Happy Valentine’s Day to Everyone. February 14 is also the birthdate of the State of Oregon, back in 1859. Our Real Estate Market continues a slow rise in activity with mixed results last week. Highlight from the chart below was an increase in new listings in Jackson County, but they continue to lag behind pending sales and sold homes. Inventory levels, especially in the more affordable ranges remain at critically low levels.
Even though fire season is a few months’ offer, we are excited to report that the Rogue Valley Association of Realtors is teaming up to support Wildfire Prevention Programs. Colin Mullane of RVAR and Katie Gibble from Ashland FIREWISE explain all this on the Real Estate Show, airs KCMX Radio, Saturday, February 15, at 10 am. AM 880. After hearing about the details of their efforts, if you live in a Wildfire Zone, you need to hear about these efforts in prevention.
Above: Colin Mullane, Katie Gibble, Alice Lema, Pete Belcastro at KCMX Studio.
Our Market Talk this week is a comparison of stats from January 2019 and January 2020. New listings are down 26% from a year ago. See more on the chart below. 
This week’s mortgage interest rate information comes from Wells Fargo. This is a sample of rates around the country. Note they are their lowest level in about five years. These low rates continue to be the fuel that is driving housing sales and is expected to continue throughout the year. Great news for Buyers. 
Finally, this week, we draw your attention to a proposal real estate tax that you will be hearing more about. Bottom line, Oregon’s Constitution forbids transfer taxes on real estate. It will take a public vote to change it. Even with an exemption of $500,000, this tax, to fund affordable housing is not the way to achieve success. This tax proposal will be vigorously opposed.
We love talking Real Estate with you. Give us a call or text anytime. Pete Belcastro 541 621 7036.
Alice Lema 541 301 7980.
Have a Great Week ahead!
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