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It's a Housing BOOM
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| H&N photo by John Stoops Real Estate Unlimited agent Dayna Fanning, left, shows her client, Shawna, the features of a house for sale in Klamath Falls. Housing prices in the county have been increasing steadily over the last few years. |
May 7, 2006
The secret is out
It's a good time to own property in Klamath Falls.
Values have sky-rocketed in the last five years as investors and developers from around the state and country snatched up land and houses and re-sold them to retiring baby boomers moving into the area.
Danny Allen, owner of Frontier Realty and a baby boomer himself, said the “secret” of Klamath Falls is now out.
“Running Y has done a lot for us,” he said. “They nationally advertised, and we had a lot of people come up to look at us. These are people who have financial security, and they look at this as a resort property. ... It is kind of like a pyramid type action - one member of the family would move up here and all of sudden I would have five other sales.”
Priced out?
But Klamath Falls' secret may be pricing out its working middle class.
Jobs aren't following retirees with money, and residents in town aren't making as much per hour as the people moving in, Allen said.
Out of reach
“The average Klamath Falls resident cannot afford a home in Klamath Falls, and I think that's real sad,” Allen said. “With the lower pay scale, a lot of them are qualifying for $100,000 houses. If both spouses are working, maybe they can afford up to a $150,000 home. But if one is a stay-at-home parent, they will have real trouble affording housing.”
Jack Rookstool, a real-estate agent at Rookstool Moden Realty, agrees an influx of people, largely from California, is driving up demand and home prices.
“The (housing market) is driven by out-of-towners,” he said. “Quite a few are retirees, and quite a few are younger ones looking to raise their kids here.
“Our prices are still cheaper than theirs, and we have a nicer quality of life. Their demand has increased faster than our supply.”
But real estate agents also credit new industry, specifically Home Depot.
Allen said his office began getting queries from out-of-state investors after Home Depot moved to Klamath Falls. One of those investors told Allen he followed Home Depot and buys in communities where the chain opens new stores.
“ He was just one person, but regardless of how the investors found out about us, after Home Depot opened we had over an 80 percent increase in investors,” Allen said.
Among those investors were the developers of the Running Y Ranch and Resort.
But the larger demand, Rookstool said, means higher prices.
“A house you purchased five years ago could be worth twice as much now,” Rookstool said. “It really went crazy in the fall of 2004. There for a while the monthly increases were huge. If you had a $200,000 house, you could relist it for another $10,000 a month and expect to get it.”“Our prices are still cheaper than theirs, and we have a nicer quality of life. Their demand has increased faster than our supply.”
But real estate agents also credit new industry, specifically Home Depot.
Allen said his office began getting queries from out-of-state investors after Home Depot moved to Klamath Falls. One of those investors told Allen he followed Home Depot and buys in communities where the chain opens new stores.
“ He was just one person, but regardless of how the investors found out about us, after Home Depot opened we had over an 80 percent increase in investors,” Allen said.
Among those investors were the developers of the Running Y Ranch and Resort.
But the larger demand, Rookstool said, means higher prices.
“A house you purchased five years ago could be worth twice as much now,” Rookstool said. “It really went crazy in the fall of 2004. There for a while the monthly increases were huge. If you had a $200,000 house, you could relist it for another $10,000 a month and expect to get it.”
- By Gerry Baksys
H&N Staff Writer
What's the outlook
for the future?
While there is an influx of high-income people who can afford to pay $300,000-plus for a home, there is a negative effect - home ownership is getting out of the reach for many long-term residents.
Jack Rookstool, a real estate agent at Rookstool Moden Realty, agreed, but said he thinks the trend of out-of-state buyers moving in will continue to fuel the housing market for the foreseeable future.
“I think at this point in time, we've got quite a while left,” Rookstool said. “It wouldn't surprise me if there's five to 10 years left. Even though they talked about prices going out of scale, I'm not hearing about a slow-down from people I know in California.”
Danny Allen, owner of Frontier Realty, said that he doesn't see an end to the market at all. He predicted Klamath Falls would mirror Bend's development, with periods of rapid growth interspersed by periods of relatively slow growth.
There is only one current issue, Allen said, that is slowing the current growth and threatens long-term growth.
“The only thing halfway slowing this thing down,” Allen added, “is that we still don't have any jobs. And the majority of the jobs we do have do not pay enough per hour. But as long as the baby boomer market can hold up, people will still buy $300,000 houses.”
The secret is out
It's a good time to own property in Klamath Falls.
Values have sky-rocketed in the last five years as investors and developers from around the state and country snatched up land and houses and re-sold them to retiring baby boomers moving into the area.
Danny Allen, owner of Frontier Realty and a baby boomer himself, said the “secret” of Klamath Falls is now out.
