My clients in the Pearl District are going to be so excited!  Especially the ones with kids and dogs!

After more than a decade of conceptualizing, planning and designing, Fields Neighborhood Park is now under construction in the northeast end of the Pearl District.

R&R Construction this month started work on the $3.1 million project, in which a 3.2-acre parcel is being transformed into a recreational field and play area.

Fields is coming out of the master plan that first spurred creation of the Pearl’s Jamison Square and Tanner Springs Park – two elaborate public spaces featuring a popular interactive water fountain, artificial wetlands and walking paths. Fields is intended to complete the recreational picture.

“I think it’s going to be kind of a game-changer for the North Pearl District,” said Dave Davis, president of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

Davis, whose condominium overlooks the park, said access to a large swath of land where residents can exercise, play softball or throw a flying disc is long overdue for the dense downtown area.

But design involved more work than plotting four corners of a field and planting some turf. Andrew Sullivan, an associate principal at the Office of Cheryl Barton, which designed the park, said the community wanted to make sure the San Francisco firm got it right.

“A lot of people know, short of something happening with Centennial Mills, that this is the last big piece of open space that is planned for this area of the Pearl,” Sullivan said. “So it’s their last real chance to get the park they want for their future, family or whatever their agenda might be.”

Sullivan said some people wanted the space to be a huge dog park, while others wanted children’s play areas, and others wanted only a field. The result is a design featuring all of those elements with a motif that aims to conjure the swirling, sweeping, eddying image of the nearby Willamette River.

Sullivan said the plan is to include artistically scoured lines in the sidewalks, interactive play walls for children, permeable pavers and rain gardens to recycle stormwater. But a big design aspect will be wave-like planters and tree canopies.

“I think what we’re trying to do is use the planter to kind of pop lots of different colors,” he said. “We’ve got these sweeps at both the ground level – these beds of perennials and canopy trees around the perimeter – and these sweeps that will have really nice spring blossoms as well as fall colors.”

Sullivan said another focus will be encouraging kids to interact with nature. Play walls will invite children to reach plants through openings and play areas will steer kids through planters rather than around them.

“It reinforces the idea that kids are in a natural setting instead of putting them on a rubberized surface, on an asphalt lot, with just plastic equipment,” he said. “I think putting them in a natural setting, and pushing for more imaginative play leads to a richer experience.”

One original design aspect that will not be present is a pedestrian bridge linking the Fields park to the Portland Development Commission’s nearby Centennial Mills site. Shawn Uhlman, spokesman for the PDC, said the agency is reviewing development proposals from Venerable Properties and Daniels Real Estate for that site. The preferred proposal is planned to be presented during a meeting on May 23.

Sullivan said the Fields park was designed to accommodate construction of a pedestrian bridge to the Centennial Mills site when that property is finally developed.

The Fields park also represents completion of negotiations between Hoyt Street Properties LLC and the city of Portland.

Riley Whitcomb, system development charge program manager for Portland Parks and Recreation, said Hoyt donated the three-acre site in exchange for consideration of a $650,000 waiver on a future development project. Whitcomb said $400,000 of that waiver would come from the parks bureau and the remaining $250,000 would come from the PDC. He said it was a small price to pay for an integral piece of property.

“We really needed that extra land, and from that standpoint it was a very good deal,” Whitcomb said. “The value of the property is a lot greater than the credits that we will likely eventually give them.”

Aaron Slowik, project manager for R&R Construction, said its contract completion date is January 2013. Davis said neighborhood residents are anxious to see the finished product.

“We wanted an exceptional park rather than just land and a couple trees thrown here and there,” Davis said. “But the proof is in the pudding.”

(Article courtsy of Daily Journal of Commerce, Oregon.)

(Rendering courtesy of the Office of Cheryl Barton)

Auto sales. Consumer confidence. Manufacturing. Retail Sales. Exports. You name it. Over the last six months, nearly every facet of the U.S. economy has shown improvement. And the real estate market is no exception.

