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Vancouver, WA Real Estate News

  We recently had out-of-town clients who stayed at a great little Bed and Breakfast called the Briar Rose Inn Bed and Breakfast. We had visited the home a couple years ago when it was still being renovated. It was wonderful to step back into the home recently and experience what a warm, comfortable and inviting place it has become. The Briar Rose Inn is a 1908 Craftsman style home listed on the Local Historic Register and located in the heart of historic downtown Vancouver, Washington. It is conveniently located just 15 minutes from the Portland International Airport, 10 blocks from the Vancouver Amtrak station, and just a short distance to Hilton Convention Center, Esther Short Park, Vancouver Farmers Market, Clark County Court House, Officer's Row and many shops & restaurants! You w...
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By John Slocum, Broker, SFR - Vancouver WA Real Estate
(Premiere Property Group, LLC - Vancouver Washington)
Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Salmon Creek, Felida and Hazel Dell Market Report for April 2008 This month has 66 more Homes For Sale in Vancouver WA in the active category, and the average days on the market has remained the same for the active listings. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now about 89 days -- 10 days fewer than last month. This month we have 53 homes Pending -- 23 fewer than last month. All prices ranges in these areas appear to be a "Buyer's Market." For March year-to-date the Vancouver MLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for the Felida, Salmon Creek & Salmon Creek areas ranging from: $260,000 to $425,600; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $260,000 to $392,500. The Clark County - wide Average Hom...
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Do you have a nasty floor that you want to fix, but don't want to spend a fortune?  Check this out! As many of you know, we have spent the last year and a half renovating an old church into our home.  Part of our challenge was to find affordable products (the place is over 4,000 square feet), that still looked nice.  We considered installing hardwood floors, but realized we'd be spending upward of $50k even if we installed them ourselves!  We knew we needed to find an alternative. We were at our local Home Depot and one of the employees turned us on to TrafficMasterTM Allure Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring.  It's an amazing new vinyl product that looks more like real wood that any of the laminate floors we've seen.  You can even feel the texture of the woodgrain and knot holes! Better ye...
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By Chris Hyde - LoanSource Funding, Vancouver, WA
(LoanSource Funding)
 In case you haven't heard, the federal government has changed the conforming loan limits as part of President Bush's economic stimulus plan. This affects which mortgage loans are considered "conforming loans" and which are considered "jumbo loans". Jumbo loans carry a higher interest rate than conforming loans. Rather than setting a standard conforming loan limit that is the same across the country, Bush's economic stimulus plan sets the limit for conforming loans according to the home prices of each local area. The conforming loan limit for Clark County (and the rest of the Portland metro) has now been raised to $418,750 and that will be valid through December 31, 2008.What does this mean to you? There are two possible ways this change can affect you:1) If you are interested in buying...
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Here are some of the events coming up this week in the Vancouver WA / Clark County area: Now - May 11: Hulda Klager Lilac Days 2008 (Daily, 10:00a - 4:00p) Gift Shop open, Hulda Klager Historical House Open, beautiful garden full of lilacs and other plants for your enjoyment. You can even buy lilacs to plant in your own garden or give to your gardening friends. Remember ... Mother's Day is May 13! $2 fee payable at the gate.Location: Victorian Farmhouse Gift Shop & Garden, 115 S Pekin Rd, Woodland WA The Slocum House Theatre Company Presents "Everybody Loves Opal" (Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8:00p and Sunday at 2:00p) Opal Kronkie, a middle-aged recluse, lives in a tumbledown mansion at the edge of the municipal dump. Opal is an optimist, for no matter how mean her friends become, Opal responds w...
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By Tesha Perry, Realtor, GRI Vancouver Washington, Battle Ground W
(NW Real Estate Professionals & Premier Property Group BG, LLC)
Wednesday morning started out like any other morning.  I got my cup of coffee, turned on my computer and prepared myself for the day.  I returned some emails that were waiting for me from the night before.  Updated my listing and sales files and was able to get caught up on a lot of miscellaneous paperwork that had been building up.  Around noon I received a phone call from an associate asking why I had not responded to an email she had sent to me that morning.  "I never received an email from you", I said.  She told me she had sent 3 urgent emails... I had not received any of them.  Then the panic set in, what else had I missed.  Did my clients get the emails I had sent them this morning?  Oh my gosh, what was I going to do?  So I spent the rest of the day and then some of the next put...
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As real estate agents in today's market, we keep hearing ‘Have we hit the bottom yet?'  The truth is that it will likely be months after we hit bottom before we realize that it actually happened and, by then, prices will be on the rise again. So is now a good time to buy?  For many, the answer will be ‘yes'. Interest rates are still at near historic lows ... and the selection of homes is incredible.  Just this morning, our RMLS data indicated that there are 4,693 properties available in the Vancouver WA / Clark County area.  Of those: 1,545 (nearly a third) were priced at/below $250,000 1,053 (more than 22%) were priced at/below $225,000 653 (nearly 14%) were priced at/below $200,000 Of the 653 properties priced at/below $200,000, 283 were detached (single family) homes.  Of the 283 det...
