Today is the day for the 2nd annual Bite of the Rogue Valley. 

The Bite of the Rogue Valley, which will be set up at the Jackson County Fair Expo, will feature booths filled with culinary delights from some of the Valley's best restaurants, wines from the region's top vineyards, and microbrews from around the Northwest.

Come join my family as we participate in this newer annual event which not only features great food, but fun for the entire family.  Everything from an Iron Chef competition to face painting to ice carving.

See you there today from 10-8.  All proceeds of the event will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley.

At our weekly Medford Rotary Meeting today we had the opportunity to have one our fellow Rotarians, Mr. Michael Dyal, the Medford City Manager address us.  Mike told us that Medford was recently voted the safest city of its size in Oregon and then when on and talked about our excellent police chief and police force and how the average response time for emergency calls has decreased dramatically in recent years. 

At the end of speaking Mike opened it up to questions from the audience.  I was the first to raise my hand and ask as City Manager what the greatest concern is currently for the City of Medford.  Basically he boiled it down to how to fund all of the things that the city would like to do to continue to improve the quality of life for all of the citizens of Medford as we continue to be the business hub for all of Southern Oregon. 

Relocation to Southern Oregon: Part 1 - Cost of Living

www.topmedfordagent.com

www.southernoregonfreehomeinfo.com

Welcome to part one on the series of Relocation to Southern Oregon, the Medford, Jackson County area of Oregon. 

On a scale of 100, with 100 being the average cost of living throughout the United States, Medford Oregon, the Medford area has a cost of living of 104.71.

The categories break down as follows:

Utilities being the best bargain for our cost of living: 72

Transportation Costs: 104

Miscellaneous (Includes: clothing, entertainment, repairs, and restaurants): 105

Food: 106

Health: 110

Housing: 110

(data from: Consumer Price Index)

All in all, the Medford area is above the cost of living for the average town in America, but not as high as others, thus making it a great place to relocate without a major sticker shock when moving from most areas of the country.

Introduction to relocating to Southern Oregon

If you are considering relocating to Southern Oregon, whether it be Ashland, Medford, Jacksonville, Central Point, Eagle Point, Gold Hill, White City, Phoenix, Talent, Rogue River, or Grants Pass then this series of blogs is for you!    In this series of relocation blogs we'll consider what is most important to you in your relocation decisions: cost of living, housing, schools, churches, amenities with each city, recreation, dining, transportation, employment, health care, and of course, for all of the ladies out there, shopping! 

Stay tuned!  For more information on relocating to the beautiful Rogue River Valley, please visit our website.

For the hundreds of people in beautiful Southern Oregon that owe more than their house is worth in this market of values that continue to trend downwards there is hope!  Its called a Short Sale! 

If you live anywhere in Jackson County including the towns of Medford, Central Point, Ashland, and Eagle Point or any of the surrounding areas and you are behind in your payments or in a must sell situation, find a licensed realtor that has experience in the foreclosure & preforeclosure arena. 

Why?  It's a great way to save your house from foreclosure and your credit from being destroyed by a forclosure sale on your record.  For example, lets say you bought your home at the peak of the market in September of 2005 for $400,000, but through circumstances out of your control (divorce, job loss, medical bills, etc.) you now find yourself unable to continue to keep your payments current and realize your house is now only worth $300,000.  You have a few options (please consult your local legal and financial advisors for which options are best for your personal situation)

1. Bankruptcy
2. Foreclosure
3. Sell Your home in a "short sale"

If the third option is your best option, my advice is to find a realtor with a lot of experience in working with banks to make a short sale happen to help you out of the situation you find yourself in.  There is hope!  To see some short sales that are currently available, feel free to visit our website below:

www.southernoregonfreehomeinfo.com

With all of the news on the economy throughout the past several months, its time for a realistic reality check on what the market in Ashland is really doing.

In 1998, the median home sold for $166,250

In 2002, the median home sold for $259,000

In 2007, the median homes sold for $426,250

During that entire 10 year history, the median price has NEVER gone down from year to year.  Ashland Oregon real estate continues to be a great long term investment both for homeowners and investors.

www.jaredhokanson.com

How to get more money for your home in Southern Oregon

The answer is simple, to get more money for your home, get an agent that knows how to get more money for your home!  Throughout the Jackson County, Medford Oregon area in 2007, the average home sold for about 96% of what their asking price for their home. 

Example:

Asking Price: $400,000

Sales Price: $384,000

For the sellers that chose to have Jared Hokanson, one of Medfords top agents sell their house, they got 2.9% MORE! 

In the above example, instead of walking away with just $384,000, Jared's sellers would walk away with $395,136, based on his average list price to sales price ratio from 2007, a difference of $11,136.

Where does that extra $11,136 go?  Nearly all of that goes straight to the sellers when Jared represents the seller!!!

