Oh Hello! — Thinking about buying your first home in the Portland Metro? I’m so glad you’re here!
I know this process can feel overwhelming (hello, endless housing market updates and what even is escrow?!), but it really doesn’t have to be. As a Portland real estate pro (6 years, hard time), I’m here to help you navigate it all—without losing your mind or your chill.
So, What’s the Deal with Portland Right Now?
The Portland housing market is doing its thing—it’s Spring and it can be competitive, a bit spendy, but not totally out of reach. Median prices for Single Family Homes are hovering around $535K, and new listings are selling anywhere from 5 – 25+ days. Not as wild as it was a few years ago, but you’ll still want to be ready to move when the right place pops up.
Let’s Talk Money (In a Chill Way)
Here’s the stuff you’ll want to square away:
- Down Payment: You don’t need to drop 20% unless you want to. There are loans that let you put down as little as 3% (or even 0% if you qualify for certain programs).
- Credit Score: Give it a quick check-up. The better your score, the better your loan terms. But don’t stress—there are paths forward even if it’s not perfect.
- Monthly Budget: Mortgage, taxes, insurance, repairs… we’ll make sure you know the full picture before you make any big decisions.
Free Money Is a Thing (Yes, Really)
Portland has some solid programs to help first-time buyers. One to check out: the Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL). It’s basically a second mortgage with terms that can help you buy within city limits. There are also homebuyer education classes that can make the whole process feel a lot less overwhelming.
Pro tip: These programs sometimes have income caps or waitlists, so the sooner you look into them, the better.
When Should You Start Looking?
Spoiler: right now isn’t a bad time. Spring is when the market starts heating up with new listings, and the earlier you’re pre-approved and prepped, the better positioned you’ll be when your dream home shows up.
We’ll make a plan based on your timeline, your must-haves, and your budget—no pressure, just smart strategy.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
That’s where I come in. Whether you’re just starting to explore or you’re ready to book showings, I’m here to guide you through the entire process—from getting pre-approved to getting those keys in hand.
I’ll help you:
- Understand what you can afford
- Connect with trusted lenders
- Find the neighborhoods that match your vibe
- Write strong offers that stand out
- Navigate inspections, negotiations, and all that behind-the-scenes stuff
Let’s Find Your Cozy Corner
Buying your first home is a big deal—but it doesn’t have to be a meltdown moment. With the right plan, a little guidance (hi, that’s me), and maybe a coffee or two to fuel your house-hunting weekends, you’ll find your cozy corner of Portland and a home that fits your lifestyle and your budget.
If you’re thinking about making a move this year, let’s talk. I’m here to answer questions, brainstorm next steps, or just be your calm in the real estate storm.
No panic. No pressure. Just progress.
Send me a message when you’re ready—I’ve got you.
oliday season I promised myself that despite the typical holiday chaos, I would try to take some time for myself and do something fun that I’d been putting off. Binge watching the 
Congratulations to Tatiana and Madison, veterans and first-time home buyers! They were able to buy their first home with only $6000 and VA loan with a 0% down payment! Despite facing several challenges along the way, they remained positive and handled each obstacle with level heads and humor.
) At the time, the housing market was a little coo-coo with those historic interest rates and an extremely competitive market. We got to know each other spending time seeing homes and then they decided to take a pause. A pause that turned out to be a blessing! As V excelled in her career with a promotion and a new little man was added to the mix, they reached back out and they were ready to make moves!
CONGRATULATIONS NEW HOMEOWNER 
My buyer Theo wins the award for the single most expensive repair I have negotiated for a buyer. Theo was a first time buyer who was referred to me by a past client of mine who they work with. We met up on a chilly fall evening to talk about what they were looking for in a house and get the process started. Within a couple of days, Theo had their pre-approval letter in hand and we were ready to go. I sent them all of the available homes within the geographic boundaries, price range and features they were looking for. The list wasn’t very long and out of all of them, only 2 houses piqued their interest. We went to see one in NE, and that was a no-go. The second house we saw was bright blue 1920’s bungalow in the Brooklyn neighborhood. It had been on the market for about a month and had one sale fail. The home was lovely with a gigantic newly remodeled kitchen and a large upstairs bedroom with room to add a bathroom. The basement was decent enough with lots of windows and good ceiling height- a great candidate for future finishing. Theo slept on it and the next morning let me know they wanted to write on it. We put together a great offer and boom- got it accepted.
