Business News October 2022

Open House dinner for Estate Planning Questions

Thursday, October 5, 5:30-7:30 pm, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., free

Skyline Memorial Gardens offers an informal setting to answer your estate planning questions. Enjoy a free dinner and pick up a complimentary potted Chrysanthemum too. To attend, please RSVP to 503-292-6611 or send an email to Louis.Lafranchise@DignityMemorial.com.

CMBA Meeting

Tuesday, October 11, noon, The Ackerly Timberland

CMBA member, Christine Hyatt, will be our speaker / business spotlight leader for the October meeting. Just in time for fall and winter celebrations, she will share tips on creating a tempting and well-balanced cheese board featuring both local and international flavors and complementary pairings. Of course, we’ll enjoy some awesome cheese!

Though her primary focus has shifted in recent years to magazine-style portrait photography for individuals, families, and small business owners (www.christinehyatt.com), Christine has deep roots in the specialty cheese community. A past-President of the American Cheese Society, she has written about and photographed many of the world’s finest cheeses and cheesemakers for print and digital media. She remains a cheese cheerleader, hosting the occasional cheese pairing class and contributing to regional and national cheese and food publications

Oregon Potters Association Fall Fair at Cornell Farm

Saturday & Sunday, October 8-9, 9 am-6 pm, Cornell Farm, 8212 SW Barnes, free

potters fair

Cornell Farm is excited to host the Oregon Potters Association‘s annual Fall Fair this year! Celebrate the beginning of fall with us at this two-day market-style event featuring 20+ ceramic artists, who will be here selling their wares. Shop local this season and discover beautiful handmade pieces for inside and outside your home.

And around the nursery, the first specialty pumpkins of the season have officially arrived at the Patio! Come explore our early selection of organic, heirloom pumpkins and other fall favorites —from mums to pansies and beyond. Then, be on the lookout for our photo-worthy Pumpkin Patch, which will be filled to the brim with carving pumpkins in the next week or so. Coffee & pastries available for purchase at the cafe until 3 pm.

Village Gallery of Arts October Events

For a full listing of events visit our website.

October Awards Show: Diwali theme

Sunday, October 9, 3-5 pm, Village Gallery of Art (VGA), 1060 NW Saltzman next to the library
Big and Bold: Vanaja Mulagada: “Enlightenment,” acrylic, 24″x 30″

Our member artists created works reflecting the spirit of the season of Diwali: themes of light overcoming darkness, new beginnings, togetherness, and hope. Our juror is Anshula Tayal, a well-known Indian-born artist residing in Oregon, who works in both 2-D and 3-D media. She has won many awards nationally and internationally, and we are excited to host her as our juror for this show. Come see the art that garnered awards!

The word Buddha means enlightenment. As Diwali approaches, the vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red exemplify this interpretation of light over darkness.

Washington County Open Studios

Saturday, October 15, and Sunday, October 16, 10:30- 5 pm

Our gallery is participating in this area-wide event. Stop by to watch various artists at work and talk to them about their creative process.

Diwali lanterns

Diwali Celebration — A Festival of Lights

Saturday, October 22, 3-7 pm, adults 18+. Purchase tickets here.

Join us as we experience the spirit of Diwali, a celebration of light over darkness. Come enjoy a juried Diwali-themed art show, Indian food and music, henna tattoos, craft workshops, fun photo booth with themed props, take-home snack boxes, and much more! Fun for the whole family! 

October Children’s Classes at VGA

Monthly children’s classes for ages 7-11 are taught by the VGA Instructional Team. Online registration for all classes. Please see our website for details. 

Exploring art
Thursdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27, 3:45-5:15 pm. Max 8 students, face masks required. 

Join an exciting class learning a variety of art forms! A team of rotating instructors provide a chance to explore a variety of media and approaches while building artistic concepts and skills. All supplies included! October projects include Glass on Glass Mosaics, Fiber Arts, Mixed Media Watercolor, Oil Pastel Resists.

