Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
The Commodore Hotel Comes Back to Astoria
June 6th, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff, Real Estate News, Where to stay
Like me, most of you probably still think of the corner of 14th & Commercial in downtown Astoria as home to Chris’ News. Growing up, this was the hotspot for Archie Digests, jigsaw puzzles for family holidays, and cigars for grandpa. I had always assumed that Chris’ News had been there since the building’s inception, but come to find out this is not the case. Prior to being Chris’ News the building was home to the Commodore Hotel, which first opened it’s doors in 1925. Fast forward 83 years and The Commodore is preparing to re-open it’s doors once again. As part of the ongoing Renaissance that’s embracing Astoria, the Commodore Hotel is being reinvented by local builder and craftsman Paul Caruana. Known for his flare for combining traditional architecture with spaces designed to accomodate our modern lifestyles, The Commodore will be no exception. Geared towards the modern hip traveler, the hotel will feature 19 unique rooms that blur the line between youth hostel and urban boutique hotel. Many original details of the building will be stylishly recycled into the new design, insuring the approval of both Gen-Xer’s and adventurous Baby Boomers alike. As of right now, the grand re-opening is slated for fall/winter 2008. Look for more updates on the project at commodoreastoria.com.
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RE/MAX Ultimate Open House This Saturday!
May 16th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
FINALLY the gray shroud of cold and drizzle has momentarily lifted from our sunshine challenged town. We are on our second day in a row of mood enhancing, vitamin D producing, sunny blue skies! Dare we hope for a three-peat? Despite the lure of the beach on a sunny day, my fellow RE/MAX agents and I will be working this Saturday at our Ultimate Open House. We are holding 22 of our listings open on Saturday from Seaside clear to Knappa! Homes will be open from 10am – noon and 1pm – 3pm. Look for our ad in tonight’s Daily Astorian that has a full schedule of times and addresses for the event. We look forward to seeing you there!
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How did a Queen Anne Victorian in Astoria end up with English Bullion Glass?
May 14th, 2008 Categories: Fun Stuff, Real Estate News
I learned something new this month about the history of glass. It’s always a history lesson when entering the stately homes that are the heart and soul of Astoria. Keep in mind that Astoria is full of historic homes and each house has a story. It’s always a delight to be called upon to assist someone with a historic home sale. It’s the best part of being a Realtor in our fair city!
It’s a rare thing to find a house that has it’s woodwork, flooring and windows intact! We don’t get to see that often. Nor do we get the privilege of being in many restored vintage homes. Unfortunately, the term ’remuddled’ more often fits the bill than remodelled. Read the rest of this entry »
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Video Tour: 36142 River Point Drive
May 13th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News, Video
With sites like YouTube getting huge amounts of traffic, creating over-night celebrities and brand awareness, you had to imagine real estate wouldn’t be far behind in bringing video’s to the web. Several sites are promoting online video tours of homes for sale, adding another tool to our collective agent “tool belt”. Here’s my first attempt at video, a video tour of my listing at the River Point neighborhood just outside of Astoria.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7625956282165292769| Discussion: No Comments »
Columnist blasts financial media about housing
May 7th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
A recent column in the Realty Times claims consumers aren’t getting the whole story about the state of our housing market and the economy. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me. The part that really drives home her point focuses on the Case-Shiller Index, often thought to be an accurate indicator of the housing market nationwide. It seems that the AP didn’t do their fact checking before writing their headlines: “The glaring discrepancy in this case is that 17 of the 20 metro areas posted record annual declines, and yet 78 percent of the 330 metropolitan regions that the NAR tracks reported price increases … .”
It’s apparent to anyone with a TV or internet connection that the market has slowed, but I can’t help but think the media has exaggerated just a bit.
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Kudos to the new Urgent Care facility at the Health & Wellness Pavillion
May 6th, 2008 Categories: Life in General, Real Estate News
We’ve all been watching the contruction of the new Health & Wellness Pavillion for months now. Many have been anxiously awaiting an alternative to the Emergency Room. Well, now we have it. Yesterday was opening day for the Urgent Care Clinic located at the western entrance of the Pavillion and as luck would have it, I found myself in need of medical care!
While going to the doctor could never be considered pleasant, I did find my visit to the Urgent Care clinic to be just that. Despite being their first day open and a waiting area full, Read the rest of this entry »
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Navigating Historic Home Ownership
April 22nd, 2008 Categories: Architectural Guidelines, Real Estate News
Homes and landmarks with Historic designations are scattered throughout the North Coast and most commonly perched proudly on the hills of Astoria. They continue to be one of the most popular and really exciting parts of our local real estate market , and I am often asked about the responsibilities of owning a home that is considered historic so I recently set out to give myself a “refresher course” on historic home designations and to get the facts and try and dispel some of the myths of historic home ownership. (like the most popular question; does the city really tell you what color you have to paint your house? the awnser is no by the way)
Your first stop in Historic home ownership should be to Read the rest of this entry »
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New Urbanism at work in Historic Mill Pond Village
April 21st, 2008 Categories: Columbia River, Mill Pond Village, Real Estate News
2855 Mill Pond Lane, Astoria, Oregon
What is New Urbanism?
Astoria is lucky to have such a project in our midst. Award-winning Mill Pond Village was the brain child of Developer Art Demuro and Lennerz, Coyle & Associates. Mill Pond Village showcases many of the brightest designers and builders in our area as well as offering the best riverfront living in Astoria! Creative planning has encouraged a true community spirit here. Residents can walk to shopping, congregate on their covered front porches, stroll the riverwalk or catch the historic trolley.
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Astoria Housing Market Update- April ‘08
April 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Here’s the updated market stats for Astoria, Oregon residential sales for April.
The temporary bump in inventory due to the December storm seems to be leveling off finally. While a balanced inventory is 6 months supply, the Astoria area at 9 months is promising. There seems to be lots of Buyers looking, but reservations about the economy are at the top of mind for most.
While Astoria (97103 zip) seems to be gaining speed, the overall Clatsop County residential market looks like this for the last 30 days:
- Sold- 33
- New- 106
- Pending- 35
- Expired- 76
- Current Active- 567
source: Clatsop MLS
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Can I really get a house in Astoria for $153,500?
April 21st, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
You may have heard that Astoria is on the radar once again for being one of the top 5 places to retire. And yes, Barbara Corcoran did give yet another outlandish number as the average home price. I remember when this happened a few years back. I fielded more than my share of calls from out of state buyers wanting to purchase their retirement shang-ri-la for a mere $150k. Can a person really get a “retirement” home for $153,500? And by retirement home I mean a property that doesn’t require a lot of rehab or have any crazy issues!
Here’s the skinny on houses that sold this past year near the $150k price tag- Read the rest of this entry »
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