Columbia Gorge Real Estate Blog

Here are the sales in Hood River County for the month of April 2008. This information is taken from the RMLS-Regional Multiple Listing Service.  TOTAL HOME SALES APRIL 2008 HOOD RIVER COUNTY-  10 sales

Cascade Locks-  0 Sales

Hood River/City-1 sale Manufactured Home-listed for $205,000 Sold for $210,000 DOM-191 days   5 sales-Single Family Homes- listed-$320,000 Sold-$318,500 DOM 196   Listed-$398,000 Sold-$366,000 DOM-158   Listed-$425,000 Sold-$375,000 DOM-12 days    Listed-$479,000 Sold-$459,000   DOM 285 days  Listed-$535,000 Sold-$399,000 DOM-88 days   1 sale townhouse  Listed-$595,000 Sold-$595,000 DOM-0 days

Hood River/Westside- 2 sales-Single Family Homes- Listed-$1,195,000  Sold-$1,100,000 DOM-665 days  Listed-$474,900  Sold-$450,000  DOM- 12 days

Hood River/Eastside- 0 Sales

Odell- 0 Sales

Parkdale-1 Single  Family Home- Listed-$225,000  Sold-$180,000 DOM-64 days

23 CURRENT SALE PENDINGS IN HOOD RIVER COUNTY- Hood River/City- 1 manufactured home in a park               4 townhomes    3 condos        12 single family homes    Parkdale- 3 single family homes

The Columbia River Gorge is a beautiful area of Oregon and Washington separated by the Mighty Columbia River. There is a vast difference in climate and landscape from West to East in the gorge. The West end of the Gorge starts at Troutdale, east of Portland, OR and Washougal, east of Vancouver, WA. Here the climate is much the same as Portland with about 45" of annual precipitation but by the time you reach Cascade Locks, OR and North Bonneville, WA you will find yourself in a rain forest with 80" annual precipitation, plenty of trees, and lush undergrowth. Another 20 miles east to White Salmon, WA and Hood River, OR and you will find the climate is drier with only 25" of precip per year. Yet another 20 miles east to Dallesport, WA and The Dalles, OR and you have reached the arid high desert of the gorge with dry hills, sage, a few pines and scrub oaks, and only 12" annual rainfall.

I love taking scenic pictures in the gorge and here are some views I've captured over the years. Starting from the west end to the east end.

I took these pictures yesterday around Hood River. It was feeling like spring and a nice morning for a walk through town, past the Veteran's Memorial fountain, Stratton Gardens and up the 2nd St. stairs then back downtown. Mike's Ice Cream-a popular Hood River spot-was looking colorful. I tried to take pictures of historic homes I haven't photographed before.

This may be of interest to people with school age children looking for something different. A free information session will be held at 6:30 pm  on April 30, 2008 at The Civic Auditorium, 323 E. Fourth St. in The Dalles, Oregon. This event is free for families who want to learn more about the free, full-time, virtual public school program.  Oregon Connections Academy is Oregon's largest virtual public charter school. It opened in August 2005 and currently serves appr. 2,000 Oregon students in grades K-11.  Parents will have an opportunity to meet ORCA teachers and learn about ORCA's individualized learning approach and curriculum. The new features being added for the 2008-2009 school year include the addition of 12th grade and availability of a loaned computer for families with students in K-8 (possibly 9-12 also). ORCA has no fees or tuitions because it is a public school.  

On May 17, 2008 the Hood River USDA Forest Service will be hosting a Youth Fishing Clinic from 8 am to 1 pm at the Middle Fork Irrigation Pond. This event is FREE and there will be instruction, drawings, prizes, crafts, food and drinks for children age 13 and under.  Any youth over 13 must have an Oregon fishing license to catch fish.  A fishing derby will be held to see who catches "The Big One". 

I have been following the real estate market here in the gorge since 1985 when we bought our first home in Stevenson, WA for $23,000. Granted, it was a true fixer with not even a foundation, but it had potential.  It was perfect for a young, ambitious family and the payments were less than the rent we'd been paying. After 6 years, $15,000 and plenty of sweat equity we sold it for $70,000. The market was still reasonable in the Hood River area. In 1993 we bought another fixer bungalow in the old part of town for $66,000 and the empty buildable lot for $22,000.  We built a new 1700 sq. ft. craftsman style home on the lot which I marketed for $200,000. 

In 1996, there were very few homes in this price range. Only a handful of homes would even bring this price. After marketing for quite a few months and even moving in ourselves we finally sold for $186,000. The Hood River market was in the early growing stages. Every year home prices were going up but in 2000 you could still buy a 1500 sq. ft. new tract home in Pacific Heights for around $150,000. In 2000, The Colby House, a 1905 Victorian on Columbia St. that we had totally rebuilt and listed on the National Historic Registry sold for $300,000. This was the most the market would bring and few homes were selling for over $300,000.   By 2003, the market had become very competitive. There were multiple offer situations and some homes were selling for over the listed price. Prices in the gorge continued rising through 2005 with plentiful home sales. The market started shifting in 2006. Many sellers had seen what similar homes had sold for and kept wanting more but where were the buyers now? The market was slowing down. 

