Seraina Aguayo, Realtor/Broker, GRI

A New Chapter Begins

It has been a little while since my last blog and I am striving to write more consistently. This week has been a major trial for me. Tuesday morning I received the awful news that my dear beloved friend Joseph Wohlfeil had passed away. Joseph was such a special friend to me. He blessed my life with so many wonderful lessons and unconditional love. He was 97 and had served as one of the proud and few Merrill's Marauders. What a great man he was to surrender all fear and selflessly serve his country, Joseph will be missed by so many. Joseph's funeral took place this morning and he was honored with a military service. It was beautiful to hear the heartfelt dedication of those who loved him so much. A woman who attended the service approached me at Joseph's funeral and mentioned how much she appreciated a blog I had posted about Joseph about one month ago. She found the blog by searching Joseph's name in google looking for information concerning his funeral and my ActiveRain blog appeared. ActiveRain has enhanced my business and my personal life in so many ways and I am extremely grateful. The lessons Joseph gave me are invaluable and I promise to share all that I can of these lessons with others.

Later this same day, I was severely rear ended by a large vehicle. It happened in the evening hour on my way home from showing listings to clients. My vehicle is totaled, however, I am grateful for my life and I am grateful that no one else was injured.

So, it has been a whirlwilnd of a week but, life goes on and so will I. Thank you friends for all of your support and caring through this challenging time.

Seraina Aguayo

Palazzo Realty Group, INC.

971-322-9878

Thank you ActiveRain for my first contract as a result of Blogging and also making a reconnect with a long lost friend!

For about two years my good friend Todd Clark has been urging me to blog blog blog on ActiveRain. So I put a blog in here and a blog in there with (I admit) some half-hearted effort. He kept telling me what a wonderful reward it is and what an excellent learning opportunity it is. While I never doubted Todd for a moment it always seemed that I had "other" things that trumped blogging.

Well, two years later the reality of Todd's claims has smacked me in the face because a wonderful girl who I lost contact with for three years just called me two days ago to tell me that she had some real estate needs and she thought of me. She didn't have any of my contact information so she Googled me and low and behold, she found my Localism blogs and gave me a call. I was so excited to hear her voice on my answering machine and so thrilled that she thought of me for her Real Estate transaction that I couldn't contain the butterflies in my stomach when I called her up! Even though I may have lost contact with a few people I am confident that if they look me up they will see that I am active as a real estate professional by reading my blogs. OK TODD, I GET IT! ActiveRain is a necessary tool for my business success and another step in achieving my real estate goals! Thank you ActiveRain for the business and thank you as well for the reconnection!

I know a Real G.I. Joe

My business partner Dave Smith and I have enjoyed some very positive feedback from our readers and almost unilaterally, the most popular article in our newsletter is the "Lesson's From Mac" section. It happens to be one of my favorite sections as well and I thought that it would be great if I shared some insight from a great friend of mine, Joe Wohlfeil. Joe Wohlfeil lives in Gresham, OR and is 95 years old. Joe served in the U.S. Army from December 1941- December 1945.

Every time Joe and I visit, he has a great story to tell from one of his many experiences in the Army. One of my favorites is about his experience in what used to be known as Burma (now Myanmar). Joe was a 2nd Lieutenant who was attached to the now famous commando unit, Merrill's Marauders. This story particularly stood out to me because of the amazing faith and courage that was needed to survive and triumph through a deadly and miserable war. As he shared his experience with me, I began to draw several parallels in my mind between his personal history and the current economic market. Obviously, economic catastrophes do not even come close in comparison with war. The misery and death of war is incomprehensible. However, I believe it is fair to say that there may be some valuable lessons that can be learned from the most deplorable circumstances a person endures during a war. Joe has taught me a lot about the necessity of faith and strength in an effort to win a hopeless battle.

Joe tells me that when he first joined the army everyone had advised him to never volunteer for anything. The reason was that when volunteers were requested, the details about the volunteer work were rarely given and sometimes the work was downright awful. Joe always had a different attitude about volunteer work. He said that he always volunteered because even though some of the experiences may have some challenges, the potential for great opportunities would arise as well and valuable lessons could be learned. That was his attitude when 3,000 men were sought to volunteer for a dangerous and hazardous mission into the Burma wilderness in an effort to eradicate the Japanese from the surrounding area. It was an important and extremely dangerous mission because they were grossly outnumbered. The plan was to strategically place each platoon in various areas rather than walking the guys in one collective area so that the Japanese would not be able to completely surround and sabotage the soldiers.

Once Joe and his soldiers were positioned, they soon realized that they were behind enemy lines - not good. This meant that they were surrounded by the Japanese army and their mission was going to be more complicated than they first understood. In this position, the only food they could rely on was food that was air-dropped by C-47 aircraft. The C-47 airplanes were responsible for delivering food and ammunition to the soldiers. This was treacherous because it was painfully obvious to the Japanese exactly where they were located. Many times soldiers would be ambushed just working to pull in the packages and food. He taught me that the soldiers completely ignored the feelings of fear in their minds because dwelling on them would only be paralyzing. In that sense, fear would make them more susceptible to injury. Joe said that the focus of the soldiers had to remain on getting the mission completed so that they could get on that plane ride back home.

The more I talk with Joe the more I realize how important qualities of faith, courage and belief play in all of our lives. While things around us may seem tough and sometimes even unbearable, we must remember to focus on the truly important things in life like our families, spiritual food, health and our profound inner will to survive and succeed. We don't have to suffer things like Joe suffered but we can be strong like he was and win a great victory in the face of overwhelming odds.

SERAINA'S REAL ESTATE MARKET OUTLOOK

Since our last report in December 2008 it is evident that the market report has not changed significantly for January 2009. While Pending, and Sold activity is still down in comparison to the same month last year, we were encouraged to see that the inventory has decreased from a staggering record high in November from 15 months of inventory to 14.1 at the end of December. For all those in the market to purchase, note that the average sale price has decreased in the Metro-Portland area from $342,900 to $330,300.

To summarize the 2008 report; when comparing the market activity to 2007, new listings decreased 8.7% while Pending sales dropped 30.9% and closed sales were reduced to 32.1%. It is evident that lender guidelines and tighter regulations in the banking world are affecting these statistics. It certainly isn't the seller's market that it used to be because fewer buyers are truly qualified and approved to purchase. Debt to income ratios required by the lenders has tightened and many of the loan options available in 2005 and 2006 are a thing of the past. That is why I believe it is absolutely crucial that seller's consult with a Realtor for competent representation when selling their home. Sure, anyone can list their home for sale and advertise their property in the local newspaper, but sellers are not going to waste their time with unqualified buyers. Your Realtor will act as your advocate by screening out the chaff for buyers who truly want your home. It is more important than ever to have your home nice, clean, and well staged for their 20 minute walk through. Anyone who has sold a home knows how frustrating it can be to be continually leaving your home for showings. If you have to be inconvenienced, wouldn't you want it to be as a result of a real borrower coming to your home or just a "Looky Lou?"

If you have followed the trend of our earlier reports it is obvious that very specific areas within the Metro/Portland area have continued to outperform other markets. Not surprisingly, West Portland continues to be our most consistent and best performing market area with appreciation at a positive 1.9%, average sale price of $478,500 and 2,258 closed sales at the end of December 2008. North Portland moved from the third position to second replacing Lake Oswego at -0.1% appreciation, average sale price of $266,100 and 971 closed sales ending in December 2008. Our third best performer is Northeast Portland which bumped Lake Oswego completely with appreciation at -0.4%, average sale price of $320,000 and year to date closed sales at 1,972 homes in 2008.

Dave and I are excited to announce that things are moving in the more positive direction for buyers and sellers. We have noticed that while the inventory is down from the previous month, we are now seeing more "qualified buyers" initiating the loan, and property search process this month more than any other previous month this year. What is happening for many of our investors is that they have been waiting on the sidelines for the perfect time to purchase. Home prices are down and I expect that we will continue to see further declines in prices in some areas. However, be careful of decision procrastination. We have counseled these past six months that the moment the market turns direction we will experience an explosion of sales and appreciation. There are a huge amount of homes to be purchased and eventually prices will reach a critical level and the direction will turn. When it does, the procrastinators will have lost precious time and equity.

Okay, I must admit it has been a while since my last post but I am making it a priority to get back into the routine of regular blogging. I realize how important it is and while it is a huge commitment, I know that it is worth every minute.

Special thanks to all of those who have supported me during my transition from John L. Scott to Palazzo Realty Group, INC. Currently I am fortunate enough to accept the role of CEO for the company and it is my most sincere desire that all of my best intentions and goals for this company will transmutate consistently for 2009 and forward.

Making this transition was not easy as most transitions usually are not; however, this company shares the same professional vision that I do when it comes to servicing our clients with the best possible service and providing outstanding training, marketing and cutting edge technology for our brokers. Palazzo realizes that our true measure of success is determined strictly upon how well we treat our clients and our brokers. We want to be in business for our real estate professionals and not the other way around. Our real estate brokers are like family and we realize that they are out there making the deals and working hard for us to grow and thrive. Palazzo Realty Group offers compensation that is truly rare among most real estate firms because we understand that we are here as a result of outstanding Realtors who work as a team and as independent consultants who bring many individual talents and skills.

Thanks again to everyone to encouraged me through this process. I am proud to represent such a beautiful business model for an outstanding company.