Adam Bogle, CRS, Southern Oregon... The Most Recognized Realtor in the Universe

There are currently 315 houses listed for sale in Ashland.

There are 35 pending sales, and 26 places sold last month.

This roughly shows a 10 month supply of inventory in Ashland.

With every set of statisics I run or receive there is always good news....and there is always some bad news. That is the nature of real estate. What is good for sellers, is not necessarily good for buyers...and vice versa.

That being said...it appears that we are approaching a point in the market where the two may be getting close to meeting...where there is a balance in the market, and neither the seller, nor the buyer has the convincing upper hand. That point is if we hit a point where there is about 6 months of housing supply at the current rate of sales and listings.

We are getting there. It looks right now like there may be about a 8 month supply (down from 14).

• Sales by volume are up by 30% over this time last year (county wide)
• Sales by volume in Ashland are up 35%
• Median prices are down across the region to appoximately 2004 prices
• Listing volume is down 27% from this time last year
• Listing volume in Ashland is down 35%
• REO/Short sales account for 17% of all listings
• REO/Short sales account for 47.5% of all sales
• Last month REO/Short sales accounted for 18% of all listings

The whole chart with all areas should be published tomorrow in the Mail Tribune.

In the last 3 months in Jackson County

• 384 total sold residential properties
• 125 sold REO properties
• 35 sold Short Sale properties
• Median price of REO/short sale properties is 20% lower than non-duress properties

Total 42% of the sold market is REO/Short sale

In the last 3 months in Ashland

• 39 total sold residential properties
• 4 sold REO properties
• 2 sold Short Sale properties

Total 15% of the Ashland real estate sold market is REO/Short sale

In the last 3 months in East Medford

• 91 total sold residential properties
• 27 sold REO properties
• 7 sold Short Sale properties

Total 37% of the East Medford real estate sold market is REO/Short sale

In the last 3 months in West Medford

• 60 total sold residential properties
• 19 sold REO properties
• 4 sold Short Sale properties

Total 38% of the West Medford real estate sold market is REO/Short sale

In the last 3 months in Central Point

• 65 total sold residential properties
• 28 sold REO properties
• 11 sold Short Sale properties

Total 60% of the Central Point real estate sold market is REO/Short sale

In the last 3 months in Eagle Point

• 34 total sold residential properties
• 15 sold REO properties
• 3 sold Short Sale properties

Total 53% of the Eagle Point real estate sold market is REO/Short sale

To search for properties, please visit www.AgentInAKilt.com or www.realestate-southernoregon.com

statistics based on information reported to the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service, and may not contain all sales

Happy New Year all....

I am very pleased to announce the launch of a new property tool for Southern Oregon. For many years now, in fact longer than I have been in real estate, the general public has had limited options on how to effectively search the Internet themselves for homes in Ashland, Medford, or any part of Jackson County. If you are anxious to see the new tool, click on one of the links below.

Search for area properties by style

Search for area properties by map

I remember about 6 years ago, I was trying to get a handle on real estate...and did not have my real estate license yet..and I searched all over for the best way to keep up on what was going on with houses currently for sale in Medford and Ashland.

Sara Walker at Patricia Sprague Real Estate had a website www.hatsoff2u.com that provided the best ability to search for real estate in Southern Oregon. In fact, 6 years later she still has the same site there. When I did get my license...I duplicated her websites ability on my own website. However, I always felt that there should be a more friendly way to look for properties. Maybe a search by map. Other areas in the U.S. had much better tools than we had available here.

So I started to search for other companies that could take the information that we had available as Realtors, and turn it into a format that looked friendly to non-Realtors.

They were actually easy to find...however the stumbling block became the rules of our local MLS. The companies existed to format the information, our MLS just didn't allow them to have it. In my opinion, this was a big disservice to everyone.

I went about trying to change the rules....2 years on the board later, 1 CEO change, 1 year pushing the tech committee that this move was not only the right one, but inevitable..and hours of research...finally this service is available.

In years to come I will work to make more and more tools available to Realtors and the general public. My value as a Realtor is not in the information I hold and protect, but in the information and expertise that I am willing and capable of sharing.

At this time, I am the only Realtor in Ashland who has this service..but I am not keeping it a secret. I have emailed every agent that I have in my database a link to it, and let them know it is available to them as well.

But for now, if you want to search for Real Estate in Ashland Oregon, visit www.AgentInAKilt.com

I look forward to a great 2009, and may you all have a prosperous year.

The information in this blog is provided courtesy of Jamie Baker, now of Ticor Title. It is mainly taken from an email that she sent out to Realtors in Ashland. But it is very good information.

You may be surprised to learn that the Ashland taxes actually went down this year. This is due to the fact that the 07/08 taxes included a bond for the schools. Most accounts will see a decrease by a couple hundred dollars, but it has to do with the assessed value of the property itself.

I know a lot of you may be asking if you will see a decrease in your taxes because the property values are declining. The answer to that question in a nutshell is "NO". Here's why:

· When Measure 50 was approved by voters in 1997, a MAV, or Maximum Assessed Value was established for each property. That value was calculated for each property by subtracting 10% from the property's 1995-96 Real Market Value (RMV). Under Measure 50, property tax is based on the lower of either the RMV or the MAV.

· The MAV increases by 3% each year as long as the Real Market Value of the property is greater that the MAV. As always, the Real Market Value changes with the real estate market.

· Since 1997 the real estate market (and Real Market Value) has seen unprecedented growth while the MAV has continued to go up the constitutional 3% per year. This has caused the MAV to remain much lower than the Real Market Value, ranging from 35% to 65% of the RMV, with the average property's MAV being 52% lower than the RMV. The Real Market Value would have to drop by 52% before the taxes would be affected.

Per the County's calculations, the changes in Real Market Value for the 08/09 year are as follows:

ASHLAND -11 TO 13%

PHOENIX/TALENT -9 TO 12%

EAST MEDFORD -18-21%

WEST MEDFORD/APPLEGATE -17 TO 24%

CENTRAL POINT/SAMS VALLEY -17 TO 20%

ROGUE RIVER AREA -9 TO 14%

NORTH COUNTY -7 TO 11%

(The information above was shared with us(Ticor Title) by Dan Ross, the County Assessor.)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:

TAXES ARE DUE BY NOVEMBER 15TH, BUT THIS YEAR THE 15TH FALLS ON A SATURDAY, SO THE PAYMENT MUST BE IN BY MONDAY, THE 17TH. If you pay in full by the 17^th, you will receive the 3% discount.