Melina Tomson

Think about it, a $500,000 listing with a 20% downpayment is $100,000 down. With interest rates climbing most people cannot afford your property. The average income for a Salemite is $52,000 per year. You have an agent and they can share the DOM with you for comparable homes, but I would be prepared for a good 9-12 month haul at that price.

If you are comfortable with your agent follow their advice. - Sat Jul 5 2008, 08:34

If you don't want to work with an agent yet, the best thing to do is to go to Realtor.com or other IDX website and search for Stayton homes. Many are set up to give you automatic searches. The difficulty you will have is that you want a specifc part of town and so you will need to look at mapping features. There are many internet choices for you while you learn more about the Stayton market. - Mon Jun 16 2008, 14:46

I agree with others that your field is an important component to helping you. Salem, OR is that state capital so most of the government jobs are based out of there. There are several univerisites to choose from. Salem has T-mobile and Wachovia for customer service jobs...

You've got a variety of agents representing different parts of Oregon to give you some input. You can also go tohttp:// www.statesmanjournal.com for Salem jobs, www.oregon.gov for the government jobs, www.oregonlive.com is the Oregonian's website as well. I don't know Eugene's but maybe one of the Eugene folks could chime in for that. - Tue Jun 10 2008, 13:33

Somehow your question got posted in the Salem, Oregon section. You might want to repost it to Salem, Mass so agents there can help you. - Tue May 20 2008, 21:05

I opinion Englewood affordable based on pricings in other, non-Salemmarkets,

This is a GREAT way for you, as an appraiser, to give your opinion. You would be able to help consumers look at data across markets and THAT has a lot of value.

That is a professional, helpful way to inform consumers about the different Oregon markets.

Thanks!
Melina - Mon Apr 7 2008, 21:19

Chris,
I do think that we as agents, and appraisers need to watch our comments. I personally don't comment on the Woodburn market or the Portland market since my opinion would not be accurate. I am not sure how someone who knows the Salem market would tell someone to stick north of Center (yes it's Englewood) and Market streets (No). That puts you into the heart of Northgate which is currently the highest crime area in Salem. So while you may feel like I am attacking you, I think it is imperative as PROFESSIONALS that we make sure what we write is based on solid day to day opinions.

It is not my intention to make the Trulia forum a message board to attack other agents, but when someone makes a glaring error like that, it needs to be addressed.

Melina - Mon Apr 7 2008, 20:48

Hmmm...Not sure I agree with that as a local Salem real estate agent. Good areas to live depends on what kind of price range you are looking at.

South and West Salem generally hold home values well and have schools that consistently get strong school ratings. It is also more expensive. In central Salem, Englewood neighborhood has some really charming homes, but they are older so you'd have to want to deal with old home issues. Up North you need to be careful as there are pockets of higher crime mixed with nicer areas. The Jan Ree neighborhood is nice up there.

I would also consider the Clear Lake area in Keizer. That area is holding values well due to it's ease of access to the Brooks exit. Portland commuters love this area, and as a result homes tend to hold value well.

It's unfortunate that two people who don't work in the Salem market are choosing to comment on it. There are 18 revitalization projects that are occuring in downtown Salem and I do agree with Chris from Eugene that we are a good city for investors. There are many wonderful areas of Salem that are low crime, good schools, and peaceful. I just don't think that homes are going to appreciate at 7% in 2008. - Mon Apr 7 2008, 19:20