Here’s the irrefutable proof, per Wall Street Daily:

Recovery Sign #1: Housing Starts. In February, housing starts checked-in at an annual rate of 698,000 units. That’s up 14.7% from the 608,800 starts in 2011… up 18.9% from the 586,900 starts in 2010… and up 25.9% from the record-low 554,000 starts in 2009. Even after the uptick, though, we’re nowhere close to the high-water mark of 2.07 million starts hit in 2005.

Recovery Sign #2: Building Permits. In February, building permits – a proxy for future construction – climbed to an annual rate of 717,000 units. That was ahead of expectations. It also represents the highest level since October 2008.

Recovery Sign #3: Dwindling Inventory. Expect even more building on the horizon. Why? Because new home inventories plumbed their lowest level on record in January at 150,000 units.

If we include existing homes in the mix, the total number of homes listed for sale has dropped – on a year-over-year basis – for 12 consecutive months. Now there are 2.43 million homes listed for sale, which is down 19.3% in the last year and down 39.8% from the record inventory of 4.04 million homes in July 2007.

Recovery Sign #4: Bidding Wars. The lack of inventory is creating a competitive bidding environment. Online brokerage firm, Redfin, reports that agents encountered multiple bids on about 50% of offers in Seattle, Boston, Washington D.C. and Oregon through March 15.

Recovery Sign #5: A Bottom in New Home Sales. Last year, new home sales fell to 302,000 units – the worst reading on record. For comparison’s sake, in 2005, 1.28 million new homes were sold. The market has likely bottomed out. I say that because new home sales in February checked-in at an annual rate of 313,000 units, which is 11.4% higher than last February’s rate.

Recovery Sign #6: A Rebound in Existing Home Sales. In the last year, demand for previously owned homes ticked 8.8% higher to an annual rate of 4.59 million. And the number of contracts to buy existing homes in February jumped even more – up 14% year-over-year.

Recovery Sign #7: Prices. As I’ve written before, prices will be the last sign of a recovery. They’re a lagging indicator, like unemployment. That being said, signs of a price rebound are materializing. Based on the latest Case-Shiller Indexes, prices in Miami and Phoenix – arguably two of the hardest-hit real estate markets – were up in January by 1.2% and 2%, respectively. That marks the third consecutive month of improving prices in Miami and the fourth in Phoenix.

Recovery Sign #8: Rising Confidence. If insiders know best, they’re certainly sending bullish signals. The National Association of Realtors/Wells Fargo Index of builder confidence climbed for the sixth month in March. It’s now at the highest level since 2007.

Individual builders aren’t hiding their optimism, either. The CEO of the nation’s third-largest homebuilder recently said, “A very real trend is beginning to take shape… There are empirical data points that are today confirming that the market is showing real signs of stability.” Indeed!

Recovery Sign #9: Historic Affordability. With prices down an average of 36% from the peak – and rent prices rising – it’s never been cheaper to buy a home. In fact, the National Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Index hit a record high of 206.1 in January. (A value of 100 means a family earning the national median income can afford a median-priced property at current mortgage rates.)

A separate study by Trulia found it’s now less expensive to buy than rent in 98 of America’s 100 most populous metropolitan areas. (Honolulu and San Francisco were the lone exceptions.)

And yet another study found that the affordability gap is widening, strongly in favor of buying. Deutsche Bank reports that the average rent is now 14.9% more than the average home loan payment – up from 8.1% in the previous quarter.

It’s worth noting, too, that borrowing costs are down about 20% in the last year. Mortgage rates hit an all-time low of 3.87% in February – down from 4.95% a year ago.

Recovery Sign #10: Employment. It’s hard to buy a house if you don’t have a job. And no one can deny that the labor market is improving. In the last eight months, the unemployment rate is down almost one full percentage point.

Recovery Sign #11: An Influx of “Smart Money.” Greg Zuckerman of The Wall Street Journal reports, “Over the last couple months some of the best investors on the street… have been making big bets on homebuilders.” And he’s not kidding.

The list reads like a “Who’s Who” on Wall Street. It includes SAC Capital, Blackstone, Caxton Associates, Cerberus, Canyon Partners and CQS U.K.

Bottom line: Add all the hard data up and it’s clear – the real estate market has officially entered recovery mode.

thanks to author, Louis Basenese

Please call me if I can help.