“Running Y has done a lot for us,” he said. “They nationally advertised, and we had a lot of people come up to look at us. These are people who have financial security, and they look at this as a resort property. ... It is kind of like a pyramid type action - one member of the family would move up here and all of sudden I would have five other sales.”
Priced out?
But Klamath Falls' secret may be pricing out its working middle class.
Jobs aren't following retirees with money, and residents in town aren't making as much per hour as the people moving in, Allen said.
Out of reach
“The average Klamath Falls resident cannot afford a home in Klamath Falls, and I think that's real sad,” Allen said. “With the lower pay scale, a lot of them are qualifying for $100,000 houses. If both spouses are working, maybe they can afford up to a $150,000 home. But if one is a stay-at-home parent, they will have real trouble affording housing.”
Jack Rookstool, a real-estate agent at Rookstool Moden Realty, agrees an influx of people, largely from California, is driving up demand and home prices.
“The (housing market) is driven by out-of-towners,” he said. “Quite a few are retirees, and quite a few are younger ones looking to raise their kids here.
“Our prices are still cheaper than theirs, and we have a nicer quality of life. Their demand has increased faster than our supply.”
But real estate agents also credit new industry, specifically Home Depot.
Allen said his office began getting queries from out-of-state investors after Home Depot moved to Klamath Falls. One of those investors told Allen he followed Home Depot and buys in communities where the chain opens new stores.
“ He was just one person, but regardless of how the investors found out about us, after Home Depot opened we had over an 80 percent increase in investors,” Allen said.
Among those investors were the developers of the Running Y Ranch and Resort.
But the larger demand, Rookstool said, means higher prices.
“A house you purchased five years ago could be worth twice as much now,” Rookstool said. “It really went crazy in the fall of 2004. There for a while the monthly increases were huge. If you had a $200,000 house, you could relist it for another $10,000 a month and expect to get it.”“Our prices are still cheaper than theirs, and we have a nicer quality of life. Their demand has increased faster than our supply.”
But real estate agents also credit new industry, specifically Home Depot.
Allen said his office began getting queries from out-of-state investors after Home Depot moved to Klamath Falls. One of those investors told Allen he followed Home Depot and buys in communities where the chain opens new stores.
“ He was just one person, but regardless of how the investors found out about us, after Home Depot opened we had over an 80 percent increase in investors,” Allen said.
Among those investors were the developers of the Running Y Ranch and Resort.
But the larger demand, Rookstool said, means higher prices.
“A house you purchased five years ago could be worth twice as much now,” Rookstool said. “It really went crazy in the fall of 2004. There for a while the monthly increases were huge. If you had a $200,000 house, you could relist it for another $10,000 a month and expect to get it.”
- By Gerry Baksys
H&N Staff Writer
What's the outlook
for the future?
While there is an influx of high-income people who can afford to pay $300,000-plus for a home, there is a negative effect - home ownership is getting out of the reach for many long-term residents.
Jack Rookstool, a real estate agent at Rookstool Moden Realty, agreed, but said he thinks the trend of out-of-state buyers moving in will continue to fuel the housing market for the foreseeable future.
“I think at this point in time, we've got quite a while left,” Rookstool said. “It wouldn't surprise me if there's five to 10 years left. Even though they talked about prices going out of scale, I'm not hearing about a slow-down from people I know in California.”
Danny Allen, owner of Frontier Realty, said that he doesn't see an end to the market at all. He predicted Klamath Falls would mirror Bend's development, with periods of rapid growth interspersed by periods of relatively slow growth.
There is only one current issue, Allen said, that is slowing the current growth and threatens long-term growth.
“The only thing halfway slowing this thing down,” Allen added, “is that we still don't have any jobs. And the majority of the jobs we do have do not pay enough per hour. But as long as the baby boomer market can hold up, people will still buy $300,000 houses.”
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| Packing clinic packs them in |
Reader Comments
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skii v. wrote on Jun 26, 2009 12:51 AM:
" Steven Vannarath is my cousin and he is a really good guy.ive been talking to him for the last couple months.After that night happend,i could not sleep for days thinging about him.He has a beautyful daughter that he miss.he will be a free man im acouple of months.GOD LET YOU BE WITH EVERYONE AMEN "
phillip wrote on Feb 1, 2009 1:43 AM:
" I'm looking for 100+ acreas of land with anual running water, stream, etc, with tree's, as forested as posible, am going to build a cabin for me to retire, thank you. "
Stephanie Patterson Southwell wrote on Oct 4, 2008 6:19 PM:
" I came across this article and find it very interesting. My grandad was the "Southwell" in Southwell & Stilwell :) My dad and uncles were raised in Klamath Falls until they moved to the Portland area. "
Margaret wrote on Apr 29, 2008 11:19 AM:
" It appears the two negative reader comments are associated with the wrong article, as they do not seem to relate. It's unfortunate they are appearing after reading such a nice article about this concert. "
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Rebecca T wrote on Jul 10, 2009 9:16 PM: