About Multnomah County, OR

Everyone wants to know when home prices will bottom out. According to one of Portland's housing consultants who spoke at a homebuilders meeting, September of 2009 is when we'll see the typical home price fall to $261,000, what he's considering the "bottom". His prediction is that following that drop we will return to "normal" appreciation rates of 6% annual growth. At that rate, the housing market will return to the 2006 prices in 2012. Since we all know that the '06 prices were inflated, this is helpful in trying to decide when to sell your home if you bought high in the 2005-2006 boom. The Oregonian Business writer Frank Ryan pointed out in this morning's business section that recovery in value is likely to be uneven, as conditions vary by neighborhood, and at this point Clark County and east Clackamas County continue to be the hardest hit in the housing collapse. For investors and buyers, this means opportunity as many sellers will be more willing to negotiate with the knowledge that a quick recovery in Spring is unlikely.

Prefontaine Studio

Fused Glass Art Sale

&

Ornament Extravaganza to Benefit

Sisters of the Road

Saturday and Sunday

December 6 & 7 2008

10:00 am to 4:30 pm

6410 SE Ash Street

(One block South of Burnside on SE 65th)

503-260-6900

Prefontaine Studio invites you to celebrate their Holiday Fused Glass Art sale. There are holiday designs as well as creative art for your home for year-round enjoyment. Studio glass bowls, platters, plate, vases, artwork and more.

Glass art is the perfect gift if you're looking for something different from "The Mall" and the Studio has pricing for everyone's pocket book.

For those looking to give a gift from the heart this is your chance! Make your own fused glass holiday ornaments. Just $10 each, two for $17 and 3 for $25. It's a lot of fun and everyone has the skills needed to participate.

For each ornament you create Prefontaine Studio will contribute $2 to Sisters of the Road. This is especially great timing since there are matching grants that could double the $$ for SOTRC.

We'll be with you in the studio to assist you through the fused glass process. Ornaments will be fired during the following week for pick-up on Saturday the 13th of December, between 10:00am and 1:30pm.

Gift certificates are available to gift the experience of a half-day glass fusing workshop where certificate holders may create a 9" bowl. Workshops will be held on three dates during the winter months of January, February and March. More gift certificate details available at Prefontaine Studio

Please, no children under 14 in the studio and please wear closed toe shoes and long pants if you're going to make ornaments.

Bring a friend, share the news and spread the word... Santa's on his way and Prefontaine Studio is the place to be on December 6th & 7th!

Either way, I really don't care and I think it is a great idea, but can the American public accept the change that the United States Government has been trying to get accepted for the past 30 years?

On Friday, here in Portland, Oregon, the US Government parked an armored truck in the middle of Portland's Pioneer Square and had a money exchange. They were exchanging one dollar paper money for the new one dollar coins. They are billing them as better for the environment because they last longer and are 100% completely recyclable, but I hear it also will save the government some $5 billion dollars a year.

So, bring on the dollar coins, it has been working in Canada for years and they don't seem to be having any ill effects.

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

It's estimated that only 10% of Buyers are able to correctly envision how to use an awkward vacant space, or if their furnishings will fit there or not ~ the remaining 90% can become confused when trying to figure this out.

Our goal as Home Stagers is to help the 90% of potential buyers imagine how they might use the vacant spaces in a home. We also show them how to create the best traffic flow from one area to another. Room Solutions Staging in Portland OR was asked to stage a small space just off the entry to this home. When vacant, this awkward space had no purpose and felt like nothing more than a "pass through" to the rear patio, which contained a lovely garden.

We wanted to highlight the rear garden by staging this space with lots of plants and garden-type furnishings. Now when potential buyers enter, they're drawn to the beautiful garden just beyond the entry area, something the "vacant' space just couldn't convey.

Potential buyers need "clues" to help them see the purpose and true size of a space. Sellers and Realtors ~ consider consulting with a professional Home Stager before listing a property. You can find experienced and qualified home stagers right here on A/R.

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Do you have a vacant listing that isn't capturing the imagination of buyers? Give Room Solutions Staging in Portland OR a call at 503-246-1800. We'll be happy to provide a no-obligation staging proposal to help your property sparkle!

Throughout our villages, our hamlets, our communities across America this morning, senior care-givers took a brief moment for perhaps a cup of coffee as they prepared to focus their day on caring for our seniors. Day in and day out, these givers nourish,, encourage, bath, shave, dress, feed, and embrace those that in the past did the same for us. I often wonder how much appreciation they get.

In Portland, Oregon alone, there are over 600 Adult Family Homes, woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods. Within these homes reside up to 5 seniors. In California there are of 6500 Adult Family Homes scattered throughout the state. Imagine the amount of care being given right now as you read this. These care-givers will most likely never make the news – only if they fail or make a mistake.

Today you may also drive by a larger community of seniors – perhaps an Assisted Living Community or Retirement Home. Beyond the fancy facades, the elaborate entry ways designed to make us want to move in ourselves and be waited on, are again more care-givers, many who are being paid minimum wages doing what you or I would only do if it was for our kids. Sure, it is their job – they like us are trying to feed their families, but, don’t they also deserve some praise and thanks?

How can we realistically appreciate them? There are those traditional ways of going to nursing homes or Assisted Living facilities during the holidays. But what about year around? Perhaps an occasional note of thanks to a care-giver you have met in one of those facilities – perhaps taking the time to visit one of the smaller neighborhood Adult Care Homes in your neighborhood. Just be sure when you knock on the door, that you let them know right away you are there not to judge but to support and thank them. At first they may think you are a county inspector looking for problems or a reason to fine them. How do you discover them in your community? Perhaps The Senior Care Guide can be a help.

Someday, you may know of a friend, or perhaps it may be someone in your family, who needs to find quality senior care. Encourage them to get help from local professionals within their community. These local professionals constantly screen and support the quality homes and facilities within our communities – they take the time to know more about the homes and communities than their facades or entry ways. They will take the time with you or your friend to help with an appropriate care match – much like how a Realtor takes time to professionally match their clients with the right neighborhood or new home. These professionals are known as Placement & Referral Agencies. In Portland, Oregon, a local company called Care Service Options, has assisted families and their seniors for over 22 years – providing a free community service. Why use such a referral and placement service rather than just going out on your own and picking the closest to you? One way to give Thanks to our Seniors – and to those that care for them as well, is to make sure we match appropriately our seniors with the type of home, personality or care-giving spirit they need. Let's not ask care-givers to take care of seniors that are "placed" in a home simply out of conveneince to a family member rather than considering whether it is truly an match for both the senior and the care-giver.

Thank you for taking the time to extend your thanks to our pioneers, and to those who provide their care. Your sincere appreciation year around make a difference!