Should you need a little push, here are 10 compelling reasons to book a flight, like, now (speaking of which, here’s a list of airfares to PDX).

#1 It’s exactly what you think.
Funny hats, food trucks, obsessive baristas, urban gardening, bike lovers: Portland is practically a laboratory of all that’s hip and cool in North America right now. Soak up the vibe with a visit to the city’s legendary Saturday Market, which just launched its 36th season. The event — which actually runs both Saturdays and Sundays, in the city’s historic Chinatown area — features tons of local artisans, as well as plenty to eat (portlandsaturdaymarket.com).

#2 The city has an amazing arboretum.
Any city can do parks, but how many have gigantic arboretums, brimming with gorgeous flora from around the world, plonked directly on top of the downtown area? Just a short hike up from the bustle of the city center, the cool, green forests and manicured gardens of the Hoyt Arboretum remain one of Portland’s finest assets (hoytarboretum.org).

#3 Emerging artists.
Portland is known for inspiring its share of creativity, and schools like the Oregon College of Art — with a handsome campus among the trees on the edge of town — do their part to help channel all that inspiration. See tomorrow’s big names today at the school’s ever-changing Centrum Gallery, which rotates monthly with work from current students, as well as alumni and faculty. The Retail Craft Gallery on campus sells the work of more than 100 artists, all affiliated with the college (ocac.edu). A short drive down Burnside, back in the heart of town, the Pacific Northwest College of Art is a partner in the cutting-edge Museum of Contemporary Craft, which features a free First Thursday (of every month) event, where the museum stays open into the evening hours (mocc.pnca.edu).

#4 Distillery Row.
We all know there’s a ton of really good beer around here. Has been for ages. But even cooler is the rise of the city’s Distillery Row, a collection of — you guessed it — distilleries located within walking distance of one another, just east of the Willamette River. Together, they are working to ensure that nobody ever needs to drink out-of-town whiskey — or gin, or vodka or rum — again. Each stop on the Row keeps weekend drop-in tasting hours; learn more at distilleryrowpdx.com.

#5 Local brews.
Seriously. Coming to Portland and not drinking the local beer is kind of like going to New York and refusing to eat pizza. From Deschutes Brewery’s heady black beers to Laurelwood’s Organic Green Mammoth IPA, you really can’t go wrong; make sure to also sample the more obscure stuff, such as Upright’s complex sour beers or Cascade Brewing’s barrel-aged Bourbonic Plague, with an ABV of — mind how you go — 12 percent. To brush up on the scene, check out portlandbeer.org.

#6 Gorge-ous scenery.
Remember how Seattle used to be the cool town and Portland was that little thing you sort of just breezed through? Well, Portland’s the one everyone’s paying attention to now, and you can still breeze through it. There’s sprawl here, but not much. From the middle of town to the beginning of the protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area can take as little as 20 minutes. Once in, get off the freeway and slow down. There are dozens of waterfalls, more than 100 great hikes of all difficulty levels and of course, that incredible scenery. Map out your route at gorgefriends.org.

#7 A coffee maven’s haven.
Portland’s coffee is some of the country’s best. How good? It’s best-known roaster, Stumptown, went on not only to become an immense hit in New York City, but it’s also getting its hooks into Seattle, too. They’re still the big guy around here, but they’re also just a start. Other roasters to know include Coapa, with its chic café in the Industrial District, Courier Coffee on SW Oak Street and Exacto Coffee, which is served at the cool GrindHouse Coffee in up-and-coming corner of North Portland. (Which you can refer to as NoPo, if you like.) If you’re in a downtown hotel, your best bet is Sterling Coffee’s simple but perfect Coffeehouse Northwest up on Burnside. It’s been around a few years now, but it’s still one of the most perfect venues in town. Learn more about what’s brewing locally at caffeinatedpdx.com.

