Old homestead buildings along Haggerty Lane, Sherman County.

RMLS™ recently added Sherman County to its tax database, meaning RMLSweb now boasts complete tax information for the state of Oregon!

What does this mean for RMLS™ subscribers? Listings in Sherman County will auto-populate some public records information in Listing Load, making the listing broker’s job a little easier.

A few facts about Sherman County:
• The county was named for General William Tecumseh Sherman.
• When Wasco County settlers wanted to have their own political process, Sherman County was carved out of the northeast corner of Wasco County.
• Sherman County covers 831 square miles, with an assessed value of $433,693,873.
• Much of Sherman County is prime wheat-growing land, but the county is also known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.
(Source: Oregon Blue Book Online)

We’re happy to have Sherman County in the system. In 2003, RMLSweb only had public records for 10 Oregon counties and Washington’s Clark County. Today, we boast public records for all 36 Oregon counties and seven Washington counties!

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of April 6-12, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Washington saw a decrease in activity this week, while Oregon saw activity increase.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This chart shows the number of bank owned/REO properties and short sales in all areas of the RMLS™ system during the first quarter of 2015.

Below are links to additional charts for some of our larger areas.
• Portland Metro Area Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2015)
• Clark County, WA Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2015)
• Lane County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2015)
• Douglas County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2015)
• Coos County, OR Distressed Properties (1st Quarter 2015)

Here are some additional facts about distressed residential properties in the first quarter of 2015:

All areas when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014:
• When comparing the first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 3.1% (8.9 v. 12.0%).
• In a comparison of the first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales increased by 2.8% (12.3 v. 9.5%).
• Short sales comprised 2.9% of new listings and 3.4% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, down 0.6% and up 0.4% from the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 6.0% of new listings and 8.9% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, down 2.5% and up 2.4% from the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.

Portland metro when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014:
• When comparing the first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 3.0% (7.7 v. 10.7%).
• In a comparison of first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales increased by 1.9% (10.1 v. 8.2%).
• Short sales comprised 2.8% of new listings and 3.0% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, down 1.0% and up 0.1% from the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 4.9% of new listings and 7.1% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, down 2.0% and up 1.8% from the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.

Clark County when comparing percentage share of the market, first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014:
• When comparing the first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of new listings decreased by 3.4% (9.3 v. 12.7%).
• In a comparison of first quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2014, distressed sales as a percentage of closed sales increased by 2.5% (14.0 v. 11.5%).
• Short sales comprised 4.4% of new listings and 5.0% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, staying even for new listings and up 0.7% for sales when compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.
• Bank owned/REO properties comprised 4.9% of new listings and 9.0% of sales in the first quarter of 2015, down 3.4% and up 1.8% from the fourth quarter of 2014, respectively.

If you’d like more information or percentages of distressed residential sales in other areas not represented by our charts, please contact us at communications@rmls.com.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 30-April 5, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity in Oregon increased this week, while activity in Washington decreased.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 23-29, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Washington saw an increase in lockbox activity this week, while numbers decreased in Oregon.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

Housing can have a huge impact on an individual’s quality of life—including the person’s physical and social health, access to community resources, and even employment. Historically, certain groups have encountered obstacles to housing, which led to the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Fair Housing Month is celebrated nationally each April in observance of this legislation.

RMLS™ encourages your business to commemorate Fair Housing Month! Here are a few ideas on how to do so.

• Review how REALTORS® can play a part in creating positive, diverse neighborhoods during a regular brokerage meeting.
• Watch a few educational videos online about modern-day housing discrimination, including linguistic profiling.
• Take a fair housing quiz online!
• Read “The Air I Breathe,” a first-person account of growing up “tolerated and underestimated” in Portland, by Ifanyi Bell. This piece, which originally appeared in the Oregon Humanities quarterly last winter, has since received national attention.
• Charter or join a bus tour with Fair Housing Council of Oregon! The bus tour is highly recommended by all RMLS™ staff who have previously gone on the tour, and I’m hoping to make it myself this April.

And of course, you could also explore the resources from my Fair Housing Month blog post for RMLS™ in April 2014.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 16-22, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Lockbox activity increased in Washington, but decreased in Oregon this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

Smartphones are a vital part of daily business for an average REALTOR®, and the National Association of REALTORS® has a great idea for pooling resources.

REpurposed Apps connects REALTORS® to a variety of apps that can be used for real estate business. These apps can be sorted by platform (iOS or Android) or categories like finance, education, or media. Download links are available for each app.

Registered users can recommend or rate apps—and registration is available for anyone with their NRDS number. Users can even share information about how they’ve used an app for real estate that wasn’t necessarily built for real estate.

One area of the site showcases members who are particularly knowledgeable—the member’s top app picks, and how he or she uses each.

Check out a video from Washington REALTORS® about the site:

Which lesser-known apps do you find most useful for your real estate business?

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 9-15, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Both Oregon and Washington saw an increase in activity this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.

This Week’s Lockbox Activity

For the week of March 2-8, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity in both Oregon and Washington increased this week.

For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.