Sarah and Tariq contacted me in early August after being referred to me by one of my favorite lenders. They used to live in Portland, and had moved to Los Angeles for work, and were now being transferred back to Portland. They were moving to Portland in mid-November, so they came to Portland in mid-October to find a home. Before they arrived, we had a flurry of emails back and forth narrowing down homes they wanted to see. They seemed to really hone in on mid-centuries and when we came up with our list of homes to see over the next few days, the majority were mid-centuries. They arrived on a Thursday evening, and we hit the ground running on Friday morning. We saw around 12 houses together over the next couple of days, and they saw even more homes on their own visiting open houses.
My buyers Annie and Ben were referred to me by one of the great lenders at Portland Housing Center. They were first time home buyers and during our meeting when we met to discuss their plan and get a feel to see if we would be a good fit to work together, we talked about the ideal house for them. They had a really clear idea of exactly what they were looking for and where they wanted to buy. Ben works in Vancouver and Annie works on the inner east side so their ideal house would be in North Portland in Kenton or near I-5. They also wanted something with vintage charm- preferably mid-century, and in good shape that would be easy to maintain. They also wanted a yard and their budget was $400k tops. They were still interviewing agents when a couple of days after we met, I got an email from my wonderful colleague Martin Cross here at Living Room with info on an open house a great listing of his in Kenton was having the next day. On paper that house seemed to meet all the criteria that Annie and Ben had, so I forwarded the email along to them. They responded that indeed, the house looked like it was great and they could tell I had a really good sense of what they were looking for, and that sealed the deal for us working together.
If there is one part of the Portland market that’s not hot right now, it’s condos downtown and in the Pearl District. The Covid buying frenzy really focused on detached single family homes with yards. Communal living where you have to walk into an enclosed building and then take an elevator to your front door was the exact opposite of what the majority of buyers have wanted over the last year and a half. So for those folks who DO want to own a condo in the Pearl, the neighborhood is a pool full of fat oysters where buyers can take a while to look around be picky about what type of unit they want.
My buyer Clayton was referred to me by some of my favorite past clients ever, so I knew he was going to be great to work with. His ideal home would be in North Portland where he has lived for a long time as a renter, and would have the space and bedroom count to be able to comfortably rent out a room or two to roommates. He lost out on 2 houses, but they were not the best houses for him anyway. And when a great 4 bedroom house (2 beds on the main floor and 2 beds upstairs) came on the market he went to the open house and met the listing agent who was super impressed by how kind Clayton is and how through of a job he did looking at the house (he even went into the crawl space!). He loved the house and we wrote up an offer, and thanks to his letter and the listing agent explaining to her seller how awesome Clayton is, the seller wanted to sell to Clayton, but with another offer on the table that was over $100,000 over list price, the seller went with the crazy high offer.
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Sarah and Craig were referred to me by a dear longtime client. They just had a baby and were ready to buy a house to settle into and raise their kid in. When we first spoke this past spring, they had not yet spoken with a lender and didn’t really have an idea of how much they could qualify for. I gave them some names of great lenders I work with including the Portland Housing Center. After meeting with Portland Housing Center’s loan officer, they found out they qualified for a $15k grant if they bought something in the City of Portland, so that sealed the deal for them on which lender to use.
My buyer Alison got in touch with me over 3 years ago after she was referred to me by her close friends, who are old clients of mine. Alison thought she wanted to purchase a condo at a complex in the Brooklyn neighborhood because she had a friend who lived there, and the idea of easy maintenance seemed appealing to her at the time. For what turned out to be a blessing in disguise, none of those units came on the market while she was looking. She then decided to go to grad school and put her house hunt on hold while she went through school and figured out the next phase of her life.
