Jason and Amber Gardner Realtors (971) 832-1234

Sherwood Oregon continues to to do great things.

Known as one of the fastest, most sought after communities in the State of Oregon, Sherwood continues to have a magical buzz that surrounds our heart of the community culture. We're known for our harmonious blend of old and new, whimsical "Robin Hood" fame, well appointed suburban location, excellent schools and national recognition from Money Magazines, 2007 "Best Places to Live" in the United States.

But it doesn't stop there... Our humble little city is taking it "big time" online. Sherwood Oregon wins the 2008 ESRI SAG Award for its implementation of a new Geographic Information System (GIS) and state-of-the-art mapping software with GPS and Google Earth integration.

As a Sherwood resident and local business owner in our successful real estate practice, we always say "community" is what sets Sherwood apart, and having a savvy city behind it makes a prosperous combination for our towns future.

ESRI presented Sherwood with the 2008 SAG Award (Special Achievement in GIS). This company has been designing and developing the world's leading Geographic Information System (GIS) technology since 1969. As stated by GIS "it's an important tool-one that helps shape the world around us." Investing in the growth of Sherwood, the city has embraced this new way of thinking to streamline the needs of our community while taking our resources and public website to the next level.

The City of Sherwood acquired the help of GeoNorth to impliment their in-depth Graphic Informational Systems (GIS) and state-of-the-art Mapping Software. The city plans to use its new high tech abilities for hundreds of applications as they continue to implement it as an integral part of their day to day work. Paul Ortiz, Program/Project Supervisor was kind enough to chat with me about the some of the cities direction and plans moving forward. In my interview with GeoNorth, I was able to interact and test drive their software myself. I can see how it will become a major resource for consumers, developers, Realtors, fire departments, city workers and look forward to using it to help our clients.

Right from the City of Sherwood website, we'll have the option to see a compilation of consolidated, up-to-date, readily available data otherwise individually accessible from Washington County, Metro and other bordering jurisdictions. Excluding private owner information, the public can use this new interactive informational resource to locate property and important information. With just a click you can customize specific searches, interact with maps, zoom to direct positions, pull up County and Metro data such as tax lots and information, queries, zoning, survey, utility information, permit, as-builts, report centric mapping and more. There will be access to custom links, historical aerial images and a complete PDF library of maps. A great resource the city will always be improving and adding to.

According to Ross Schultz, Sherwood's previous City Manager, "I have known that shrinking sources of revenue and increasing human resource costs will continue to put pressure on providing the quality service our Citizens demand. Sherwood's strategy has been to address this issue with the planned infusion of technology so that we may keep our productivity at its highest level. GeoNorth has done an excellent job of helping us with that goal. Implementing GIS technology will allow Sherwood citizens direct access to City data and eliminate the need for staff involvement."

The Gardner Team would like to congratulate the City of Sherwood Oregon as the 2008's SAG Award Winners for Special Achievement in GIS and taking a cutting edge approach to investing in the success of our community.

Sharing your passion for real estate, community and everyday living,

Jason and Amber Gardner | Your Local Expert. Your Trusted Resource.

General Blog Disclaimer
Copyright © 2008 By The Gardner Team, All Rights Reserved. *Sherwood Oregon Continues to do Great Things* Contact The Gardner Team for Customized Real Estate Services in and around the Sherwood Oregon Area.

In a time when it's more important to work with the right Realtor than ever before, you're probably finding yourself with a lot of questions surrounding a confusing time fed by a national media. There shouldn't be a special pair of goggles needed to see how your local market is doing. No two markets or the Realtors in it are ever the same. It can get pretty noisy out there, let's get through the maze of smoke and mirrors shall we?

What you've noticed is more houses are on the market, there are more foreclosures, more expired listings, and even a lot of Realtors that often sound the same. When there's high levels of inventory, the streets are filled with signs and directionals followed by one Realtor after the next. So who's following who? Don't get caught up in all the noise, statically only a handful of these Realtors are actually selling the majority of your local inventory - so be careful who you choose to work with.

Here's a couple key facts: Statistics show that only 7% of Realtors are actually selling 90% of today's current real estate inventory! And lucky for us, the rate of foreclosure in Oregon is 10% of what it is compared to states like California and Arizona! Your local market will speak to you and if you have the ear to hear it, those numbers speak for themselves. Formulated with the right Realtor, their experience, pricing strategy, perception and promotion, a delicate balance is formed to ensure your success.

