| I am not going to say that the job market and housing | | | | There are a lot of things that still attract people to this |
| market is great in Vancouver Washington. It is still slow. | | | | area. Many people want to live in the Portland area but |
| While it may seem that things are not as bad as the | | | | do not want the stresses and "hustle and bustle" of a |
| statistics say all you have to do is look around | | | | large city. Vancouver Washington has no income tax, |
| neighborhoods and talk to people. | | | | better schools by a long shot, and more reasonably |
| At least several of your friends will be out of a job. I | | | | priced real estate (especially now). |
| have some close friends who have had jobs their | | | | For $250,000 you cannot get much in Portland. Maybe |
| whole lives and they have been unemployed the last | | | | a run down condo on the east side of time like the |
| five months. | | | | Rockwood area. In Vancouver WA you can get a |
| A house that was for sale in Vancouver WA used to | | | | decent house and for a little more you can get a very |
| be snatched up really fast just 2 1/2 years ago. You | | | | nice house with a nice sized front and backyard. |
| will still see large sub-divisions with over half the | | | | This will not be the first time Vancouver and Portland |
| houses or condos empty now. The growth | | | | have taken a hit. Keep in mind though that Oregon and |
| experienced by Portland Or and Vancouver WA in | | | | Washington are very desirable places to live. People |
| the late nineties and the early part of this decade was | | | | may complain about the rain but overall the weather is |
| just too fast and too much. Developers glutted the | | | | temperate here, we have no natural disasters, the |
| market. | | | | crime is low compared to the rest of the country, and |
| Oddly enough the population of the state of | | | | we have an extremely educated workforce. We may |
| Washington and Oregon is not decreasing. People are | | | | not be a powerhouse like Seattle but we are not far |
| still coming here. Its just not a mass influx all at once. | | | | behind either. |
| And even when people were coming here in high | | | | Houses for sale in Vancouver WA are a bargain now. |
| numbers the home builders were building homes way | | | | You have people like me who live by LaCamas Lake |
| to fast. We now see that though the real estate | | | | and have lost $250,000 in equity in the last two years. |
| demand was high all those years it did not warrant the | | | | We are the ones who may just break even when the |
| gigantic supply that was being produced. | | | | housing market rebounds. The person who was either |
| So what is the point? | | | | too young to buy or not in a position to buy when the |
| We have suffered the worst. The market in | | | | market was going crazy is in a great position now. |
| Vancouver WA and Portland has stabilized. Jobs are | | | | The value of homes in any area are always going to |
| not coming back but they are not leaving either. There | | | | be subject to boom and bust times. That is a fact of |
| are a lot of high tech companies around Vancouver | | | | life. This is not the first time this has happened and it |
| WA that are not going anywhere and even more in | | | | will not be the last if history has given us any indication. |
| Portland. Fred Myers, Hewlett-Packard, WaferTech, | | | | Now the housing market in Vancouver WA is going |
| SHE America, Nautilus, and Sharp all have their | | | | through one of those "busts." 2010 may present a |
| headquarters here. That is not expected to change | | | | great time to make a long term investment for |
| anytime soon. | | | | someone thinking ahead. |