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By admin, April 23, 2010 8:46 pm

The Ashland real estate market, a subset of the larger Oregon real estate market, is facing a slow and challenging road towards recovery. According to an April 9, 2010 article in the Oregonian, “The housing markets around the Portland area and Central Oregon will not rise back to their peak-era pricing levels until after 2015, according to research firm Fiserv.” The piece, composed by Ryan Frank, continued to state that “The Northwest forecasts are far better than the Sand States – California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada – where a return to boomtime prices isn’t expected until after 2025. The forecast is based on data from Fiserv, the Case-Shiller Index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Moody’s Economy.com. (via HousingWire) David Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist, said in a statement that the index points to another 7 percent decline in home prices through 2010, with a prolonged recovery starting in 2011.”

The situation confronting Ashland real estate and the rest of the state of Oregon has become severe enough that the state has received almost one hundred million dollars to help relieve the foreclosure crisis. According to a March 29, 2010 article in The Oregionian, “The good news and bad news are one and the same: Oregon is one of five states that will share in a $600 million federal program aimed at helping regions hardest hit by unemployment, home foreclosures and upside-down mortgages.” The piece, composed by Eric Mortenson, continued to state that “The agency will distribute the $88 million awarded to Oregon under an aid program expansion announced Monday by the Obama administration to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.”

The volume of Ashville and Oregon homes for sale, however, has most likely increased, according to an April 7, 2010 article in the Oregon Business Report. According to this article, “The University of Oregon Lane County Business Index (LCBI) rose 2.5 percent to 88.2 (1999=100) in the fourth quarter of 2009, the first increase since the first quarter of 2007. The increase is consistent with evidence that the national and state economies exited recession in the second half of 2009.” The article, composed by Tim Duy, continued to say that “Housing markets improved during the quarter, with home sales rising to a monthly rate of nearly 300 units, a 46 percent increase from the second quarter low. Moreover, the average days on market declined as homes sold more quickly.”