some hikers start on trails lower down near near OHSU, and make the trek to Counil Crest. Visit this elegant SW Hills neighborhood and search for homes.

Sunnyside Neighborhood in Portland

Bordered by Hawthorne on the south, and Stark Street on the north, & wedged between SE 28th & 52nd Avenues, the Sunnyside Neighborhood of SE Portland was #9 in national home searches on September 2011 according to a Zillow report. That’s not a

The Sunnyside Neighborhood

surprise. Sunnyside is the hip place to live in Portland, with interesting & quirky districts conveniently located within an easy biking commute to downtown Portland. Two parallel streets or “districts” offer shops, cafes, pubs. The premiere & oldest developed district is SE Hawthorne, a mecca for sampling casual dining from Korean to Thai

Hawthorne Street Shops

to French to Japanese, to pizza served served with movies at the Baghdad Theatre or at highly rated Apizza Scholls . Here you’ll find bookstores, vintage clothing & exchange shops, boutiques, gift shops, records, and shops catering to children’s clothing and toys. People watching from sidewalk cafes is free & fun. For bike commuters, it’s an easy ride to downtown Portland via the Hawthorne Bridge–about 30 blocks below the Sunnyside neighborhood.

SE Belmont District is the up & coming cousin of Hawthorne with cafes, pubs including the historic Horse Brass Pub, brewery, some of Portland’s famous food carts, Movie Madness with its world class collection of dvd’s & videos, the Wunderland Arcade & Avalon Theater, yoga, and theatre companies including Profile Theatre which shares space at Theatre Theatre. You get the picture! Locally owned grocery stores such as Zupan’s and fabulous middle eastern food at Hoda’s are some of the other treats here. Between Stark Street & Belmont is Peacock Lane where each year the quaint homes all decorate for Christmas. The entire Sunnyside neighborhood would score high on Walkscore! Homes here include Victorian, early 20th century, and craftsman style homes from the 30′s & 40′s. Homes in Sunnyside are more moderately priced than Hillside or West Hills. Take a peek at some Sunnyside homes for sale.

If you’d like more information about the Hillside, West Hills or Sunnyside neighborhoods of Portland, please contact us.

Lake Oswego & Tigard Weekly Market Report October 31

Sharon Francis — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 06:26:42 +0000

Lake Oswego & Tigard Oct 31 Housing Markets: A Tale of Two Suburbs.

Lake Oswego & Tigard: Suburban Neighbors

There’s no question that Lake Oswego is one of Portland’s most beautiful & expensive suburbs, with homes ranging from simple cottages to an island with a mansion currently for sale. Those of us who follow the real estate market in Lake Oswego–or any other Portland area for that matter, can get so wrapped up in the market statistics for our area of interest, that we lack a perspective about the overall direction of the Portland area housing market. Because Lake Oswego is adjacent to the similarly sized suburb of Tigard, I thought it might be helpful to compare the two using the statistics for the last week of October 2011. Tigard is a more moderately priced city separated only by Interstate 5 from Lake Oswego, but it too has a wide range of housing options from simple ranch style starter homes to estates in the area of Bull Mountain (but there’s no island for sale in Tigard).

Looking at home listing & sale figures that are compiled weekly by Altos Research and provided locally courtesy of Ticor Title, the weekly health of the Lake Oswego market revealed that it is more sluggish than the more moderately priced Tigard homes. Here’s excerpts on Lake Oswego & Tigard taken from the Altos & Ticor report:

Altos summed up the trend shown by the Lake Oswego statistics with the comment “mildly positive”, based on tightening of inventory & the resulting increase in the market action index, which is directly related to home sales currently exceeding new inventory . Any Market Action index 30 or above is considered a seller’s market, while numbers under 30 indicate a buyer’s market. Last weeks Market Action Index for Lake Oswego was 14, barely over the previous week’s 13.9.

Tigard was rated as “bullish” with a tightening inventory, falling days on the market and a continually increasing Market Action Index which was at 16.1. Tigards decreasing average days on the market of 167 vs Lake Oswego’s average of an increasing 222 days on the market undoubtedly reflects the increasing strength of more moderately priced homes.

For a quick review of some other west side areas, plus Portland I’ve summed up the Altos reports for October 31. Portland is included as a city which is pretty meaningless because of the vast difference in its neighborhoods, but next week, we’ll look at the weekly stats broken down by areas within Portland.

Weekly Housing Market Report October 31 Report sampling of Portland Suburbs

Some of these suburbs are quite a distance from each other–Hillsboro and Lake Oswego are prime examples, separated by 20-30 miles. The difference in the housing markets in some ways echoes the micro climates of these cities as well–Hillsboro tends to be a bit colder, where Lake Oswego may get more rain than some other areas.

