Here's some painting tips....

• 

  How to Pick Paint Colors to Fix Any Room's Quirks

  Paint colors can do a ton to fix a room’s flaws for not much money Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Here's an interesting home project....

• 

  Make Your Own ‘Star Trek’ Pocket Doors

  U.K. geek shows you how to build automatic doors like the ones on the Starship Enterprise. Space saver, anyone? Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Thanksgiving is coming, here's some energy saving tips....

• 

  9 Ways to Stop Thanksgiving From Sending Your Energy Bill Soaring

  Like turning down the heat when you crank up the oven. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

We watched an Oregon State men's basketball game in Corvallis...

Basketball season has begun!  Friday night my wife and I went to watch the exhibition game put on between the Oregon State Beavers and Pacific.  The team (Beavers) has a bunch of new players this year and some good depth returning.  It should be interesting to watch how well they perform on a turnaround from last year's season.  I've got high hopes for them. This game was something along the lines of 91-65 Beavers win. I think the season officially starts this coming Friday.

Here's a few things you can do now for a great lawn next year...

• 

  4 Simple Tasks to Do in Fall for an Awesome Lawn in Spring

  Fall is the most crucial time for your lawn. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Fixing leaky windows....

• 

  Got Leaky Windows? 3 Low-Cost Tips to Fix Them

  I used to hang an extra woolly robe in my bathroom because my post-shower route took me past a window so drafty it made me wonder about the etymology of “window.” Turns out it comes from the Anglo-Saxon “vindr” and “auga,” which translates as “wind eye.” How appropriate. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Wondering what to do with your garden now that summer's over?

• 

  How to Tame Your Jungly Late-Summer Garden

  Don’t suffer the ugly anymore. Here’s how to give your garden a fall makeover. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Fall colors are in full swing in Corvallis and the Willamette Valley...

Here's a quick shot I took out on the upper end of 29th street in Corvallis the other day. We've had gorgeous weather the last couple days, great days for a drive around.

Inexpensive fixes that can save you money to do before winter....

• 

  7 Quick-and-Easy Winter Weather Preparations to Do Right Now

  A tiny $2 prevention could save big bucks later. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

I've wondered what's a good way to insulate garage doors...

• 

  How to Insulate a Garage Door

  Garage insulation cuts energy bills and street noise. Here’s how to insulate your garage door. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Some hints on putting up weather stripping..

• 

  How to Replace Weather Stripping

  When weather stripping on doors and windows gets worn out, cold air comes sneaking in. Here’s how to replace weather stripping and stop air leaks. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Home sounds or smells, here's some possible fixes....

• 

  What’s Causing Those Spooky Sounds and Smells?

  Are you haunted by strange noises and weird odors? With the proper maintenance, you’ve got more than a ghost of a chance to rest easy. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Here's some household things to check up on coming into winter....

• 

  10 Things You Gotta Do in Fall to Skip Costly Winter #Fails

  Such as look for roof leaks before the first winter snow. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Here's a Halloween horror you'll want to avoid...

• 

  The Halloween Nightmare That Only a Plumber Can Save You From

  Carving pumpkins is fun — unless you do this one dumb thing. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Some hints for home owners this Halloween...

• 

  6 Halloween Must-Do's to Keep Little Trick-or-Treaters Safe

  Like clearing your walkway so tiny tots (and their parents) don’t stumble. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Oregon State Beaver baseball team beats Vanderbilt and moves on to Omaha!

Just finished watching the game on TV. The Beavs are sitting at 54 wins and 4 losses. An announcer s as I'd this is the best record in college baseball history "at this point".  Need to finish it off with a bunch of wins, but congrats for a great season so far!

Been gorgeous in Corvallis lately...

We've had a bunch of sunny days in a row, and it's been beautiful in Corvallis. 

Here's a shot of the multi-purpose trail at Bald Hill Park  (from the Reservoir Rd entrance). Bald Hill is a great place to go hiking,  and the paved path is often part of the bicycle route my wife and I take.

Thinking about planting trees? Here are some tips....

• 

  When's the Best Time to Plant Trees?

  Plant trees at the right time and they’re more likely to thrive. Here’s when to plant so you get the most value from your landscaping investment. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

To sell your house quickly and for more money, curb appeal can help greatly, here's some tips...

• 

  8 Tips for Adding Curb Appeal and Value to Your Home

  Here are eight ways to help your home put its best face forward. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

How much mortgage can you actually afford? Here's some tips to think about....

• 

  4 Tips to Determine How Much Mortgage You Can Afford

  By knowing how much mortgage you can handle, you can ensure that homeownership will fit in your budget. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Change-up time...

I took this photo on a night dive a number of years back. It's one of my favorite shots I've taken underwater.

Some little tricks can actually help your appliances last longer...

• 

  How to Help Your Appliances Last Longer

  Do your appliances die before their time? Here are ways to keep them humming longer. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

How to take care of your washer and dryer... and how to save some energy in the laundry...