My buyers Alexandra and Ray are first time home buyers and just scored on a great ranch house in Fo-Wo section of Woodstock- between Foster and Woodstock. They were fantastic to work with because they knew what they wanted and they were prepared to jump head first into this nutball of our early 2021 market where there is 1 house for every 20 buyers. After walking into what would become their house, the first thing they said was- we could be friends with this seller. The seller had quite the display of rocks, gems and minerals and before we got very far into the house, my buyers were ooohhhing and ahhhhing over the sellers collection- admiring and even naming some of the rocks. Once we got past the rocks we explored the house, a mid-century 900 sf with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom on an oversized lot graced by a front yard tree with a trunk the size of a truck. I could tel as we walked around that this was “the one” for them. They are also woodworkers and one of their strong wants was a home that had a great space to build stuff in, and this house has a newer oversized garage/ shop that is perfect for woodworking.
Who doesn’t love getting an email from new buyers letting you know they want to work with you because you could be their dream agent. And that’s exactly what my buyers Liz and Alex wrote to me when they first got in touch. After we had a Zoom meeting, I could tell they were going to be dream buyers. Liz and Alex were looking for a home where they could start a family, live as close-in as possible on the east side, and wanted vintage charm out the wazoo.
My clients Elizabeth and Tom contacted me in early October. They were getting all their ducks in a row to start the home buying process within the first 6 months of 2021. After we spoke, Elizabeth got in touch with a great lender and it was after she spoke with the lender that they realized they were actually a lot closer to making home ownership a reality then they had anticipated. Once pre-approved, they realized that with rates below 3%, buying a home sooner then later to take advantage of the low low low rates was within their reach. Besides staying within their budget, location was the most important feature, and they knew they wanted to be as close-in as possible, preferably west of 82nd and within walking distance of places you would want to walk to and near transit so once the pandemic ends Elizabeth could easily get downtown to her job at Mercy Corps.
My clients Laura and Umar contacted me in mid-October because they had just been approved to purchase a home at 
Nowhere in Portland proper on the east side is competition for what few decent homes are on the market fiercest then in N/NE Portland, and in particular Kenton, Overlook and Arbor Lodge and Concordia. Any decent home listed under $500k WILL get multiple offers. Going into the house hunting search, I warned my buyers Josie and Brandon of what to expect if they wanted to buy a house in those parts of town. First weekend we went out looking they found a house that was full of charm and had a great location. After seeing it, they went home, slept on it and decided to put in an offer. It was an a cute house but had an awkward layout, so they were only willing to offer so much. And unsurprisingly, they lost out on that house. And then a couple of weeks later another sweet vintage home in Concordia came on the market that checked most of the boxes. After we saw that one, they went home, slept on it and decided to put in an offer. And same story on this one- they were not willing to pay as high as it was going to go, so they lost out on that one.
Lisa and Matt and their 4 year old son had been renting an apartment in Irvington and were ready to branch out and buy their own home. Their needs were pretty simple- at least 2 bedrooms, cute/vintage, reasonable condition, a yard to play and garden in and relatively close to where they had been renting in inner North/Northeast. And a basement would be the cherry on the top. We looked at a few homes and even a condo that was a condo conversion from a 1960’s complex that was similar to what they had been renting. We found a great home that met all their needs within a few days. A house that had been sitting on the market with no action for nearly 3 weeks. We wrote up a great, full priced offer, and what do you know- someone else decided that day to put in an offer as well. The house seemed to have some condition issues and the other buyers offered a 2-week close, meaning it would be nearly impossible to negotiate repairs, let alone have any repairs done, prior to closing. So when Lisa and Matt’s offer was not accepted, there was a little heartbreak which was quickly dealt with via some condolence vermouth. But then, the very next day, a cuter-then-a-cupcake circa 1940 bungalow came on the market in Piedmont. We went to see it and I could tell my buyers were in love. Given it was cute, well priced, and in a fabulous location, it did receive multiple offers and Lisa and Matt were able to beat the other offers with a super clean offer and a small escalation clause. The inspection revealed a few issues including the need for a new roof, furnace and other old house stuff that was past it’s useful life. Thankfully the sellers were great and we were able to negotiate a fair credit amount and a small price reduction to account for the work needed. And then my favorite day in the whole transaction arrived- closing and key day!