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Here are some of the events coming up this week in the Vancouver WA / Clark County area: April 21 - 25: Magenta Theater's "Once Upon A Palace Purple" (7:00p) Queen Violet & King Percival rule happily over the Purple Kingdom.  Violet fears that she'll never get her four "unusual" daughters married to suitable princes.  Meanwhile in the Red Kingdom, Queen Scandalous & King Uberoff have to trouble finding eligible bachelors for their gorgeous daughters.  A plotting Prime Minister and an unscrupulous manservant stir up trouble with potions and an eclectic bath of princes.  But no one is prepared for the intervention of an unconventional Fairy Godmother!  Suitable for all ages over 4. Location: First Baptist Church - 108 W 27th St, Vancouver April 21 - 27: Woodland Tulip Festival - Extended!...
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"If you don't like change, leave it here" is the message posted on the tip jar at Mon Ami Cafe. Mon Ami is a quaint but quirky shop in Uptown Village that offers specialty coffee drinks featuring fresh, locally roasted Stumptown beans, a selection of fresh crepes made with organic white and buckwheat flour from Bob's Red Mill, all in a comfortable, casual environment in the Uptown Village area of Vancouver. Our favorite is the triple mocha, served in an oversized mug with artfully decorated foam topping.  The varied crepe selection includes cinnamon & sugar (my wife's favorite), jam crepe, PB&J crepe, PB, Banana, Cinnamon & Honey crepe, ham, pear & brie crepe, ham & swiss crepe, and a salmon & tomato crepe, among others. Another sign in the restaurant playfully states "Unattended childr...
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We made what's turning into a weekly trip to the Vancouver Farmers Market today.  The wifely one has decided that having fresh flowers each week is a must.  This week, we bought from Xiong Farms.  The flowers were beautiful and they were kind enough to make us a custom bouquet.  It is stunning ... and only $12! We have to admit that the market was a little light on vendors this week ... probably due to the weather.  We came across several, though, that were quite interesting.  We'll be sharing info on several of them in the coming weeks.  This week, though, we want to highlight a food vendor call Fetzer's German Sausage. Fetzer's German Brand Sausages are authentic Old World recipe sausages produced using the freshest, leanest, hand crafted all natural meats, and the finest ingredients ...
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      Based on the crowd, it looks like the Grand Opening of the new Grand Central Fred Meyer was a wild success!  Despite some crowded aisles and long check-out lines, people were friendly and seemed excited about the new mega-store.  The new Fred Meyer store boasts a design and unique food offerings like no other location in the chain.  The location offers an expanded selection of natural and organic products.  Some of the notable differences to the untrained eye were an expanded footprint (135,000 square feet!), a large selection of gourmet prepared foods and desserts, and a drive-up pharmacy, all in an upscale environment. People who braved the weather and the crowds were able to take advantage of crazy coupon deals included 2 pound blocks of Tillamook Cheese for $2.99, Nabisco Oreo...
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One of the hardest things about relocating to a new area is finding your new 'go to' people.  You know, the people that you turn to and can trust for ... what ever.  Like what doctor/s will you go to?  What dentist will you go to?  What daycare provider?  Restaurants?  Grocery store?  Drycleaner?  Real Estate agent?  (by the way, we can recommend a great REALTOR® team in Vancouver/Clark County WA if you're considering buying or selling in the area!!!)  Bank?  Hair Stylist?  Home improvement center?  or any of the other businesses and vendors that you have built up and rely on in your community. We've lived in the Vancouver / Clark County for most of our lives and have a lot of people that we are comfortable recommending for any number of services.  Today, we want to highlight Arts & Scr...
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It's no secret that gas prices are climbing.  As we take a look at our own records, we see that we were paying $2.81 per gallon in April of 2007.  Today, we are paying $3.39.  On a broader view, the average price of gas in Washington State has climbed from $3.088 a year ago to $3.634 today; and the average price of gas in the US has climbed from $2.872 to $3.472 in the same time.  Looking at prices yesterday, a week ago, and a month ago, we are continuing to trend upward.* Now, it's no secret who has the best prices!  The GasBuddy.com network is a grass-roots community effort to lower gas prices. It is a network of 181 local gas price websites.  Together, they report that in a typical city, gas prices vary by about 30-50 cents per gallon in the US.  They believe that if everyone buys ga...
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We have always had visions of designing a beautiful backyard oasis with a stunning water feature and lush landscaping.  Problem is ... we have no idea what to plant, when to plant it, where to plant it, or how to plant it.  We're just plant dumb!  Then we came across a great website called PlantNative.com.  PlantNative.com gives insight on different approaches to landscaping and instruction on planning a site that will work for you.  It points out that most of us have learned to remove native plants, believing they are somehow uncivilized, and replace them with plants that are readily available in local gardening centers.  The site suggests 'naturescaping,' or using native plants that will thrive in the chosen environment, creating a place of beauty while minimizing maintenance and need...