#8 Culinary treats.
From one of the best bacon-egg-and-cheese-on-a-roll breakfasts you’ll ever eat in your life (at Bunk Sandwiches) to epic meat dinners at Laurelhurst Market, a butcher shop and restaurant, to a proper night out at Le Pigeon to spicy wings and cool salads from hipster Thai Pok Pok to crazy bad-for-you breakfasts at Pine State Biscuits to those food carts mentioned previously that serve up every kind of food you can imagine, all over town, to incredibly fresh vegetables and locally (and sensibly) farmed meats to great Northwest fish and oysters and you name it, Portland is a town for people who really, really like to eat. Don’t come expecting a ton of traditionally fine dining but do come hungry. Really, really hungry. Maybe also bring stretch pants.

#9 And save room for dessert.
One of the most famous foodstuffs in town for a few years running now has been a now-oft-copied bacon maple contraption at Voodoo Donuts, but that’s just the start of the fun. Here you have everything from “Cupcake Wars” champ Kyra Bussanich making magic at Lake Oswego’s Crave Bake Shop to James Beard Award winner Kim Boyce, making waves at her new Sandy Boulevard bakery, called — rather simply — Bakeshop. But there’s nothing simple about the pastry; Boyce has years of experience in top kitchens in Los Angeles. From rhubarb hand pies to fig buckwheat scones, you have to try it all.

#10 A peddler’s paradise.
Eventually, even the most intrepid eaters and drinkers will be crying “uncle.” Now you know why this town’s as into outdoor activity as it is into stuffing awesome things down its gullet. It’s called survival. And not weighing 400 pounds. If you’re having trouble getting motivated to get up and get going, join a group bike tour — anywhere from an easy spin around downtown or a day out in the Gorge or up in wine country — through Pedal Bike Tours (pedalbiketours.com). If you prefer an upper-body workout, the Portland River Company offers cool guided tours — and instruction, too — out on the Willamette River (portlandrivercompany.com).

And I’d like to add #11.

It’s a fabulous place to call home.  If you’d like to see a few houses while you’re visiting, please let me know!  Portland OR Real Estate is at bargain prices, and with today’s interest rates, amazingly affordable. 

Thanks to George Hobica, Syndicated travel journalist and founder of Airfarewatchdog.com for this terrific article.  Be sure to subscribe to airfarewatchdog.com for best deals on your favorite city pairs – a surefire way to get the best price on airfare for your coming trips.  For a linkback to the original article on Huffington Post, click here.

Each quarter, Fannie Mae releases their National Housing Survey. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. We like to pull out some of the findings we deem most interesting each time it is released. Here they are for the most recent report:

84% of the general population believes that owning a home makes more sense than renting.

The Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four reasons, in order, are:

1. It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education
2. You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
3. It allows you to have more space for your family
4. It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates)

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

• 63% of the general population believes that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
• 53% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.

Rent vs. Buy

We are always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

• 64% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home
• 70% of renters think that owning is superior to renting

Bottom Line

Our belief in the value of homeownership grows each time this survey is released.

Regarded as one of the leading American artists of the 20th century, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) began his life in art as Marcus Rothkowitz in Portland, Ore. Having emigrated from Russia as a 10-year-old with his mother and older sister in 1913 to join his father and brothers in Portland, Rothko attended Lincoln High School and took his first art classes at the Museum Art School before going off to Yale, New York City, and beyond. This exhibition celebrates a native son whose lyrical paintings created a legacy for the world.

There are forty-five paintings , borrowed from family, the National Gallery of Art and private collectors.    A retrospective survey of Mark Rothko’s paintings has never been staged in Portland, although Rothko’s first museum exhibition was hosted by the Museum in 1933-34.

photo courtesy of http://faramarzsoleimani.blogspot.com/2011/02/mark-rothko1903-1970.html

Here are a few bright and sunshiny house photos that I’ve collected.  Any of these things would make me happy on a day like today.

Yellow Adirondack chairs

An amazing red rug and chairs on my porch

This bright orange lacquer planter with purple orchids

Funky kitchen tiles

Simply adorable pillows, especially when placed on a bright settee bench

Hurry, spring!