How's the market is one of the number one questions we're asked every day - We know that's information you're always looking for so we offer a free online - real time Local Market Report Tool and you'll also find regular market breakdowns conveniently here on our blog. We've got you covered.

The Sherwood market is moving! How would you like to be one of the newest homes to go up for sale amongst one of the largest pools of homes for sale in your criteria, and along side listings exceeding a year on the market... And then be the first one to sell? Well, here's a great example of that. Our listing on Aspen Lakes Drive in Sherwood Oregon is now PENDING.

As the local market experts and trusted advisers for our client of this beautiful Sherwood home, we were able to successfully announce their home to the market and sell it for "market value" in a reasonable amount of time - in less than 90 days to be exact. Their community like others had foreclosures and a number of homes in general to compete with. A handful of listings were on the same street with one being directly next door. This criteria is currently one of the slower moving with some of the highest levels of inventory offered in town right now AND this home had been listed un-successfully by two other agents prior to us representing the listing. While working with us, their home was the "last" home put up for sale in their direct area and the "first" one to sell. We had great traffic because of the amount of exposure we provide, but it was our successful neighborhood marketing campaign that brought in the buyer for this home.

If you mean business and want results, the odds are in your favor working with a tried and true Realtor who's actively getting the job done in your area. However, don't be too quick to judge. Just because you see some signs around town, an agent that already has a listing in your neighborhood, or you think they look pretty good because they have several homes "listed" for sale - doesn't mean they're actually "selling" homes. As this is being written we have 15 properties on the market. More importantly, during these past two weeks alone, we processed 6 transactions that are now under contract and PENDING!

We're moving the market because we know the area inventories and the communities we serve inside and out. When it comes to helping our buyers or sellers we not only know the competition, we've been through the homes ourselves. Not just online, in person - several times. Everyday we see our local inventory - price changes, new listings, expired listings, short sale, foreclosures, pending and sold's. The market has a pulse and we have our finger on it all day, everyday. At the drop of a hat, clients can ask us where the best values are to buy and the market trends to beat.

There's more to selling your home than a post in your yard and even a few flashy marketing pieces. Take a closer look...Is the Realtor in your area doing consistent marketing? Are they reaching the needed target audience? Is the marketing fit for the buyers eye or is it more focused on pleasing what the seller wants to see and hear? It's important to remember that the seller isn't the one buying the home, so the advertising must be designed to reach the willing, able and ready buyers and get them through your front door.

Maybe as you look around, you're finding that the marketing is all about the Agent? This is common too. One big head shot, up close and center stage - all the time. It appears the Realtors marketing efforts may seem to be more about their personal branding and less about the homes they represent. Tactics like these are not as effective in our market and while these familiar faces may look good at first sight, they're just not selling as many homes.

Many times marketing and branding are confused as one in the same, but they're very different and should be treated as such. Usually you'll notice this happen when an agent is working on a tight budget and they're trying to kill two birds with one stone. Their goal is to take the "stand out and get noticed" approach to compete with the top producers. This doesn't sound like such a bad idea? But what about investing those funds in your clients so their homes stand out and get noticed? If more Realtors did that, we'd all be selling more homes. My advice is worry less about what others are doing, start investing in your real estate business and most importantly the best interests of your clients. Marketing you may get the listing, but it's not going to sell their home.

Let's face it, you need an agent that understands the market, the buying audience, one with a plan and campaign that is always in full force and most importantly can afford the investment it can take to properly market and sell your home.

We invite you to experience the "Gardner Difference" by working with a team that's respected as leaders in their field. Realtors that model their business, not by what others do - rather well established professionals who give their clients a leading edge and stand by one core philosophy, "An ongoing commitment to YOUR success." We're here to share your passion for real estate, community and everyday living. We're here as your local expert and trusted real estate resource.

Through the results we deliver, clients have established our reputation... "Jason and Amber are Realtors you can trust..." "They're Doing everything right and whatever it takes to sell your home..." "They're such a part of the community everywhere you go..." And, "Jason and Amber are extremely professional and have a lot of integrity..." At the end of the day, it's the impact you have on your clients that defines you and matters most. Get the buzz on our local business by visiting our website www.TheGardnerTeam.net and view our testimonials page.

Bottom line, you want to work with a professional who really has the experience under their belt and can back it up. You're tired of being miss-lead by a falsely perceived "me too" media. Your investment is too important to get caught up working with second best or the less qualified with a list of exaggerated experience and only high hopes to offer. You want the real deal. We understand.

