The city of Portland is divided
into what are
know as the five quadrants:
©Copyright 2009 Norris Monson
All Rights Reserved. For more information contact me at
norris@portlandareahomeinfo.com. Disclaimer: While the information
contained on this site is believed to be reliable, no guaranties of
any kind are expressed or
implied. The Real Estate for sale data on this website comes in
part from the INTERNET DATA EXCHANGE (IDX) program of the Portland
Metro Association of Realtors Regional MLS. - RMLS DEEMS
INFORMATION RELIABLE BUT NOT GUARANTEED.
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Portland Neighborhoods-
Portland is made up of almost
one hundred distinct neighborhoods, each
with it's own unique feel and character. Given that Portland is
know for its
community activism, its no surprise that many of these
neighborhoods have
thriving community centers, community gardens, neighborhood
get-togethers and a whole host of other neighborhood involvement
projects.
Finding the right neighborhood for you may be as easy as taking a
drive
around Portland and seeing what feels right, or it may
require quite a bit of
research. In any case, this neighborhood guide can serve as a
starting
point to the search for your new home in Portland.
One of the great things about Portland is that it's almost
impossible to get
lost, as in to not know where you are (how to get where you
want to go is
another matter, of course). The city has developed an
extremely
user-friendly system of street names and numbers, combined with a
very
practical N-S-E-W quadrant system.
The Willamette River serves as
an orienting device wherever you are in the city, and divides the
city into the
"West Side" and the "East Side." It is further broken down into
quadrants: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast,
Southeast and the "fifth quadrant", North.
The streets run east and west and the avenues north and south. The
river, running vaguely north and south, is
considered ground zero for the avenues, which begin as first
avenue on either side of the river and proceed
higher the further east or west you go. North of Burnside st.,
which is the divider for north and south Portland,
the streets also follow a logical alphabetical pattern (for the
most part). It actually starts with Ankeny one block
south of Burnside, then continues as you go north of Burnside with
Couch, Davis, etc.
Another helpful generalization is that the streets on the West Side
are much more snake-like and difficult to
predict (with the exception of downtown), while the east side is
more grid-like (with the exception of Ladd's
Addition, a few other neighborhoods, Foster and Sandy, etc.).
The values of real estate are on average highest in NW, then SW,
then NE, then SE, and lowest in North.
However where you are within each of these quadrants (and of course
the condition of the home itself) is really
what determines property value.
The East Side has traditionally been the more working-class side of
town, however recent years has seen much
more development and gentrification of certain areas on the east
side, and has become very attractive to many
home buyers who are looking for an exciting urban setting with
tight-knit communities and a lower price-tag .
The West Side of Portland tends to attract those who want more
privacy, greenery or families looking for a good
school district. There are plenty of areas in SW and also NW that
lack sidewalks and is also quite hilly (mud
slides), which can rule it in or out, depending on your
perspective. Of course these are just a few of the myriad
issues one considers when buying a home, and the one rule about
generalizations in Portland is that there are
always exceptions, so each property should be evaluated on its own
merits.





An $8000 tax credit
Interest rates at
historic lows
Foreclosures and Short sales selling 10-40% below
peak prices
Makes now a great time
to buy!
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