When Pigs Fly in Ashland?

Who would think that reading the City of Ashland's land use codes would be entertaining?

I have a client who wants to buy a house in the City of Ashland and I needed to find out what kind of animals you can have in the city limits. Turns out you can have pigs that are not more than 18 inches tall. But this is the funny part:

a. Be confined by fence, leash or obedience training to the property of the person keeping or maintaining them or to the property of another if such other person has given express permission;

Does anyone you know teach pig obedience training?

Local Vocanic Icon in Jackson County - Mt. McLoughlin

Mt. McLoughlin rises 9,495 feet above sea level. Although its eastern base is in Klamath County and the Winema National Forest, most of it (including the summit) are in Jackson County and the Rogue River National Forest. Mt. McLoughlin covers an area of over 20 square miles. It is the highest peak in southern Oregon, and the highest point in the Cascade Range between the Three Sisters and Mt. Shasta.

Fair Housing for Ashland and Medford Oregon

Every year I attend a fair housing education class. yes, it it required, but it reminds me, we still need to be aware of what fair housing means to people who live in and around the Ashland and Medford area. The class was taught by Andrea Bushnell, our legal council.

These are the HUD rules:

In the Sale and Rental of Housing: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap:

Refuse to rent or sell housing
Refuse to negotiate for housing
Make housing unavailable
Deny a dwelling
Set different terms, conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
Provide different housing services or facilities
Falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental
For profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting) or
Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or service (such as a multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of housing.

Ashland and Medford Homes Sales Statistics for Feb 2010

Just in the statistics from the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service for Dec 31, 2009 to Feb 28, 2010 for Jackson County, Oregon....

Some of the highlights:

For this time period the Ashland median home price rose from $208k to $298,900 - a 43.7% increase.

East Medford median home prices declined from $240k to $170k - a 15% decrease.

Overall Jackson County median home priced declined by 16.2%.

There are 1902 homes for sale and 73.9% of the homes are not distress home sales.

Ashland and Medford Homes Sales Statistics

According to RIS Media and NAR -Existing-Home Sales Down in January 2010 but Higher Than Year Ago

RISMEDIA is quoted," March 4, 2010-Existing-home sales fell in January 2010 but are above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales- including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops- dropped 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December, but remain 11.5% above the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009."

Homes sales in Jackson county were up from 126 in Feb 2009 to 130 Feb 2010. Although not a huge gain, it was a gain. The average price was down from $269,000 to $220,000 for this same month to month, but the rest of 2009 held steady hovering around the $220,000 range showing that prices have somewhat stabilized.

Also accooring to report released by RIS media -"Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is still some delay between shopping and closing that affected current sales. "Most of the completed deals in January were based on contracts in November and December. People who got into the market after the home buyer tax credit was extended in November have only recently started to offer contracts, so it will take a couple months to close those sales," he said. "Still, the latest monthly sales decline is not encouraging, and raises concern about the strength of a recovery."

You can hear more from Yun on April 23, 2010, at the Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford.

ABC's of Homebuying in Medford and Ashland

ACCESS, Inc., Southern Oregon Housing Resource Center and RCC present:



Learn the basics of choosing and qualifying for a new home. Covers mortgages, closing costs, insurance, and acquiring the tools to ask the right questions and make the best decisions. Cost includes $13 textbook fee.
2010 Class Schedule
County Dates Time Location Cost
Table Rock Campus January 23, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus February 20, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Grants Pass Campus March 20, 2010 9am-4pm Grants Pass $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus April 24, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Grants Pass Campus May 22, 2010 9am-4pm Grants Pass $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus June 19, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Grants Pass Campus July 24, 2010 9am-4pm Grants Pass $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus August 21, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus September 18, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Table Rock Campus October 23, 2010 9am-4pm White City $35/2nd guest free
Grants Pass Campus November 20, 2010 9am-4pm Grants Pass $35/2nd guest free
No December class

To register call 541-245-7616 for classes at the Table Rock Campus
And 541-956-7303 for classes at the Grants Pass Campus
OR
Visit their website at www.roguecc.edu/ce
OR
Contact the SOHRC at ACCESS, Inc. 541-774-4305
Partners of tuition-paying students may register and attend at no cost.

Affordable Homes in Medford, Oregon?

This article just was posted on Yahoo:

The national housing bust has hit the outdoor wonderland of Medford, Ore., with a one-two punch. Because its timber industry is crucial to the local economy--wood-processing jobs represent at least a quarter of all manufacturing positions--the collapse of the new-home building market triggered higher unemployment in the area. Meanwhile, after moving significantly higher during the first half of the previous decade, home prices have dropped more than 23 percent in recent years. As a result, Medford's already affordable housing market has become even more so. Its price-to-income ratio stood at just 1.01 through the third quarter of 2009, well below its average of 1.46 for the 15 years ending in 2003. Moody's Economy.com expects home prices to hit bottom this year.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-Cities-for-Real-Estate-usnews-375742734.html?x=0&mod=real-estate

Right now a first time homebuyer can buy a modest home in Medford and have payments slightly higher than what they already be paying in rent, but with the tax benefits of owning, maybe even equal cost to rent as own.