Stop by and meet award winning Street of Dreams designer Sandie Hume. Check out the latest trends in kitchen design, tiles and hardwoods.

The Design Studio is located in Lake Oswego near Bridgeport Village, a few minutes south of Portland. 16865 Boones Ferry Rd. Directions: Take I-5 to the Bridgeport Exit. Head east toward Lake Oswego. Follow Boones Ferry to Sunset and make a U-turn. Turn right into the Renaissance Homes parking lot.

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

It’s been a rough five and a half years for the American homeowner. Since the housing bubble reached its peak in early 2007, Americans have watched helplessly as $7 trillion in housing wealth evaporated. At many points during this ugly plunge, pundits have erroneously called the “bottom” of the housing market – saying things could finally get no worse. And then they got worse.

The American public can therefore be forgiven for eyeing the latest round of predictions that the market has turned a corner with skepticism.  Of course, the housing market will heal at some point, so perhaps the boy is crying about an actual wolf this time.

The best reason to shed your hard-won dubiousness is a report issued today by the The Demand Institute, a think tank jointly operated by the well-respected and non-partisan research organizations The Conference Board and Nielsen. The fifty-page study is definitively labeling 2012 the year of the housing bottom. It says:

“The double-digit increases in U.S.housing prices over the first half of the past decade proved unsustainable. But the freefall is over. The point has been reached where housing prices will start to climb, albeit at single-digit rates in most markets over the next five years.”

Perhaps most crucial to The Demand Institute’s vision for a recovering housing market is evidence that Americans are still strongly attracted to the idea of homeownership. “The American Dream has not gone away,” adding:

“The majority of Americans think that owning a home is a good investment; the majority of people who plan to move in the next six years plan to buy a house even if they’re not currently homeowners. There are several pieces of evidence that lead us to believe that we’ll see a rise back to home ownership levels that we saw in the mid ’90s and early 2000s.”

Read the entire article at Time | By Christopher Matthews | Posted May 15, 2012

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Pettygrove Floorplan

Pettygrove Floorplan Description

 A beautiful Vintage home marries modern amenities with the latest in green technology. The great room features stunning box beam ceilings and a room warming gas fireplace with a craftsman mantle and built-in bookcases flanking each side. An open kitchen with wrap around counters provide ease for entertaining family and friends. Granite counters, custom cabinetry and stainless appliances top off the kitchen perfectly. A main level den is tucked away in the front of the house and can be used as a 4th bedroom. Three spacious bedrooms are located upstairs along with a convenient laundry room. No more lugging laundry up and down the stairs. The master suite overlooks the rear yard and is accompanied by a luxurious bath with dual sinks, soaking tub, shower and walk in closet. Finish off the basement space and you have many possibilities for a media room, home office or storage!

Pettygrove Virtual Tour

A Renaissance Home is better built, will last longer, cost you less in energy bills and will provide value when you resell in the future. It’s worth the investment for you and your family.

• Rain Screen Siding for lasting durability
• Polar Blanket Insulation for lower energy costs
• LEED Certified & Energy Star Certified
• New home warranty
• Fully landscaped front and back yard with fence
• Extensive hardwood floors throughout main
• Granite kitchen counters
• Period details throughout

Community Amenities

Mt. Tabor Neighborhood.  Walk score of 72.

Close to New Seasons, cafes, restaurants.  Walk to Glencoe Elementary

Schools

Glencoe (K-5)

Mt. Tabor (6-8)

Franklin High School

Contact

Amanda Andruss at 503.969.4939. or aandruss@renaissance-homes.com

Driving Directions

I-84 to exit 3 towards 58th Ave.  Right on NE Glisan St.  Left on NE 52nd Ave.

Walk Score, is an online tool ranking neighborhoods based on whether you can get anywhere on foot. Bike Score is more in-depth. Bike Score covers bike path availability, terrain and how many people will be joining you. Bike Score measures whether a location is good for biking on a scale from 0 – 100.

Bike Score is based on bike infrastructure (lanes and trails), hills, destinations and road connectivity, and the number of bike commuters. Read the detailed Bike Score methodology.

Walk Score works almost everywhere — even if you live in the suburbs. Bike Score is just in its infancy and has only been implemented for the top 10 most bikeable cities. But they’re expanding. If your city isn’t on the list, you can tweet a vote for it to be added to the list.

Bike Scores Top 10.

1. Minneapolis
2. Portland
3. San Francisco
4. Boston
5. Madison
6. WashingtonD.C.
7. Seattle
8. Tucson
9. New York
10.  Chicago

Bicycling by the numbers:

• Americans made 4 billions trips by bicycle in 2009, more than twice as many as in 2001
• Bike commuting inccreased 43% between 2000 and 2010
• 71% of Americans say they would like to bike more
• $10 is saved each day by bike commuting 10 miles
• 1 pound of CO2 is saved for every mile pedaled
• Riding reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%
• It costs $8000 per year to own a car

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Renaissance Vintage - LEED certified energy efficient new vintage homes! New prices in North Pdx!

