Eastside Broker Tour: Straight Up

Each Tuesday (Broker Tour Day) we have the opportunity to tour the new real estate listings before they are open to the general public. This keeps us fresh on market conditions, helps us price properties appropriately for sellers, and identify properties and negotiate powerfully for our buyers. Here's what we saw this week. The views set forth in this email aren't necessarily the opinions of CK homes...wait, these are our opinions and opinionated we are.

SE Urban Cool
23 SE 30th Ave. 3BR/2.1BA. $469,900. Must like to be in the mix to live here as this house is just off 28th & Burnside's formidable "restaurant row" (Ken's, Navarre, Crema, and oh so much more...). It's got some beautiful updates including a guest/family room down and a great unfinished hobby space complete with retro pink formica counters. Yard and double garage too. more info & photos

Helluva Deal
3718 NE 42nd Ave. 4BR/1BA. $279,900. If you believe the trade-off for being on a busy street is worth it for being mere steps away from the best of Beaumont shops & eats, then this house is not to be overlooked. Roomy, mechanicals up to snuff, with a good layout, nice-sized yard and an excellent prospect for converting an upstairs bedroom into the second bath for a spacious master suite. Some nice original details are there to work with, too. more info & photos

Stretch out in South Tabor Village
2224 SE 52nd Ave. 4BR/3BA. $435,000. Once you get past the metal siding and need for a new paint job, this house offers alot of space for the money. The kitchen is glossy granite & maple cabinet new and the baths have nice updates too. Best features: double walk-in closets in the master, and of course the beautiful dry sauna in the finished basement. Bonus feature: the somewhat rustic basement bath is lined with the same cedar used in the sauna - nice touch! Super bonus feature: walk to Petite Provence for best croissants in town. More info & photos

Sweet but Small Bungalow
2726 NE 66th Ave. 2BR/1BA. $303,000. This cute little bungalow is actually not a new listing, but one with a price reduction we hadn't seen before. Well, although it is quite nice, with modern-accented updates in the kitchen and bath (though the bath really needs a pedestal sink to feel friendly) it's also VERY small, so I think it may need another price reduction before anyone will get too excited. The advertised 2nd bedroom is really more of an office, with divided light French doors off the living room. However, the basement has real potential for finishing and the street is well-kept... and there's a new, fun-looking Hawaiian café nearby - Ohana Hawaiian Cafe on Sandy. more info & photos

Little Cutie with Big Potential
1820 SE 44th Ave. 2BR/1BA. $255,000. Sweat equity is right. This little house is a couple of blocks off Hawthorne and you'd never know it. The mature trees that line the street provide some peace and quiet. Although cosmetically a little challenged, it has huge small house potential plus a new roof & furnace. The old-fashioned cellar (accessed from the side yard) wasn't even very scary and my, what a rental! more info & photos

Location, ugh, Location
3133 NE Multnomah St. 4BR/2BA. $319,900. Yep, it's close to everything, including (and especially) Fantasy Video. Get past that and you have a wonderful opportunity in your hands, provided you bring a paintbrush and lots of primer. And although there are 4 bonified bedrooms, several of them would make challenging layouts due to dormers. Strangely solo second bath in basement is actually quite decent and cries out for the adjacent area to be finished out into a family room...or something. more info & photos

Hawthorne Cozy Cape
1801 SE 43rd Ave. 2BR/1BA. $289,950. This almost classic 40s Cape Cod is also a skip from Hawthorne. Cozy it is, with updated electrical and new paint in & out. We are not sure what size bed would actually fit in that 2nd bedroom but thanks to the 40s friendly basement (think high ceilings) and some existing walls, it would be a snap to add another. Oh, and the back yard is cute and accessible through the 2nd "bed"room. more info & photos

Funky in a Fabu Spot
3334 NE 54th Ave 3+BR/1BA $349,950. Great Beaumont location, very nice living and dining rooms greet you (classic bungalow layout) but it's downhill from there. If there was a second bath, then I'd be more excited about the price. But there isn't. The bathroom is nice, the overall condition seems good, but the first floor has a challenging flow and floor plan. Upstairs bedrooms would be great for kids, but there's no room for another bath there - you'd have to put it in the basement. Worth a hard look for the creatively minded or just the right fit. (Not sure what that is, but sure it's out there.) more info & photos

Let us not forget to mention that yesterday one of our very own listings was featured in a New York Times article! Boy did the web traffic spike. Email from one Manhattan-based friend "wow, $269K buys a lot of home outside the NY area!". Yes, it does.