Portland condo market

It seems there is great demand for the new condominums in portland metro area. Today I went to the grand opening of Polygon homes, Tanasboune crossing condos. The first phase was sold out when I reached there. People were talking that they came to the condominium site at 5AM in the morning! Is Portland going to become like bay area or is it just a hype created by builders.

Another new townhome community is coming up in Bethany area. These townhomes are constructed by Arbor homes. The prices are starting from $280K. This is the base price without any upgrades. There are also the sales agent said that they are sold out and we will have to wait for the next release.

Living large in small spaces

Condominiums with less than 1,000 square feet are some of the hottest properties in Portland's new-home market, attracting a wide spectrum of buyers, from empty-nesters trading yardwork for travel to singles or couples trading space for luxury finishes and better neighborhoods. A look at three new developments shows how the right combination of storage, visual continuity and neighborhood all work to create a "living large" feeling in a compact new home. Buyers at the 27-unit Andria Condominium at Southeast Belmont Street and 42nd Avenue range in age from early 20s to 80s, said Barbara Durrett, a broker with John L. Scott.

"They're practical -- they don't want yardwork and they're tired of the stuff that comes with a big home," Durrett said. Condo buyers still have "stuff," though, so Andria has large individual storage rooms in the basement, along with a special room for bike storage. All units except studios come with one covered parking space. At Tanasbourne Place, a condominium project in Beaverton by Polygon Northwest, all the condos have small, attached garages. With a little planning and installation, owners can create extra storage space on the garage walls. In the one-bedroom Tanasbourne condos, a walk-in closet in the bedroom and a laundry room offer more nooks and crannies. The laundry room is downsized to a washer/dryer closet in the two-bedroom models and the walk-in closet is a bit smaller, but the trade-off is one more bedroom and one more bath. "The attached garage is important for our buyers," said Elizabeth Chichavich, Polygon's on-site sales representative. "It makes the condo feel more like a traditional home, where you can put all your extra stuff out of sight." At Benson Tower, now being built on Southwest 11th Avenue in downtown Portland, underground parking is included and buyers may purchase garage storage space. They can even buy a spot in the wine storage area for their favorite vintages.