• Somehow I managed to get a two-fer when I tried to post one article...
• 

  10 Tips for Saving Energy in the Laundry Room

  Knowing how to save energy while doing laundry is a good start to helping you trim energy costs in your home. Read
• 

  How to Care for Your Washer and Dryer

  Keep your clothes washer and dryer running efficiently and reliably with this simple maintenance routine. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Beautiful days in Corvallis earlier this week...

These were taken up at the top of 29th street in Corvallis at the Timberhill Natural Area.  After a handful of sunny days another front is passing through, we should be seeing sunny days more frequently ahead.

Benton County Oregon has the lowest unemployment rate in the state...

I saw this article and thought I'd pass it along....  Click here to go to a Gazette Times article on the unemployment rate.

Tips on buying a dishwasher.....

• 

  How to Buy a Dishwasher

  When you buy a dishwasher, hone in on the model that’s got the right combination of size, features, performance, and price. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Click here for some info on buying wall ovens.

Kitchen remodel? Here's a few thoughts about getting a new wall oven....

• 

  How to Buy a Wall Oven

  When deciding on a new wall oven, here’s what you need to know about features, style, price, and performance. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

CLICK HERE TO GET SOME INFO ON BUYING DISHWASHERS.

The Benton County Fairgrounds in Corvallis has something happening nearly every weekend it seems...

This last weekend I was out for a drive and happened by the Benton County Fairgrounds and they had an Antique auto show and swap meet going on.  It piqued my interest enough to stop by and check it out.  

The fairgrounds seems to have events nearly every weekend these days.  I've been to the Saturday Market that they host during the warmer months on several occasions, they also host an indoor market much of the winter.

CLICK HERE to go to their event schedule page.

Is it the strongest Seller's Market ever?

I just saw this little blurb (click here), on MSN.com, about rising home prices.  I thought I'd pass it along.

  Later,

   Steve

Here's some pretty current Corvallis real estate statistics, from April 2017...

Here's a chart of local Corvallis real estate data we're given at work on a monthly basis that I like to share on the blog.



I've been posting these stats for the last few months, but I've never really taken time to explain them in case they are not self-explanatory.  I'll discuss the categories first, this will be very basic, it's my take on things, so others may interpret the charts differently ...

 Active houses are for sale... and available. This year we have a real shortage of active available homes compared to last. Inventories have been running low for months now in comparison to the same time last year. The list of active homes is pretty much constantly changing every day.  Many homes coming on the market are changing status from active to under contract in a very short time.

 Pending homes, in this case I believe, are still technically not sold, but they were active and now are under contract and in the process of working through escrow, so they are basically not available unless the sale falls through.

Pending to active ratio is an interesting one. It basically is a measurement of homes in process of going through escrow to homes which are active and available.  When you compare this years numbers to last year's numbers, there is in general a higher ratio of pending to active homes this year than last... despite low inventories, what we have is selling in good numbers.

Number sold... pretty self explanatory.  Homes have changed ownership. Despite the relative shortage available homes recently, we've had about the same number of sales occur during this period that we did last year.

List to price ratio... Homes this year are pretty much being sold at, or very near, asking price in most cases.  It looks like last year there were a few more "deals" out there.  I know from what I've seen recently that there are a fair number of homes entering little bidding wars and selling for above asking price.

The average days on market is interesting.  In most cases homes are selling faster this year.  Now looking at the numbers someone might think that properties are sitting for 2.5 to 4 months.  That's generally not the case.  The days on market is taken from the day it hits the market til the day it closes.  Unless a home is bought cash outright, it can take quite a while to work through a sale. A home could very feasibly hit the market, have an accepted offer that day or a few days later, and still take another 60 or so days to work through the whole process.  If a home sale falls through, it all starts over again. "Days on market" doesn't necessarily correspond to days available for purchase. Overall, homes do seem to be moving faster this year.

Average $ per square foot is sort of an indicator of where the market is heading price-wise.  The numbers can be skewed at any given point it time or price point, but over time if that number is going up house prices in general are probably going up.

Well, that's my simple interpretation of the numbers anyway. It seems to be a good time to be a seller, buyers seem to be out there and homes are selling. Please click here if you'd like to see last month's numbers.

If you or someone you know has been thinking about selling a home, give me a call or email me. I'd be happy to answer any questions and be of help to you.

Here's a couple ideas on how to spend a tax refund....

• 

  Invest a Tax Refund in Your Home: $500 Projects

  Here are five great ideas for investing a tax refund in your home if you receive $500 or less back from the IRS this year. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Yummm... Tacos.... Went to Taco Vino in Corvallis for the first time this week....

Corvallis has a bunch of great taquerias these days. A new one opened up recently and my wife and a friend who's my unofficial "over-eating partner" (we like to pig out at times) both wanted to go check it out.  I thought I'd write a bit of a report.