• 631 N Winchell |Portland| Piedmont neighborhood Four-Square |$365,900 | Open Sat & Sun  12-3
• 625 N Winchell |Portland | Piedmont neighborhood |$374,900 | Open Sat & Sun 12-3
• 838 N Russet |Portland | Piedmont neighborhood |$389,900 | Open Sat & Sun 12-3
• 2446 N Humboldt |Portland | Overlook neighborhood |$524,900 | Open Sat & Sun 12-3

Amanda Andruss| 503.969.4939 | AAndruss@Renaissance-Homes.com                                                                                

Renaissance Woods – Stunning Lake Oswego location with greenspace

Personalize your dream home in this special neighborhood of soaring trees, open space and views.

• 5173 Woodcrest Lane | Lake Oswego |$629,900| Open Sat & Sun 12-6 
• 5124 Woodcrest Lane | Lake Oswego |$649,900| Open Sat & Sun 12-6 

Jack Hall| 503.545.3982 | JHall@Renaissance-Homes.com

Rosemont Pointe – Views and a community pool!

• 2767 Ridge Lane | West Linn |$542,900| Open Sat & Sun 12-6
• 2743 Ridge Lane | West Linn |$539,900| Open Sat & Sun 12-6 | $10k Closing Costs Bonus!                                                                              

Leslee Lahey | 503.969.0125 | LLahey@Renaissance-Homes.com                                                                                         

Renaissance Beaverton – Charming home on greenspace | New Price!

• 9550 SW Diamond View Way | Beaverton| $424,900 | Open Sat & Sun 12-3         

 Kathy Whitman | 503.969.1962 | KBWhitman@Renaissance-Homes.com                                                                            

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market.

With home prices down 34% nationally since 2006 and mortgage rates at historic lows, homes have never been more affordable — but it won’t stay this way for much longer.

Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services (PNC, Fortune 500), said he expects home prices to flatten out by the third quarter and start climbing by next year.

A number of factors will help bolster the housing market, he said, including a decline in the number of foreclosures and continued job growth. In addition, homebuyers will have better access to mortgages as they get their finances in order and improve their credit scores.

Some economists, like Trulia’s Jed Kolko, expect home prices to pick up even more quickly. Trulia’s data shows that the national average for asking prices already increased 1.4% in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the last three months of 2011.

Mortgage payments at lowest level in decades

“This is a strong indicator that we will start seeing home price indexes, like the S&P/Case-Shiller, start to report home price increases this summer,” he said.

Prospective homebuyers who’ve been sitting on the fence shouldn’t worry if they aren’t quite ready to make the leap. Analysts are predicting that the initial price gains will be modest, at least, in most markets.

Hoffman, for example, is forecasting a 2% increase in 2013 compared with 2012. Meanwhile David Stiff, chief economist for Fiserv, predicts that prices will turn in the last quarter of 2012 and will rise 4.2% for the 12 months through September 2013.

Foreclosures start to fade. One major factor that will drive the trend is the cooling of the foreclosure crisis. Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, said that the percentage of mortgage loans 90 days or more late, a good predictor of future foreclosures, is “falling fast.”

That percentage dropped 15% year-over-year to 3.1% through the end of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And the decline is accelerating: More than 70% of the decline came in the last three months of the year.

Should you buy a home in 2012?

Before things slow down, however, buyers should brace themselves for a temporary spike in the number of foreclosures as banks start expediting the processing of hundreds of thousands foreclosures that were stuck in the system following the robo-signing scandal. That backlog should move more quickly now that new guidelines for processing foreclosures have been outlined in the $26 billion foreclosure settlement.

Many of the bank-owned properties currently coming out of the foreclosure pipeline are being snapped up by investors who are fixing them up and renting them out — often to those who were displaced by the foreclosure of their own home. That has helped to lift prices on foreclosed properties, according to Alex Villacorte, the director of analytics for Clear Capital, which specializes in housing market valuations.

Home buying much cheaper than renting

“That could have a significant impact on the market overall in terms of providing a rising floor to home values,” he said.

In some markets hit hard by foreclosures, the turnaround in prices is already underway. Phoenix recorded an 8.4% jump in home prices during the three months ended April 30, compared with the three months ended January 31, according to Clear Capital.

“It’s crazy,” said Tanya Marchiol, founder of Team Investments, aPhoenixreal estate investing firm. “Stuff I was selling six months ago for $60,000 to $80,000 is now $90,000 to $110,000.”

Miami saw a 4.6% increase quarter-over-quarter through April, and Tampa, Fla., was up 4.4%, according to Clear Capital.

