• Pet Barn has new management and expanded inventory
• Fresh produce, live music and more!
• MOC Concert Series continues
• Enjoy Bethany Village Summer Concerts
• Insomnia July Artist Julia Alexis Hunkler 
• Stickmen Brewing inches toward Cedar Mill
• BKids Daycare + Preschool is now open!
• The Agency Portland has arrived
• Questions you may have about selling your house
• Protect your home while on vacation

Pet Barn has new management and expanded inventory

Pet Barn has been your one-stop Cedar Mill neighborhood pet store since 1987. We are under new management with an expanded inventory and have a wide selection of healthy food, fun toys, unique treats, and much more. We carry the latest products from the most basic to the most challenging of pet needs. 

Pet Barn is open seven days a week. We are independently owned and operated, and proud sponsors of the Oregon and Columbia Humane Societies. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff look forward to meeting you and your pet. Come on in where pets and their humans love to shop! 

Fresh produce, live music and more!

Saturdays in July, 9 am-2 pm, corner of NW Cornell & Murray Roads in the Safeway parking lot

July is a wonderful month at the Cedar Mill Farmers Market with typically more blue sky, sunny days and more, more, more fresh local produce! The variety and the quantity of fruits and vegetables really starts to “grow” into a full array of beautiful rainbow colors. People kept asking in May/June “where is all the produce?” and we kept saying “more will be coming…” Well guess what, it’s here! The time is now for the best in Oregon fruits and vegetables to come to our local markets. 

Strawberries, raspberries, beets, carrots, yellow & red cherries, onions, lettuce, broccoli, blueberries, purple cauliflower, purple asparagus—just mentioning a few items to get you thinking about all the colors! It’s beautiful. 

In addition to our produce vendors, we have a great array of local vendors bringing all kinds of products they make/grow/gather. Meat, eggs, baked goods, honey, coffee, cleaning products, soaps, candles, jewelry, linens, tye-dye, hot food, ice teas, lavender, dog treats, crochet items, art, hummus, olive oils, spirits and more!

In July we will be hosting a different musician each week at our music booth. Our Community & Sustainability booths will host organizations like Cedar Mill & Bethany Community Libraries, Village Gallery Arts, OSU Extension metro area Master Gardeners Plant Clinic, and Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District. This month we will be bringing back our Chef at the Market and we will continue to offer a different activity each week at our Kids Power of Produce Booth.

Sign up for our newsletter to see who will be at the market each week. We hope to see you at the market! 

MOC Concert Series continues

Fridays July 12 & 26, 6-8 pm, patio in front of Market of Choice, 250 NW Lost Springs Terrace

Grab some dinner from the deli counter or build a salad at the salad bar and join your friends for a free concert. July 12 features XRAY-FM with Beach Tracks Worldwide. On July 26 listen to singer-songwriter Evan Churchill.

Enjoy Bethany Village Summer Concerts

Thursdays, July 11 & 25, and August 8, 6-9 pm, 4720 NW Bethany Blvd., free

A local tradition spanning nearly 20 years, the Bethany Village Summer Concert Series involves three summer concerts during July and August that feature a variety of vendors, live music, intermission acts featuring local young talent, fun activities, pony rides, and more!

Insomnia July Artist Julia Alexis Hunkler 

Through July, 12535 NW Cornell Road

We are excited to welcome visual artist Julia Alexis Hunkler for her month-long showcase. She is a versatile creative with work spanning large building murals, intimate block prints, and delicate watercolors. Her work will be displayed on the walls for the whole month. Come take a peek and be inspired by her art! 

Stickmen Brewing inches toward Cedar Mill

Delays in design and construction prevent Stickmen from opening their long-awaited spot in the building fronting Barnes Road in the Kirkland section of the Timberland Center. They’ll be located at the southwest corner of the building now housing the urgent care office, Wolfe Dental, and Surge Wellness. The space includes a deck overlooking the old oak that was in front of the original Teufel family home. 

BKids Daycare + Preschool is now open!

Located in the Bethany Athletic Club, BKids is the newest Daycare + Preschool to open in Bethany Village. Our new, state-certified daycare and preschool are dedicated to providing top-notch educational and community-focused care for children six-weeks to Pre-K. We are committed to creating a fun, safe, and enriching environment where your little ones can learn, laugh and grow. 

BKids is open to the general public, and you do not need to be a member of Bethany Athletic Club to enroll your child(ren). Enroll at BKids today by visiting the Bethany Athletic Club website, or by calling Jaime Hassey at 971-791-2293 ext. 4020 to schedule a tour!

