The Homebuyer’s Roadmap: Navigating Your Willamette Valley Purchase

Host: Welcome to Market Matters with WVMLS where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I'm Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. Our local Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service, or WVMLS, is a powerful but often misunderstood resource. It’s the central clearinghouse bringing buyers and sellers together since 1949.

Today, we're wrapping up our buyer-focused series with something every buyer needs: a roadmap. The home-buying process can feel overwhelming, especially for those first-time homebuyers. With all the right guidance and tools, it can become a walk in the park. Your starting point is your WVMLS broker. Making sure you have someone to help you connect with a trusted lender, get pre-approved, and start the narrow search of finding your future home.

From there, they'll be able to guide you through the showings, help you craft strong offers, negotiate, and work through the inspections, appraisals, and other due diligence of your purchase. Having a great broker takes a lot of the stress off, so you'll be able to sit back and learn and understand the process with a clear mind instead of figuring it all out yourself.

You get to make all the decisions, but it's your broker's job to help you make good ones. However, whether you are working with a WVMLS broker or not, WVMLS has put out two tools to help the consumer understand the process on their own terms with a buyer's guide and a resource page at wvmls.com to help educate those who might not even know where to find a broker or have a starting place and maybe not feeling left alone in one of their biggest transactions of their lives.

Thanks for joining us for Market Matters with WVMLS where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I'm Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. We'll be back next week for year-end 2025 statistics.

Until then, learn more at wvmls.com.

The Power of Leverage: Navigating Home Buying and Selling Simultaneously

Host: Welcome to Market Matters with WVMLS, where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I’m Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. Our local Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service, or WVMLS, is a powerful but often misunderstood resource. It’s the centralized marketplace bringing buyers and sellers together since 1949.

Today, we’re continuing our series for buyers with an important topic: buying a home when you also have a home to sell. Creating the right strategy here means how contingencies affect your negotiating leverage. Contingencies protect your time, your money, and your peace of mind. Having a home to sell before you can buy is a contingency. Needing to find a home before you can close on your home sale is also a contingency.

Finding that home you love and needing to sell your home impacts your leverage on both sides of the transaction. You lose leverage both as a seller because you need to get the house sold so you don’t lose the one you want to buy, but you’re also giving up leverage as a buyer because it is an additional risk to the seller.

Ideally, selling your current home, then renting while you’re out hunting for that next home is the best leverage situation. So, should you list your home and get it under contract before making an offer on your next home? Or is it better to get your next home in contract and then list? The answer depends on both your wants and needs for the new home and how difficult that will be to find in the market. Are you looking for a common three-bed, two-bath single-story? Or are you looking for something much harder to find?

On the other side of the equation is the question of how quickly your home might sell. This is where your WVMLS member real estate professional is the key. Their understanding of the market can help you balance these two questions and assist you in creating the most effective strategy to maximize your leverage.

Thanks for joining us for Market Matters with WVMLS where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I’m Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. We’ll be back next week in the noon hour with more information on how WVMLS makes the market work for buyers.

Until then, learn more at wvmls.com.

The Truth About Down Payments, New Construction, and Market Timing

Host: Welcome to Market Matters with WVMLS, where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I’m Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. Our local Willamette Valley Multiple Listing Service, or WVMLS, is a powerful but often misunderstood resource. It’s the centralized marketplace bringing buyers and sellers together since 1949.

Today, we’re continuing our series for buyers by busting three myths. Have you heard this old fable? You need a 20% down payment to buy a house. Not true. If you have the money to make a large down payment, it can reduce your monthly payment or help avoid mortgage insurance. But the ideal down payment depends on your personal situation, your financial goals, and your lending needs. There’s a wide range of loan options out there, including down payment assistance programs, so talk to a lender you trust to explore your options.

The second buyer myth involves waiting for prices to drop. Buying a home is an investment unlike any other because it also provides housing, which you’re going to need whether you own or not. If you’re renting, you’re probably paying a mortgage, just not your own. So, waiting for a broad price drop, which is rare, may actually cost you more in expenses and missed opportunities.

Finally, let’s bust the myth that new construction always costs more. In some Willamette Valley communities, we’ve actually seen new construction priced below comparable existing homes. New homes can feature lower maintenance costs, modern energy efficiencies, and builder incentives, making them surprisingly affordable. You will want to account for some additional expenses after the purchase, though, such as window treatments, landscaping, and fencing, which may not be included in the build price.

Thanks for joining us for Market Matters with WVMLS, where we get real about real estate in the Willamette Valley. I’m Dave Pautsch of RE/MAX Integrity. We’ll be back next week in the noon hour on Monday with more information on how WVMLS makes the market work for buyers.

Until then, learn more at wvmls.com.