Goodbye 3.8% mortgage. In addition to home prices, mortgages could also move higher.

Mortgage rates have been at or near historic lows for much of the past six months. The average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has not topped 4.5% since July 2011 and this week, it hit 3.84%, a new low.

But rates aren’t expected to remain at these record-low levels much longer. As the economy continues to recover, rates will move higher, said Doug Lebda, CEO of LendingTree, the online lending site. Although, he said, they will “stay very reasonable.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that the 30-year fixed will hit 4.5% by the end of the year.

Greater demand for loans will help fuel the increase, according to Lebda.

Even though mortgage rates have been cheap, borrowing for home purchases has been sluggish. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that homebuyers will take out mortgage loans totaling about $415 billion this year, an increase of less than 3% compared with 2011. Next year, however, it forecasts that amount will almost double to $706 billion.

As housing markets stabilize and prices stop falling, homebuyers will be even more confident about buying, said Humphries.

“People can now see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “And that can be enough to get them off the fence.” 

Read the entire article by Les Christie @CNNMoney | Posted May 3, 2012

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Renaissance Vintage - LEED certified energy efficient new vintage homes!

• 838 N Russet | Portland | Piedmont neighborhood |$389,900 | Open Sat/Sun 11-5
• 2446 N Humboldt | Portland | Overlook neighborhood |$524,900 | Open Sat/Sun 11-5

Click on each location for photos, floorplans, virtual tours and driving directions. Renaissance Homes are well known for superior green building techniques and energy efficiency. These high performance homes offer low monthly utility bills. Recent Energy Performance Scores from the Energy Trust of Oregon estimate $86 a month for gas and electric!

For more info contact Amanda Andruss| 503.969.4939 | AAndruss@Renaissance-Homes.com    

Stop by a Renaissance Home during the tour and bring a book to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of Portland and while you are there enter to win the drawing for an iPad, courtesy of Directors Mortgage! 

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

• 838 N Russet | Portland | Piedmont neighborhood |$389,900 
• 2446 N Humboldt | Portland | Overlook neighborhood |$524,900

Click on each location for photos, floorplans, virtual tours and driving directions. Renaissance Homes are well known for superior green building techniques and energy efficiency. These high performance LEED certified homes offer low monthly utility bills. Recent Energy Performance Scores from the Energy Trust of Oregon estimate $86 a month for gas and electric!

Stop by a Renaissance Home during the tour and bring a book to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of Portland and while you are there enter to win the drawing for an iPad, courtesy of Directors Mortgage!

For more info contact Amanda Andruss| 503.969.4939 | AAndruss@Renaissance-Homes.com

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Renaissance Homes has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Portland to do a book drive during the Ultimate Open House Tour. Join Renaissance Homes President Randy Sebastian as we open our two homes for a special evening event, complete with a chef from Zeppos Restaurant for fabulous cuisine and accompanying wines. Bring a book to donate and be entered to win an iPad, courtesy of Directors Mortgage.

“We want to be part in giving back to the community in which we serve and inspire others to do the same,” says Randy Sebastian. “The Boys and Girls Club is a natural fit because we are passionate about meeting the needs of local families.”

Join us for food, wine and exclusive new home tours featuring our Vintage Collection at the following locations:

• 838 N Russet | Portland | Piedmont neighborhood | Open 4-7 pm
• 2446 N Humboldt | Portland | Overlook neighborhood | Open 4-7 pm

The event is free and open to the public.

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”

Renaissance Vintage - LEED certified energy efficient new vintage homes!

• 838 N Russet | Portland | Piedmont neighborhood |$389,900 | Open Sat/Sun 11-5
• 2446 N Humboldt | Portland | Overlook neighborhood |$524,900 | Open Sat/Sun 11-5

Click on each location for photos, floorplans, virtual tours and driving directions. Renaissance Homes are well known for superior green building techniques and energy efficiency. These high performance homes offer low monthly utility bills. Recent Energy Performance Scores from the Energy Trust of Oregon estimate $86 a month for gas and electric!

For more info contact Amanda Andruss| 503.969.4939 | AAndruss@Renaissance-Homes.com    

Stop by a Renaissance Home during the tour and bring a book to donate to the Boys & Girls Club of Portland and while you are there enter to win the drawing for an iPad, courtesy of Directors Mortgage! 

“We are grateful for Renaissance Homes’ leadership during their Ultimate Open House Tour. Literacy is an integral part of our programming so we are looking forward to being able to put new books in the hands of our Club members as a result of this book drive”, says Melissa Froman, Director of Resource Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area.

Renaissance Homes is an award winning Street of Dreams custom home builder specializing in green building, remodeling and renovations for the Portland market.

Awarded the Portland Homebuilder’s Association 2011 “Builder of the Year.”