Portland, OR Real Estate Market Shows Resilience, Boasts Tax Advantages of Property Ownership

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Portland, OR has plenty of unique features that should make its real estate market attractive to many prospective homebuyers and investors. The real estate market in this part of the nation has proven to be more resilient than the national housing market as a whole.

Moreover, the region is faring much better than the national and most of the local real estate markets in terms of the overall fiscal burden associated with real property ownership. Here are some of the distinguishing features of the Portland, OR market that should make it a preferred location for buying a home or investment property:

– Resilient real estate market. The residential real estate market in Portland, OR has proven more resilient in the current downturn than most other local real estate markets in the United States. Prices in the area have declined so far by 20% from their peak, while nationwide they have fallen by 30%. At the same time, foreclosure rates in Portland, OR have climbed to 1.8% as of September 2009, while nationwide they hover around 2.9%. Moreover, the 90-plus-day mortgage delinquency rate in Portland and Oregon was 4.8%, while nationally it was 7.1%. All this suggests that the market in Portland, OR remains well suited for continued appreciation in housing values in the coming years, which should bode well for housing investments.

· Favorable fiscal conditions. Oregon ranks 36th in terms of the overall tax burden that it imposes on its citizens. Oregon’s total state and local tax burden is about 10.5%, compared with the U.S. average of 11.2%. The State is also one of the few in the nation that does not levy sales or use taxes. In Oregon, residents are also exempted from paying motor vehicle excise taxes, business/occupational taxes, direct levies on intangible property such as investment securities. All these tax reliefs can significantly improve the overall cost of living, boosting the disposable income of residents and thereby supporting housing affordability.

· Lower property taxes. Property taxes in the State of Oregon and Portland as a local real estate market are more favorable than those in many other States and local real estate markets in the nation. Oregon ranks 27th in the nation in terms of property taxes levied on owner-occupied housing, according to the Tax Foundation. The State’s ratio of median real estate taxes to median home value of 0.81% is well below the nation’s average of 0.96%. In fact, Multnomah County, in which Portland is located, with the ratio of 0.91%, is ranked 383rd in the nation in terms of its property tax as a percentage of home value. This makes it more favorable in terms of property taxes than 49% of the counties in the United States and less burdensome than the nationwide average of 0.96%.

The aforementioned characteristics of the real estate market in Portland, OR and the State of Oregon as a whole contribute to the attractiveness of the regional real estate market. These features should provide an impetus to many homebuyers and investors to purchase a piece of real property in this part of the nation that promises a high return on investment coupled with the joy of property ownership.

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Helpful Tips – Online Businesses

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The advent of the Internet has ushered in its wake greater opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to start their own home based businesses or web based businesses and make money online. Starting online businesses are inherently not very dissimilar to staring conventional businesses that are comprised of offices, people and products. The principles governing both are much the same. All you need is an idea and how to make it profitable which can then be translated it into an online business opportunity. This could be in the form of selling products, information, services, advertising or even reselling.

Once you have decided your business model to make money online, you will need to design a website that will serve as a conduit to becoming competitive and successful. A Website is a business tool as well as an online business opportunity and should accomplish your intended purpose as effectively and efficiently as possible. The website should be functional with powerful content that has the ability to lure potential buyers. Different online business opportunities will need varied plans in terms of content, design, online advertising as well as software and user interface.

In order to ensure success, it is imperative to have a competitive edge over other online businesses. This can be accomplished by evaluating other online businesses similar to yours. By virtue of it all being on the Internet, a click of the mouse is sufficient to make or break you if you are not cautious. First and foremost, identify your competitors. Then use search engines and keywords to locate other companies you may not be aware of. Check all sites that you may deem important, particularly in areas like site content, professional approach, functionality and search engine ranking. Moreover, find out who their target markets are; features, benefits and promotions offered by them as well as their creativity in building their site and customers – What is it that is setting these online businesses apart and making them stand out among the masses?

Once you have researched thoroughly your nemesis, strategize your position and need to beat your competition. This way you will have laid the foundation of starting your online business as well.

The most obvious place to start with would be to see where your competitor is falling short or lagging behind. This could include but may not be limited to product features, promotions, web site design, customer support among others. Whatever the problem might be, ensure that you have overcome the limitation to use it as your competitive advantage. Combine different features and facets from several sites to include it on your own. By using other sites as your benchmark, improve the quality of your online business to better all others. Starting an online business is not difficult, just requires some sound thinking, creativity and planning.