These reports are available for specific neighborhoods, or zip codes. Contact me if you’d like to receive these Weekly Market Reports by Altos (courtesy of Ticor Title) for your neighborhood or any others.

Autumn in Lovely Lake Oswego

Sharon Francis — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:32:13 +0000

Lake Oswego in the autumn is even more beautiful than in the summer. If you’re considering relocating to Lake Oswego, this would

Downtown Lake Oswego

be a wonderful time to visit. The red and yellow of the foliage mixed with the impressively tall Douglas Firs are a perfect backdrop for viewing the Lake, hiking through the parks, and shopping and dining in downtown Lake Oswego. My video is short–and covers mostly beautiful places like downtown and the parks. For my next Lake Oswego video, I’ll cover Lake Oswego schools, the Lake Grove area, and more neighborhoods.

The renovated part of downtown Lake Oswego, Lakewood Village shopping center, next to Millennium Plaza, is a favorite place to stroll, have lunch or coffee outside, and do some shopping in the locally owned boutiques & shops. In season, the Lake Oswego Farmers’ Market is located right on the plaza, making for a pleasant Saturday morning! On my video you’ll notice several restaurants here including locally owned Blast Burger, a new burger place with big screen TV’s, a restaurant featuring rotisserie grilled chicken, Mazana Rotisserie Grill, Five Spice Restaurant, now a seafood focused menu, Zeppo-a casual Italian restaurant, and my favorite, St. Honore Bakery, all within 30 seconds of each other. St Honore , named for the patron saint of bakers, is truly an inspired & cozy boulangerie.

A few years ago, an out of state client arrived to look at homes in Lake Oswego. Let’s call her Sherry. I invited her to St Honore Bakery for pastries and coffee first thing in the morning before we set off to look at homes for sale. Of course we were greeted by the aroma of fresh breads baking in their wood fired ovens that were built with bricks imported from France. The locals were enjoying lively conversations in the French style ambiance, many gathered at the long wooden community table. When I picked up Sherry the next day to visit more homes for sale, she declared that she wanted to find a home within one mile of St. Honore, which was what she considered to be walking distance. And that’s just what we did! Sherry’s still walking to St. Honore & enjoying the adjacent Farmer’s Market.

The first park on the video tour is George Roger’s Park, and yes, George generously donated the land around his home to Lake Oswego. At first glance, the park appears to be only several acres of sports fields, and the site of the Lakewood Center for the Arts annual juried show and festival. But below the fields, the road curves down to the heart of the park, which honors the original Iron Smelting Oven–the first real industry of Lake Oswego in the 1800′s. Restored in the past couple years, the stunning brick structure is the centerpiece of the park, surrounded by rich landscaping. A few steps down reveals the sandy beachfront on the Willamette River. It was here in the 1800′s that river boats landed. Hiking paths can take you farther up the Willamette.

Another Lake Oswego park on the river–one of two north of George Roger’s Park, is the newer Foothills Park, with a classical centerpiece surrounded by a simple circle of water. There’s covered picnic area, outdoor cafe style seating, an ampitheatre for summer concerts, and a viewing platform for enjoying the Willamette River. With Foothills Park’s classical references in both landscaping and architecture, I can almost imagine being in a Maxfield Parrish painting on a warm sunny day.

Two lovely neighborhoods can be briefly seen: the elegant Palisades with wide winding streets and tall stands of Douglas Firs, and the cottage filled First Addition, one of the oldest Lake Oswego neighborhoods on the edge of downtown.

Take a peek at the video, and if you are considering moving to Lake Oswego, I’d be delighted to arrange a personal tour for you and offer my services as your exclusive buyer’s agent. For more information and pictures about Lake Oswego, and to search for homes, please visit http://www.myportlandoregonhome.com/lake-oswego/ . And if you have suggestions of other places I should include on my next video, I’d love to hear from you.

Portland April 2011 Market Action for Home Sales Just Released

Sharon Francis — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:06:13 +0000

The April Portland Market Action Report from the RMLS has just been released today, May 13, 2011, with some interesting figures for anyone interested in the Portland real estate market. That should include any home owner in the Portland metro area, and any prospective buyer of Portland real estate! Now may be the time to finally take action!

As in recent months, the number of sales and the average and median sales prices were down over a year ago by significant numbers.—For example,closed Portland home sales were 17% less in April 2011 than April 2010, pending sales dropped 33% over a year ago, and the number of new listings was down 34%.

Spring Walk Tryon Creek State Park, Portland, OR

The good news for those of us looking for signs of life and stabilization in the Portland housing market was the April increase in sales prices over the prior month of March. The median Portland home sale price increased to $219,900 in April 2011, up 2.3% over March 2011, while the average home sale price increased 2.4% over March, to a sales price of $267,300.

