June 2025

The sun is out! The flowers are blooming! I love this time of year. People start coming out of the woodwork. You walk around the neighborhood and it feels like we were all out of town for six months. “Hey! How ARE you? It’s been forever!” You make more plans because every nice day feels like cause for celebration. It’s one of the fun parts about living somewhere with four actual seasons. I think we appreciate the rainy months once we see all the beauty it produces. I have now lived BACK in my hometown of Lake Oswego for ten years. In many ways, it feels like I never left. In other ways, I am still getting used to the seasonal rhythm of living here. I’ve learned that I need to travel somewhere sunny a couple of times between January and April and that I prefer to stick around here (the most beautiful place in the country) between May and September. Not ideal with kids’ school schedules, but we make it happen whenever we can. :)

Thoughts on the Local Market…

Well, it’s been an interesting Spring so far. In February and March, leading up to “the busy season”, it felt like a balanced market was in the works. More homes were starting to list and buyers were out there buying. But then there was a shift. The more expensive homes (over 1.8M in our local market) started seeing more days on market, which led to more inventory. As a result, there have been a lot of “price adjustments” to try to entice buyers to come off the sidelines. Buyer hesitation is understandable, due to the uncertainty everyone is feeling. Tariff talk and market volatility are causing some people to take a pause. The key to success is going to be Sellers listing at competitive prices that accurately reflect the current market and buyers jumping at the deals that are out there. Reach out if you’d like to discuss your situation or to get a market analysis of your home. The more information you have, the better. 

One of the questions I get asked most often by my clients is whether they will recoup the money spent on home renovations when they go to sell. A lot of factors weigh into the answer, including WHICH updates they want to do, the location of the home and whether it’s a high-end or mid-range renovation. It’s also helpful to think about how long they will  get to enjoy the updates while also reaping the potential savings on utilities while living there. This article by U.S. News & World Report does a nice job summarizing results from various studies and mostly aligns with my feelings on the subject. But in general, I feel like investing in the exterior (curb appeal) adding square footage and doing nice (but not overly expensive) kitchen and bathroom updates are always money well spent. Oh, and please no hollow doors! ;)

When working with sellers to prepare their home for the market, one of the first priorities is cleaning out of all of the STUFF. Clutter, personal items, closets filled with “just in case” items, boxes of kids’ artwork… you know what I’m talking about. Whether we’re moving or not, many of us struggle with the accumulation of things that we have trouble parting with. Sometimes it’s too big a hurdle to tackle on our own, so we need to call in the pros. One of my favorites is a local, female-owned business called Bee Organized. They have a deep understanding of why people hold onto things, and they have developed “organizing profiles”, which help their clients understand why they do it (which can help them get better at editing). I think I’d fall into the “Memory-keeper” category, but I probably have traits in line the other types, as well.

Oregon Voted #1 Wine Destination

We already knew that Oregon produces some of the best wines on the market and that the setting is unbeatable on a sunny day. But the word is out! With over 700 wineries and over 1000 vineyards between Portland and Eugene, the Willamette Valley was just voted the #1 Wine Destination in the WORLD by VinePair. Neither Tuscany or Napa Valley made it into the top 10. And it’s not just the usual “Oregon Pinot” that got their attention. Click the link to read more.

On a personal note…

The Bocci family had the incredible pleasure of attending my beautiful niece, Isabella’s, wedding in early May. She’s my sister’s daughter, and I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. She was also the flower girl in our wedding 24 years ago(!), so it was a full-circle  moment for us. The ceremony took place in the white sand on the Gold Coast of Florida. Eighteen of us flew over from Portland, which was so fun. Spending that time with extended family and celebrating our sweet girl felt like life at it’s best.

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Thank you for your continued referrals! I love selling homes in the city I grew up in, and it means the world to me when you send your family and friends my way. Wishing you all a fantastic summer!

-Anna