The gorge area is unique in that it consists of 4 counties in 2 states. In each county there are many small towns. The county data is an overall compilation of the entire county. To get a totally accurate picture you would need to compare each individual town year by year. Now in 2008 the market is quite different than it was a few years ago. We have a large inventory of homes for sale. Sellers are having to be more realistic with pricing and consider their competion. In general homes are still holding a reasonable appreciation value in the gorge but may take longer to sell.

Here is a breakdown from data compiled from the RMLS for March 2008 compared to March 2007

2008 Klickitat County Active Listings-170  Average sales price-$167,800  Average DOM- 143

2007 Klickitat County Active Listings-194  Average sales price-$205,300  Average DOM-111

2008 Skamania County  Active Listings-88  Average sales price-$288,300  Average DOM-298

2007 Skamania County Active Listings-88  Average sales price-$353,900  Average DOM-147

2008 Wasco County   Active Listings-220  Average sales price-$142,400  Average DOM-131

2007 Wasco County  Active Listings-211  Average sales price-$227,600  Average DOM-118

2008 Hood River County    Active Listings-246   Average sales price-$285,400  Average DOM-173

2007 Hood River County  Active Listings-168   Average sales price-$328,900  Average DOM-85

This home is located in East Stonegate just west of town in Hood River Oregon. Stonegate is a unique planned unit development with CCR's, architectural guidelines, nature trails, a habitat conservation area, common green spaces & parks, trees and privacy. My husband designed this home specifically for the lot it sits on. We built this home in 2005 with much attention to detail and fine craftsmanship. See gallery with construction photos at: http://amymcallisterrealty.vflyer.com/7/index.html   The covered front porch has mahogany decking and rustic log porch columns. The lower level is ECO-Block (ICF-concrete form) construction and has radiant heating in the floor. There is a 1 bedroom apartment with a full size kitchen, living room, laundry facilities, and both separate outside entrance and interior entrance to the main house so has many use possibilities. There is a total of 3365 sq. ft. with 5 bdrms, 4 full baths, 2 living rooms,and 2 kitchens.  The main floor has CVG (clear vertical grain) fir flooring, raja slate flooring, a custom built fireplace hearth and surround with built in bookcases, master on the main with large bathroom with travertine and pebbletile walk in shower and adjoining sauna.  A balcony off the kitchen and dining rooms is ready for summer entertaining complete with natural gas BBQ hookup. The siding is clear cedar #1 shingles with woven corners and board & batten. The roof is 30 yr architectural comp. An oversized double car garage, plenty of paved parking, located at the end of a quiet culdesac with mature trees and privacy complete the setting. You won't be disappointed when you view this one of a kind home. Owners are a General Contractor and a Real Estate Broker. Priced at about $249 per sq ft. total of $839,000

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is now celebrated around the globe. Because of the combined efforts of the U.S. government, grassroots organizations, and citizens, Earth Day has evolved into a world-wide campaign to protect our environment and our earth.  Here are some ideas that are easy for anyone to do to help protect the earth and save resources. I'm sure there are many more but these are some I thought of that are easy to do.

• Remember to turn off lights when not in the room
• Walk or bike rather than driving all the time
• Take public transportation when you can or carpool
• Reuse your bags at the store or bring your own cloth or used shopping bags 
• Recycle all you can: glass, metal, paper, plastic
• Buying in bulk saves on packaging waste
• Be conservative with water use; install a water reducing shower head
• Plant a tree in your yard
• Grow a family vegetable garden
• Turn your thermostat down at night or if you aren't home during the day

The Gorge White House was built in 1910. The architectural style is Dutch Colonial Revival which was popular from 1890-1915. Some of the characteristics of this style include the gambrel roof, oval windows with keystones, attic windows, transoms, dentils at the cornice, screened porch, balconies, leaded beveled glass, fluted porch columns, arched window with keystone in the west facaing gable and sidelights framing the doors. The exterior and interior of the house are intact. The inside features quarter sawn white oak columns, coffered ceilings, newel posts, staircase, floors, doors, and windows. The house is located in a rural setting in the Hood River Valley surrounded by orchards. It is listed on the National Historic Registry. The first floor of the Gorge White House is open to the public.

This is a beautiful totally custom home that is currently under construction near where I live in Hood River. This home is built with so much attention to detail it is amazing. The beams were locally cut and stained before they were installed. The windows are wood clad top of the line. The siding is rough sawn Breckenridge with battens. The house is sited on a five acre parcel and also has a custom detached garage. I have been watching the progress on this home as it was started a little before we started our building project last July. The owner is a builder and this will be his personal home.