Taco Vino is a slightly more upscale taqueria than most we have here.  They feature hand made yellow corn tortillas and some unique offerings as far as fillers go.  I'm pretty much a carnivore, but they offer jerked jackfruit and habenero tacos that I am going to have to try.

 When we lived in Hawaii we had a long driveway and there were 3 or 4 rather scrawny jackfruit trees on our property by the local road/trail that serviced the neighborhood. in 14 years we never did eat those things.  It took us two or three years to discover we had them (we were eating the mangoes and the avocados right off the bat) and when we finally discovered them we'd try to let them get up to size, but when they'd hit 8-10 pounds they'd disappear- likely our neighbors or people who'd scrounge the neighborhood for fruit.  They are sort of like a very bumpy watermelon sized grenade looking thing filled with a fruit that apparently tastes kind of bubble gummy. I never tried it so I can't really describe it well. You should look it up, it's interesting.

Anyway, it was delicious.  We went for the tacos, they run in the 3.50-4.50 range in price. They do have 8-10 micro brews on tap as well as a full bar, and more food than just tacos. Salsas are pretty much incorporated into the taco fixings, they do have some interesting house made sauces (you can barely see them at top of the photo above).  I suppose I should mention where it is... It's downtown on the corner of First and Monroe.

Real estate market stats for Lebanon Oregon from March 2017...

Here are some stats from Lebanon that were passed out at work last month.  There were a lot of pending and sold properties earlier this year despite the overall number of active listings been down.  It's a good time to be a seller it appears.  If you have real estate needs, please contact me.

FOR CORVALLIS MARCH 2017 REAL ESTATE STATS CLICK HERE

FOR FEBRUARY 2017 STATISTICS FOR LEBANON CLICK HERE

Just how disruptive are various home remodeling jobs????

I thought this was a neat article.  We have considered doing a few things around the house, it's nice to have a bit of an idea how long things can take and how much they'd impact your daily life....

• 

  How Long Is That Remodel Going to Take?

  Some remodeling projects go on for weeks and make a mess of your home life. Here’s how to survive. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Moving time! What are some of the first things I should do in my new house?

• 

  6 Things Everyone Should Do When Moving Into a New House

  Skip potential trouble by doing these 6 things. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

A visit to Spiritopia in Corvallis Oregon...

I was driving from Albany to Corvallis a couple of Saturday's ago and decided to take Granger Road into town (Granger road gets one off of Highway 20 and to the Lewisburg road/Highway 99  junction quite quickly from Albany) and noticed a sign streetside that Spiritopia was open for tastings that day.  I'd never been there, so I decided to stop in.

Spiritopia is a craft distillery which produces several varieties of liqueurs. I stopped in primarily to see what they produced, "somehow' I was talked into a couple of tastings. I found myself partial to a couple of their ginger liqueurs, but there are several to choose from.

Vivacity Spirits,another producer of small batch spirits, is located in the same small industrial complex. It didn't happen to be open at the same time that day, but both locations offer tours of their distilleries during drop in hours.

To get to both distilleries from Corvallis, just head up 99w to Lewisburg road and turn right.  Lewisburg road to the east becomes Granger road.  The distilleries are located in a small industrial building complex just past Mountain View Elementary School.  I don't know if they keep regular hours or not, it's probably best to call ahead.

Here's another possible tax deduction...

• 

  Are Mortgage Points Tax Deductible?

  When you took out a mortgage to buy your home, did you pay points? You may be able to deduct that prepaid interest on your federal tax return — but only if you meet a long list of rules. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

American Pickers Oregon plays on the History Channel this Monday April 10th..

I got hooked on this show a couple years back, it's a fun show if you like "old stuff", man cave stuff and such.  Apparently Mike and Frank, the show's stars/hosts came to Oregon back in September.  They apparently spend a good portion of this week's episode up in the Salem area. It should be fun.
Here's a link to a story about this week's episode. Click me!

Oregon State University Women's Gymnasts advance to the NCAA Championships...

I thought I'd pass this along.  Congratulations to the team.

Click here for the story. 

A little information on some property tax exemptions....

• 

  Are You Entitled to a Property Tax Exemption?

  Property tax exemptions are available to many homeowners, but you’ll need to do some legwork to find them and lower your property tax bill. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

___________________________

Click here for another property tax post.

Here's some real estate statistics from Albany, Oregon from March 2017...

In my work with Keller Williams Mid Willamette I get access to statistics which I've received permission to pass along. Here's some from last month. Links to previous months and Corvallis stats will be posted below.

If you have any real estate needs, please contact me.


Click here for Corvallis stats from March!
Click here for February stats for Albany!

Those pesky property taxes... here's some hints if you want to try to reduce them...

• 

  Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

  To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

___________________________

For another post on property taxes, click here.

Here's some home projects you can have your kids join in on....

• 

  6 Outdoor Projects You Can Do With Your Kids

  Get your kids outside and spark their creativity with fun, simple home improvement projects. Plus, you’ll boost your curb appeal. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2017 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®