So you’ve finally moved into your first place that you care about as an adult, and you want to really put the time and effort into making it a home, but then you start adding up the costs of doing so…

We have all been there, and although you may not have the cash roll to go on a shopping spree at all your favorite furniture stores to make your dream home just yet (and, really, when is that ever the case?), with some patience, research, and shopping in unconventional ways you can turn your first adult apartment into a breathless beauty on a budget.

Shop at Home: The first stop is your parents’ home. Start hunting around the house for your favorite items or things that have been tucked in the garage for years. See what they are willing to give up. Don’t just stop there — hit up immediate family and friends as well and send out an email asking if anyone has or knows of items that you need or they are getting rid of. Have them over for a nice home cooked meal to say thanks.

• Favorite Family Furniture and Heirlooms
• In the Family: The Value of Antique & Heirloom Furniture
• Antique Shopping at Mom’s House

Garage, Estate Sales and Auctions: This is another place to score some one of a kind treasures for next to nothing. Check local listings or drive around town on the weekends and follow the signs.

• All About Estate Sales: A Crash Course & Tips for Newbies
• What You Need To Know: Furniture Shopping at Estate Sales
• What You Need to Know: Furniture Shopping at Auctions

TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods: All of these stores have some great finds at incredibly marked down prices and often get overlooked but they shouldn’t.
They are good places to get towels and odd accessories, etc.

Ikea: Ikea has helped out many a home with keeping a modern style at good prices. If you don’t have a brick and mortar store in your area you can always shop with them online.

• 5 Places To Shop For IKEA When There Isn’t One Around

Thrift and Consignment: Score some great finds or bring things home that you can re-make to fit your space and style. Great way to get kitchenware, vases, rugs, and appliances, as well as furniture.

• Readers’ Favorite Vintage, Thrift, & Secondhand Shops

Craigslist, Freecycle and Ebay: Look at free sections first and see what people just need to get rid of asap. Keep your DIY eye open for the stuff you might at first pass over and try to see what potential is there. If you can be patient and not rush to fill the space, you can furnish your apartment with the most incredible finds.

• Apartment Therapy Scavenger

Just remember it’s really all about your style, choices, and imagination, not about how much it costs. And lucky for you the Apartment Therapy archives are always here to help you tackle those design dilemmas and give you some inspiration along the way.

(This post is dedicated to Alex, Jackie, Jessica, Andy, Leslie, Whit, Shane, and all the other young buyers in my recent past…. you’re amazing for starting so young!)

source:  apartmenttherapy.com thanks!

and source:  Shelby’s Sophisticated Studio for more photos and information

This is it. The technological breakthrough you’ve been waiting for. The one you can’t believe hadn’t been invented already. The one that probably deserves a trumpet and a choir singing hosannas.

So let’s say you’ve lost your keys. Here’s how this works, not necessarily in this order:

• One: Download the myBiKN app from BiKN (you’ll want to pronounce that “beacon”) on your iPhone.

• Two: Slip the smart case onto your iPhone.

• Three: Attach the BiKN tags to your valuables. (By the way, we’re giving you two more than the standard kit—so that’s four in total.)

• Four: If something goes missing, the app will then show you the right direction and distance to walk in to find your stuff. Think of it as a digital treasure map. The electronic tags you’ve attached to said valuables will also start beeping, letting you know exactly which side of the couch you should be searching.

• Five: If the reverse occurs (i.e., your phone mysteriously disappears), you can use the electronic tags to find the damn thing.

And voilà: the easiest way to never lose anything again. And naturally, Perks is getting it to you for something less than the going rate…

And best of all, here’s a link to get it on sale, thanks to my friends at Urban Daddy.  They have it for $135 (for a limited time only) instead of the list price of $170.

For more information, and details on the product, see www.bikn.com.

I know a few people who definitely need this.  Is their one in your life?

source:  www.urbandaddy.com.  Thanks!

Maybe you think Realtors are being optimistic when we say that the market is coming back. We are, I believe, optimists by nature. This job isn’t for the faint of heart, especially in the last few years when up to 40% of the Realtors left the business. But here is Barrons joining in our argument that we are on the mend.

Not only that, the article predicts 30% growth in the next 10 years. Payback. If you were waiting for the bottom, wait no longer. Let’s go house shopping.