Additionally, inventory of Portland homes for sale sunk to 7.2 (originally reported as 6.6 but corrected by RMLS at about 5:00 PM April 13) months. That means if no new homes were listed, the existing homes for sale would be gone in 7.2 months.

Of course these figures include a vast expanse of territory and neighborhoods and can be somewhat misleading if you are particularly interested in specific neighborhoods. For example, pending sales in the area surrounding Mt. Hood were down 46.7% over 2010, while the average sales price was down 15.4% over April 2010. In contrast, West Portland which includes Portland city center and the West Hills, suffered only a 17% decrease in pending sales over April 2010, and a mere 1.5% decrease in average sales price. Northwest Washington County had similar figures, with only 18.9% decrease in pending sales over a year ago, and a mere 1.8% decline in the average sales price over April 2010.

We real estate agents have our own ways of gauging the market–nonscientific ways of course! The word around the Portland real estate water coolers is that attendance at Open Houses is picking up significantly–often the first indication that people are thinking of buying or selling. At a recent open house for a Portland floating home, we had about 22 separate groups visit the home–if you’d like an online view of this gorgeous home on the Willamette River, please visit www.PortlandFloatingHome.com

Click here for the complete April RMLS Portland housing Market Report or contact me at sharonportland@gmail.com or call me at 503-516-8066.

Happy House Hunting!

Portland Or Real Estate Market Report February 2011

Sharon Francis — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:50:11 +0000

Portland OR

Here it is–already the middle of the month in Portland when the statistics for the past month of Portland real estate sales are released by the RMLS-Regional Multiple Listing Service. There is a case for cautious optimism about Portland February home sales. According to the metro Portland RMLS Market Report, February closed sales were 3.8% higher than January 2011, and were up 5.4% over the same period last year. Due partially to a 7.8% decrease in new February listings, the total inventory of Portland area homes for sale decreased a bit from 11.3% to 10.9%.

When we look at sale price averages or medians the home price numbers are somewhat skewed by the large geographic area included in the report. For example home values in the Mt.Hood area decreased 20% over 2010,and the prestigious Lake Oswego/West Linn areas lost 10.5% , while close in neighborhoods of NE and SE Portland declined in value only .5% and 1.9% respectively, and the more suburban Bethany area near Intel declined only 1.6%.

Mt. Hood

Are prices stabilized? It’s too soon to tell–the median home sale price of $215,000 in January decreased by .06% to $213,700 in February. Some say that March 2011 Portland home prices are at about 2004 levels.

Is this the right time to buy Portland or Lake Oswego homes? Most experts would say yes, considering the low pricing of Portland and the significant price reduction of Lake Oswego area homes.

Another factor plays into the formula–the interest rates for Portland home mortgages. Interest rates had been increasing in recent weeks, but the result of the horrific events in Japan this past week, has been to bring the rates down again–still near a historic low point. This combination of low prices and softening interest rates offers buyers a true opportunity for investment. There are other pressing reasons to buy a Portland home sooner than later. Some lenders, such as FHA, are increasing other costs associated with loans such as significantly increased mortgage insurance. For detailed information about Portland mortgage interest rates, please check out this latest March 2011 report from Freddie Mac and a comprehensive survey of March 2011 interest rates by area in the U.S. including specifically the West Coast area of Portland.

If you already live in Portland, you’re probably like me–beyond the raw numbers of the market reports, you love Portland and want to be a meaningful part of it by making a reasonable investment to have your own home in Portland. And if you live elsewhere, we invite you to visit to find out the many things Portlanders love about our beautiful city. You might want to stay.

Portland OR Feb 2011 RMLS Market Report

Downtown Portland OR on the shores of the Willamette River

Thanks for visiting my blog. Please call me at 503-516-8066 or email me at sharonportland@gmail.com

with any questions you might have about Portland or the Portland Real Estate Market. And please visit my main website through the menu tabs above at www.MyPortlandOregonHome.com

Sharon A. Francis, Principal Broker

Licensed in Oregon

New Oregon Regs for Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Sharon Francis — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:42:52 +0000

It’s no April Fool’s joke--finally Oregon is protecting renters and homeowners from invisible deadly carbon monoxide fumes. As of April 1, 2011, upon the sale of a home, sellers are required to have one or more properly functioning carbon monoxide alarms installed prior to conveying title or transferring possession of a dwelling. This applies to sellers of one and two family dwellings, multifamily housing and manufactured dwellings containing a carbon monoxide source. For those who own or live in housing rentals, these alarms must also be in place in all of the units.

