Melina Tomson, M.S. Salem Oregon Real Estate Specialist

Sunday April 13, 2008

Liberty House is holding it's annual Chefs for Kids dinner and auction.

Liberty House is our local child abuse assessment center. It is an essential program to meet the needs of our young children that might have been abused.

This year it is being held at The Oregon Garden.

I have been a proud sponsor of this event in the past. For more information call 503-540-0288.

Located in South Salem, Golf Club Estates at Creekside is composed of 9 phases of home development. The Creekside golf course is an excellent private course located here in Salem. The subdivision is located off of south Sunnyside Rd. It is bounded on the North by Mildred.

It is common to see golf carts riding up and down the street in this community. Many homes have excellent views of the course, and for the daring buyer (you never know when a golf ball may pay you a visit), some are on the fairways.

Homes range from the high $200,000 up to $1,000,000. This subdivision is subject to fairly stringent CC&R's (conditions, covenants, and restrictions). If that is a concern for you, make sure to request a copy of them prior to writing an offer. This community is governed by an HOA (Home Owners Association) that does have yearly fees. They also have an architectural review committee, so changes to the façade of a home, such as a paint color, do need preapproval from the board. The dues have typically run $35 per month, but that is subject to change and increase at any time.

Golf Club Estates is currently located in Sumpter, Judson, and Sprague school districts. If schools are important to you, remember that boundaries are subject to change from year to year so verify schools.

Approximately 21 homes sold in the Creekside Estates Subdivision last year (2007) with an average price of $358,937. Sold prices ranged from $252,500-$560,000. They averaged 104 DOM. Listings historically average 161 DOM in this subdivision. There are currently 18 homes listed as active on the MLS for this subdivision with prices ranging from $278,000-$769,000.

I just wanted to let all of you know about two local family events that are happening this week.

Tomorrow night, Schirle elementary school is hosting a Family Bingo Night. From 7:00-8:30, they will have bingo with prizes.

On Saturday February 9th, all of the Roth grocery stores are hosting a Kids cake decorating event in time for Valentine's Day. It is from 11-3 at all Roth's locations. Kids can choose between white or chocolate cake, frost and then decorate it. We did this last year with my children and they had a good time.

Get out into our community and have fun!

The start of a year always looks at statistics and where our market is heading. Looking at different areas of Salem, today I am specifically looking at the days on the market (DOM) trending. This is broken down by the different areas as recorded in the MLS.

Keizer DOM have not climbed significantly. I would expect the Keizer market to hold fairly steady this year. Due to the rising home prices in Portland, Keizer is getting a boost from Portland commuters, which has helped to keep prices and sales steady.

Central Salem is mostly resale homes. Resale homes in Salem are holding fairly steady with pricing. Central Salem is one of the more affordable areas as well. The trend is a small increase and I would expect it to stay that way.

Salem North East also experienced a small increase on DOM. New construction slowed here significantly last year, and resale homes are still affordable.

The South and West Salem areas have really long days on the market and I would expect them to continue to increase over 2008. Most of Salem's new construction is in these areas, which will drive the averages up. New construction homes currently in South Salem have a 17 month inventory. These areas are still seeing some overpricing that is occurring with resale homes. That is extending time from list to close as well.

The mantra is still the same. If you want to sell your home in a timely manner, you have to be competitively priced.

I grew up in Illinois not too far from Chicago, and would love to go downtown and marvel at the architecture.

I moved to Portland after college and loved the feel of the Pearl District and the energy in downtown Portland.

Salem, well, it has been lacking. The Salem downtown area is a revitalization district. The city is attempting to draw business's back to it and give it some needed energy.

A new multi-use development is going into downtown Salem in the area of the old Wells Fargo building that has been vacant for 6 years or so. Since it is not practical to save the building, it will be demolished. It is hard to see an old building with such character be demolished. What you do need to know is that it was a well thought out proces to destroy the building. I'm just sad to see it go.

The new development will have condos, shops, and a much needed grocery store downtown. When I am in the Pearl district in Portland, I love the bustle of heading to Whole Foods and then off to Powells for a read.

I think this project is a good start to bringing some of the energy back into downtown.