Ultimately, all anyone wants to worry about is "where can I find the best resources?", "Who's the best Realtor in my area to work with?", "I just want to find my perfect dream home!", and "Who will get the job done and sell my house with the least amount of problems and in the shortest period of time?" There are likely a dozen agents ready to cut in line to dish out their barrowed version of originality backed by promises they think you want to hear. No one blames you if you're not interested in hearing the encyclopedia of clichés and gimmicks by those who ride on the coat tails of their successors.

Like you, most prefer to work with a true professional who's worked hard for years to establish themselves and offer a proven track record personally and professionally. Someone who's actually done the work to earn the right say "we simply sell more real estate...", "we're the preferred Realtors of choice...", and "we're the #1, top producing Realtors in our office...." Don't be fooled by the masses, these are statements that only a select group of Realtors can really make. We've worked hard in our local market and earned the right to be amongst this elite class of true professionals. In fact, our years of success aside, Mr. Guy Bennette, Principle Broker of Sherwood John L. Scott stated in a recent interview "The Gardner Team are the top producing brokers in our office. They advertise more and promote their properties more."

We're in the business of helping real people by delivering real results. You have our word that we'll always provide you with the best real estate resources, communicate the truth and never lose focus by measuring our success based on what others are doing, but rather by the level of service we provide and real results we deliver through our ongoing commitment to YOUR success- before, during and even after your transaction.

Top Office Producer, Awarded John L. Scott's Presidents Elite, (MDC) Diamond and Diamond Platinum Members of the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors, Members of PMAR and RMLS, Nominated as Americas Best Agent for Sherwood, ranked the #1 Agent representing Sherwood on Activerain - the Nations largest professional real estate network and ranked as the #1 Featured Agent on Localism... We couldn't do it without you, thank you for your trust and referrals.

Sharing Your Passion for Real Estate, Community and Everyday Living...

General Blog Disclaimer
Copyright © 2008 By The Gardner Team, All Rights Reserved. *Looking for clarity in a noisy market* Contact The Gardner Team for Customized Real Estate Services in and around the Sherwood Oregon Area.

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Courtesy of Sherwood's Preferred Real Estate Team

Jason and Amber Gardner, Realtors

John L. Scott Real Estate Sherwood

www.TheGardnerTeam.net

Keeping informed with GOOD Market Data is money in your pocket... And when you don't have to pay to get it, well now that's even better!

Contact us for an in-depth real estate and community market data

Track housing market conditions, sales, supply and demand trends

Know the going rate for the average dollar per square foot

Homes for sale and the prices they're asking

Community & School info

We can offer you real-time analytics directly from our local MLS

We know you want real information from the real place that matters!

This graph is an "at a glance" view for Sherwood - The current average $ PSF is $180.00

Call Jason Gardner Today for a CMA and Market Report (971) 832-1234

Click Photo for Sherwood Gazette Story

February 2008:

New Plaza Coming to Sherwood

If you know Sherwood, then you know it's one of Oregon's fastest growing towns. Just in 2007 CNN's Money Magazine named our beautiful little town one of the TOP BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN THE NATION. Just after that huge story and testimony of our community hit the net and news stands everywhere, rumor has it that major companies started calling in about making Sherwood their next home.

With many new developments, including the new school project on the way, this Plaza couldn't be coming at a better time for Sherwood's next - up and coming growth spurt. After seeing the sign posted on Tualatin Sherwood Road, just there on the corner near Red Robin, it occurred to me "this is a sign"... a sign that this plaza is no longer just a figment of imagination... It's coming! "This is a sign" that Sherwood is taking not just a step, but rather a leap into meeting the demands of our future, while adding meaning to our history.

Between this project and the positive changes that the new school development project will bring - for me, I no longer just hear the buzz... In fact, I'm beginning to actually feel the force of the great things in store for Sherwood! And, no matter how big our little town of Sherwood gets, I'm confident that it'll remain loyal to the small, hometown charm it holds over us.

Do you live in Sherwood, come to Sherwood, own a business or work in Sherwood, or are considering moving to Sherwood? Then you're a core part of the Sherwood community. The core is the force of values that makes Sherwood what it is today and what Sherwood will stand for tomorrow.

This Sherwood Oregon site is about uniting the core in one place where you can participate in Sherwood topics and discussions, when it's most convenient for you.

As community members and local business owners ourselves, the topic of the new Shopping Plaza is a must. You're already commenting about what you'd like to see come to town or the services you wish we had, so make them count and put you comments here, in a place they can be seen.

What you have to say is important. Add your comments!