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      We came across the greatest gadget at Costco (our best friend!).  It's called Neat Receipts®.  It's a lightweight, portable scanner that helps you scan, read and organize documents, business cards and (best of all) receipts.  It will even help you easily organize your receipts by tax form and export to Excel®, Quicken®, Quickbooks®, TurboTax® and other similar software programs.Suggested Business Uses:Expense ReportsInvoicesBusiness CardsReceiptsFaxesContractsSuggested Home Uses:TaxesBudgetsReceiptsWarrantiesPersonal DocumentsChildren's ArtworkWhen we first saw this at Costco, we were skeptical.  We have used other image recognition tools / software and not been please with the results.  We bought it, though, and we're glad we did.  It is easy to install, easy to use, and is savin...
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By Christopher Lotte, Central Ohio Real Estate Agent, 614-390-9243
(Coldwell Banker)
Vancouver, WA Subdivisions 98665 Zip CodeI have been working on a list of real estate subdivisions for Vancouver, WA in the 98665 Zipcode. These are the subdivisions starting with A-M.  Please let me know if I have missed any good ones....Avalon |Avalon Condos |Avalon Court |Barberton |Beckridge |Browns Manor |Buckman Garden |Canyon Crest |Castle Grande |Cedar Place |Cindy's Parkview |Colwood |Continental |East Hazel Dell |Fairfield |Fairfield Park |Fieldstone Ridge |Forest Creek |Gaiser Hazel Dell |Gaiser Ridge |Hazel Dell The Timbers |Hazel Dell Heights Estates |Hazel Dell Park |Hazel Dell Minnehaha |Hazel Ridge |Hazeldell |Heritage Meadows |Isaac Bell |Ivy Glen |Jason Lee Lakeshore Area |Kennedy Estates |Kramers Place |Lakeshore |Lakeshore Hills |Lakeshore Holly Lane |Lakeview Estate...
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By Christopher Lotte, Central Ohio Real Estate Agent, 614-390-9243
(Coldwell Banker)
Vancouver, WA Subdivisions 98664 Zip CodeI have been working on a list of real estate subdivisions for Vancouver, WA in the 98663 Zipcode. Please let me know if I have missed any good ones....Al Mi Court |Allwood |Allwood Estates |Andesen Highland |Belmont Place Condos |Bennette Estates |Burton |Burton Ridge |Burton Steppes |Cedar Heights |Cedar Heights Condo |Cedarbrook |Columbia Ridge |Conifer |East Heights |Ellsworth |Ellsworth On The Park |Ellsworth Springs |Ellsworth Terrace |Evergreen |Fellmans |Fieldstone Crossings |Fircrest |Forest Ridge |Foxcroft |Green Acres |Heights |Hidden Village |Kristine Point |Lieser |Lieser Crest |Lieser Louis |Mcloughlin Heights |Meadowbrook |Mill Plain |Old Evergreen |Shannon Estates |Sheldon Estates |Tanglewood |The Crossing |Vancouver Heights |Viewc...
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By John Slocum, Broker, SFR - Vancouver WA Real Estate
(Premiere Property Group, LLC - Vancouver Washington)
Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | West Area Market Report for March 2008 This month has 30 more Vancouver WA homes for sale in the active category, and the average days on the market has decreased to 103 days. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is now 94 days -- an increase of 15 days from the prior month. For 2008 year-to-date the Vancouver Washington MLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for these Vancouver areas ranging from: $167,200 to $430,000; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $165,000 to $250,000. The Clark County - wide Average Home Selling Price is: $294,600; while the Median Selling Price is: $247,400. This report is a simple tabulation of Vancouver Washington homes in the real estate data base for the West are ...
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By John Slocum, Broker, SFR - Vancouver WA Real Estate
(Premiere Property Group, LLC - Vancouver Washington)
Vancouver WA Real Estate | Cascade Park; Fishers Landing Market Report for March 2008 This month has 53 more Vancouver WA Homes For Sale in the active category, and the average days on the market crept up to 108 days. For the listings that are agreeing to offers the average time on the market is about 85 days, which is 10 more days than last month. The number of Pending sales has gone from 176 to 151. For March year-to-date the MLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for these Vancouver areas ranging from: $220,700 to $425,300; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $205,000 to $301,300. The Clark County - wide Average Home Selling Price is: $294,600; while the Median Selling Price is: $247,400. This report is a simple tabulation of Vancouver Washington homes in the real ...
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By John Slocum, Broker, SFR - Vancouver WA Real Estate
(Premiere Property Group, LLC - Vancouver Washington)
Vancouver WA Real Estate For Sale | Salmon Creek, Felida and Hazel Dell Market Report for March 2008 This month has 61 more Homes For Sale in Vancouver WA in the active category, and the average days on the market is now about 99 days -- 9 days more than last month. This month we have 76 homes Pending -- 13 fewer than last month. For March year-to-date the RMLS data is showing the Average home Selling Price for the Felida, Salmon Creek & Salmon Creek areas ranging from: $260,000 to $425,600; and the Median Selling Price ranging from: $260,000 to $392,500. The Clark County - wide Average Home Selling Price is: $294,600; while the Median Selling Price is: $247,400. This report is a simple tabulation of Vancouver Washington homes in the real estate data base for the Salmon Creek, Felida an...
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