The Agency Portland has arrived

We are hoping you have already heard the exciting news, but if not, here we go: We have started a new real estate brokerage—The Agency Portland! We are located in the flagship office of Lifetime Work in Beaverton and now with an event space on the corner of NW 23rd & Hoyt. Dirk Hmura, the Managing Partner, was approached by The Agency a few years ago to start up an office in Portland and future locations too. Dirk had been with his previous company for 20 years at the time and turned them down. Well, fast forward another year, they came calling again. After consulting with his team, along with Dirk’s longtime friend and Principal Broker, Andrew Misk, he decided that this was the right time and the right brand. We were officially announced as the 100th office worldwide at the Agency Forum in Austin Texas back in November. 

What makes The Agency different? We are a real estate marketing powerhouse that offers boutique service with global reach. We love the global marketing behind the company and the local leadership we will cultivate. We can truly build our company the way we feel it will best serve our clients and community. Our plan is to build our NW Portland office first and open more offices around the Metro area in the near future. Portland has not had a real estate company with a global reach and boutique feel, so we are excited to put our stamp on the market. For more information visit the Agency website or call us at 503-297-2000.

Questions you may have about selling your house

By Jan Dempsey, Realtor, Windermere Realty Group

There’s no denying mortgage rates are having a big impact on today’s housing market. And that may leave you with some questions about whether it still makes sense to sell your house and make a move. Here are three of the top questions you may be asking, and the data that helps answer them:

Should I wait to sell? If you’re thinking about waiting to sell until after mortgage rates come down, here’s what you need to know: so are a ton of other people! And while mortgage rates are still forecasted to come down some later this year, if you wait for that to happen, you may be dealing with a lot more competition as other buyers and sellers jump back in the market too. Even a modest drop in rates will bring both more buyers and sellers into the market.That means if you wait it out, you’ll have to deal with things like prices rising faster and more multiple-offer scenarios when you buy your next home.

Are buyers still out there? But that doesn’t mean no one is moving right now. While some people are holding off, there are still plenty of buyers active today. Demand has dipped some since 2021-2023. That’s in response to a lot of market factors: higher mortgage rates, rising prices, and limited inventory. But to really understand today’s demand, you have to compare where we are now with the last normal years in the market (2018-2019), not these abnormal years of 2023-2024. Nationally demand is still high compared to the last normal years in the housing market. And that means there is still a market for your house to sell.

Can I afford to buy my next home? And if you’re worried about how you’ll afford your next move with today’s rates and prices, consider this: you probably have more equity in your current home than you realize. Homeowners have gained record amounts of equity over the past few years. And that equity can make a big difference when you buy your next home. You may even have  enough to be an all-cash buyer and avoid taking out a mortgage altogether. 

Bottom Line If you’ve had these three questions on your mind and they’ve been holding you back from selling, hopefully, it helps to have this information now. A recent survey from Realtor.com found more than 85% of potential sellers have been considering selling for over a year. That means there are a number of sellers like you who are on the fence. But that same survey also talked to sellers who recently decided to take the plunge and list. And 79% of those recent sellers wish they’d sold sooner.

If you want to talk more about any of these questions, or need more information, don’t hesitate to contact me at 503-706-6358 or jdempsey@windermere.com. It would be my pleasure to discuss with you your options.

Protect your home while on vacation

You’ve packed up your suitcase and booked your trip, but before you board the plane, take the time to protect your home while you’re on vacation. July and August are popular vacation months, and not surprisingly, they’re also the months when the most home burglaries are reported. To fully enjoy your trip, plan appropriate home security and maintenance with this checklist:

Set timers on interior lights. This goes a long way in deterring burglars, who often look for crimes of opportunity. Don’t allow your house to appear as if no one is home.

Power surges: you never know when a power surge may occur, so be prepared. Disconnect the computer, TV, stereo and other electronics, or make sure they are plugged safely into a surge protector.

Don’t make or socialize status updates. Never broadcast your location on social media. Even if you think that it’s only your friends or colleagues viewing your online profiles, it’s safest not to leave any sort of opening for a possible burglar.

Check doors and windows. This one might seem like a no-brainer, but according to the National Police Association, 32% of burglaries are because homeowners have left their main door or windows unlocked.

Stop newspapers and mail. Stop mail and newspaper deliveries or have them regularly picked up by a neighbor. You don’t want to easily clue in a burglar to your absence by the mounting plie newspapers on your doorstep.

If you’re going on a month-long vacation, make sure your yard is being maintained to appear as if you are still at home. An unmaintained front yard is a red flag for your home’s security and a sign for burglars indicating that your home is empty. Also, move anything of value indoors away from being seen outside. This is one of the best safety precautions to leave your house when on vacation.

We hope the tips are helpful. Sunset Science Park Federal Credit Union is open to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Washington County. For more information or to get a pre-approved auto loan, stop by their office (1100 NW Murray Blvd #200) or visit the SSPFCU website.