So, how do you get more money for your home in Southern Oregon?  Get a real estate agent that knows how to get you more money for your house.

www.jaredhokanson.com

Re/Max Realty Group sells houses!

As I put together numbers for the past year and all of the houses that we have been selling I was SHOCKED to find how many more houses in Jackson County, Medford Oregon area, our office at Re/Max Realty Group on Barnett Road sold than ANY other top 10 offices in the valley per realtor. 

Re/Max Realty Group Branch, 2594 E. Barnett Rd., Ste B, Medford, OR 97504

SOLD 17.4 homes per agent in 2007

The next closest office in the valley was clear back at 10.4 houses per agent, followed by 3rd place at 8.1 houses per agent. 

It does make a difference who you choose to represent you on the sale of your home!!!

www.jaredhokanson.com

It seems that everyone wants to know how bad the market is.  I feel its kind of like the fine print of a stock offering, "past performance is not a guarantee of future performance."  So...if you own a house in East Medford, what has the value done over the past 10 years, lets take a look:

1998 Median Value: $139,250

2003 Median Value: $199,900

2007 Median Value $290,000

If you are interested in finding out how much equity you currently have in your East Medford home, don't hesitate to call Jared Hokanson at 541-772-SOLD (7653)  or on the web at: www.jaredhokanson.com

I wanted to wish everyone that reads this in Southern Oregon, Rogue Valley, Ashland, & Medford or wherever else you may be a very Happy New Year and hope that 2008 is a healthy and prosperous year for each and everyone of you!  I look forward to many more blogs in the coming year promoting Southern Oregon and the local area both in real estate matters and other items of local interest.

www.jaredhokanson.com

So how are things going for you?

www.jaredhokanson.com

Is it just me or is like every single person I talk to lately asking how things are going for me in the real estate world and are surprised when I tell them its been a good year.  They seem quite shocked, I guess because they keep reading in the newspapers how it is a buyers market across the country and values are continuing to drop.  YEAH, isn't it great? 

We haven't seen such a good time to be buying real estate in a few years.  Boy, and if you are thinking about selling and then buying a bigger more expensive home, WOW, what a great time to be doing that.  Lose a relatively small amount of equity on your smaller home and get a lot bigger price reduction on your new home. 

Interest rates are still great!  All in all, its been a good year, I can hardly wait till next year!!! By the way, I'm never too busy for your referrals in the Medford Oregon, Southern Oregon area.  So, how are things going for you?

First Time Home Buyers in Medford Oregon

http://www.jaredhokanson.com/

I love working with first time home buyers in Southern Oregon!  If you are looking for real estate in the Medford Oregon area, now is a great time!  Interest rates for many buyers are in the 6%+ range, prices have retreated from their 2005 highs and are much more affordable now.  A good realtor can guide you through the maze of buying your first home with a wealth of information explained a simple, easy to understand way. 

As I told one of the 3 first time home buyers I talked to today, when you are investing the kind of money in your first home as homeowners do here in the Medford area, there are NO stupid questions.  Its important that every buyer feel comforable with what it takes to own their first home from finding the right house, to what type of loan to get to making sure that the house has been inspected by a licensed FHA inspector to help make sure there are no surprises.

Eagle Point Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

29 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 40 in same period 2006.

 103 average days on market 2007, 82 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $287,950.  September 2006 Median $300,000

10/1/07 240 active listings compared to 213 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

White City Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

14 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 23 in same period 2006.

67 average days on market 2007, 101 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $177,500.  September 2006 Median $232,000

10/1/07 109 active listings compared to 153 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

Central Point Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

57 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 77 in same period 2006.

82 average days on market 2007, 66 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $245,450.  September 2006 Median $245,000

10/1/07 348 active listings compared to 305 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

East Medford Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

117 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 165 in same period 2006.

86 average days on market 2007, 71 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $255,000.  September 2006 Median $299,900

10/1/07 672 active listings compared to 513 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

West Medford Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

67 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 113 in same period 2006.

80 average days on market 2007, 68 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $230,000.  September 2006 Median $217,081

10/1/07 405 active listings compared to 422 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

Jacksonville Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

11 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 5 in same period 2006.

109 average days on market 2007, 57 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $290,000.  September 2006 Median $500,000

10/1/07 95 active listings compared to 84 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

Phoenix Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

10 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to 11 in same period 2006.

87 average days on market 2007, 52 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $291,000.  September 2006 Median $235,000

10/1/07 63 active listings compared to 49 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.

Talent Oregon Real Estate Market Update 

16 existing homes sold July 1 - September 30, 2007 compared to11 in same period 2006.

83 average days on market 2007, 53 days on market 2006 July 1 to September 31.

September 2007 Median price $233,000.  September 2006 Median $295,500

10/1/07 80 active listings compared to 82 on 10/1/06

All statistics based on SOMLS report released 10/8/07.