The alarms must be located on each level of the home with a sleeping area and in each bedroom or within 15 feet outside each sleeping area. And a quick tip–the most preferred models simply plug into a wall outlet, and should be a certain distance from the floor–not the ceiling–for the most effective protection. For more details,http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/SFM/CommEd_CO_Program.shtml. Even if you aren’t selling your home, please protect your family by plugging them in today!

Portland Floating Homes

Sharon Francis — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 02:13:51 +0000

Columbia River

With a new listing for a large floating home at Macadam Bay on Portland’s Willamette River, I realized it was time to refresh my knowledge about floating homes. Portland is rumored to have the third largest collection of floating homes in the United States. According to an article in Oregon Business in March 2010, Portland has over 2300 floating homes in the metro area. These are primarily located on the Columbia River and its backwaters, or the Willamette River with locations off Macadam in the John’s Landing area, on the east side of the river in Sellwood, and in Oregon City.

While years ago many of these were fishing cottages and weekend get-aways–and there’s still plenty of those–today you’ll find most are now permanent residences as well. These homes range in all sizes from green mini-homes to large architecturally designed floating residences. The interiors vary as much or more than land homes, but all have all the modern conveniences including water, sewer, electricity, cable, internet.

Macadam Bay 25

Once you’ve tasted the good life on the water, where you are one with nature, my friends tell me it is hard to return to land. Living on a floating home, you embrace the rhythm of the river and the tranquility it brings. The romance of this out of the ordinary life style is enticing. You can breakfast watching the wildlife, kayak, canoe or boat at your pleasure, sunbathe on the deck, and join your neighbors for wine on their deck or topside in the evening.

While all sorts of people and families reside on water, included in this mix are empty nesters who’ve left the large land home, professionals seeking the respite of nature, young people ready for adventure, small business owners working from home, and retirees enjoying the tranquil settings.

For more info about floating homes, financing, check out this website for the newest listing at Macadam Bay Moorage in the John’s Landing area: http://www.PortlandFloatingHome.com.

Macadam Bay Floating Homes Portland OR

Portland Oregon–Sustainable City USA

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:51:03 +0000

Are you thinking about buying a “green” Portland home? Or perhaps considering moving to Portland where the way of life may be more green and sustainably friendly than where you currently live? As a Portland and Lake Oswego area real estate agent, licensed as a principal broker, I’m ready to assist you in either case–I’ve been trained at the national headquarters of Earth Advantage,in Portland, Or, and am a certified S.T.A.R. “green” real estate agent in Portland metro including Lake Oswego, Beaverton, Hillsboro and Tigard.

If you fly to Portland, Oregon, one of the first things you’ll notice is the very green landscape in any season–Oregon is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. You won’t miss the brown or gold hills of California here in the Portland area of Northwestern Oregon. Our evergreen rain forests create a lush environment year round, and our mostly mild Pacific Northwest climate creates a changing scene in our gardens year round.

Portland has always been on the cutting edge of “green” living practices as well. And now the whole country is embracing green practices to one degree or another. Even NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman sees the green movement as an important political strategy to restore the U.S. at home and abroad.

Beginning with Oregon’s Bottle Bill in 1971–the first such bill in the U.S. designed to discourage litter and landfill, and instead to encourage recycling, Oregon citizens have adopted a variety of mechanisms to protect and enhance life in our state. Portland in particular has often been the leader, and often through Metro, the tri-county agency that governs the three counties making up the Portland area, namely Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties. In 2008, Popular Science Magazine named Portland as the greenest city in the U.S.A. as have other organizations in the years since.

Annually since 2006 through 2008, Portland has been chosen as the most sustainable city in the U.S. by Sustainability Lane. In April 2007, the president of the U.S. Green Building Council visited Portland to bestow an award on Portland developer Gerding Edlin, a local Portland company which may have participated in more green projects than any other at this point.

When considering what makes Portland “green”, it is clear that Portland’s approach to several issues has created the city we love today. In April 2007, The Oregonian reported that Portlanders’ use of energy, water, and miles driven have all decreased over the last ten years, but we still have a long way to go. Portland’s Office of Sustainability offers tools for individuals and businesses for energy conservation and sustainable practices. Portland First Multiple Listing Service Offering searches for Green Portland Homes for Sale Beginning in February 2007, Portland Regional Multiple Listing Service was the first MLS in the U.S. to offer searches for green real estate–real estate agents have several levels of green and energy efficient options to use in the searches. You can search for green Portland homes on our ultimate Portland real estate search engine.

The Portland MLS search for green homes offers many categories including certification by Energy Star, Earth Advantage, a combination of those two, and Leeds certified homes of various levels. When using our Portland green homes search engine, you’ll be able to see on each listing that comes up which category was used for certifying the home “green”. The certification process for green homes has expanded this year with the National Home Builders Association coming up with their own independently verified process, but some say their standard is lower than the LEEDS standards.