October Adult Classes at VGA

Online registration for all classes. Please see website for details on all classes.

Beginner Oil Painting with Alaka Sarangdhar
Tuesday, October 4, 12:30-2-30 pm. Max 5 students. 
Beginning Gourd Work with Kim Black
Saturday, October 29, 8:45 am- 2:45 pm. Max 7 students.
Intro to Freestyle (Xie Yi) Chinese Brush Painting with Joanna Brown
Saturday, November 5, 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Max 8 students, vaccinations and face masks required. 

The VGA Mission is: “To ignite the joy of learning, creating and appreciating art in our community. We support professional and emerging artists by providing high quality affordable art education to children and adults as well as providing venues for sharing their work.” Village Gallery of Arts is a non-profit (501c3) organization, receives no taxpayer money, and is staffed entirely by member volunteers. 

Look-ahead to the housing market through 2024?

Jan Dempsey, Realtor, Windermere Realty Group

The underlying demand for housing will remain strong in the decade ahead. There will be shorter, or cyclical, swings such as the one we are in currently. The run-up in mortgage rates has priced out some households from the ownership market, keeping rental demand high. 

The Oregon Economic office predicts that home prices will decline by 4%. Higher interest rates are here to stay, as well as larger monthly mortgage payments. By mid-2024, the housing market price correction and continued income growth will bring affordability back to our historical price range. After 2024, forecasted home prices largely increase with income growth and steady mortgage rates. 

As mortgage rates have risen, the potential buyer pool becomes even smaller. The challenge is that larger price declines typically require a glut of inventory and/or distressed sales. Today neither is occurring. It is clear prices today are too high given current incomes and mortgage rates, but a quick, sharp correction seems unlikely. The forecast calls for modest declines in the year ahead, followed by a flat year. This multiyear adjustment brings high level affordability measures back down by mid-2024. 

Inventory has risen from its record lows but remains at or below pre-pandemic level in most markets. Even as inventory rises further, as it is expected to do, it is unlikely it will suddenly return to the levels seen 10-15 years ago for a couple of reasons. One is that fewer homeowners will list their homes in a soft market, especially if it means they will have to buy a home at these higher interest rates. Two is the lack of distressed sales. Distressed sales are expected to be minimal in the years ahead. Credit standards are higher, and the market lacks the exotic loans of the bubble era. And sellers have equity in their homes.

Oregon housing starts (new builds) will decline by 4% in 2023. Given the 30 percent decline in overall home sales in recent months, builders are likely to slow their pace of new construction until the market fully adjusts. New housing units will continue to be built, there will just be fewer until demand picks up.

This article is a synopsis of information from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, September 7, 2022, Oregon Economic News, Analysis and Outlook, Josh Lehner.

It would be my pleasure to answer any questions you may have regarding our real estate market, please don’t hesitate to call 503-706-6358 or email me at jdempsey@windermere.com.

Wow and Flutterville childcare open house

Monday, November 7, 5:30-6:30 pm, 800 NW 107th Ave.

We are excited to celebrate our first-year anniversary in the Cedar Mill area, and we are inviting potential families who are looking for childcare to our open house. Attendees will receive a small gift for participating. As a thank-you to this wonderful community, Wow and Flutterville Playgardens has donated to the Oregon Cultural Trust in honor of their support to the Cedar Mill Library. 

Celebrate International Credit Union Day!

Thursday, October 20

Why do hundreds of millions of people worldwide choose credit unions? Because each credit union puts an emphasis on providing service to its members and local communities. That local service—community by community—contributes to a global reach that touches more than 291 million members. As cooperative and democratic financial institutions, credit unions’ success depends on the success of their members and their community. 

This October, Sunset Credit Union will join more than 86,000 credit unions from 118 countries to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of International Credit Union Day®. Credit unions strive to make the world a better place for their members by offering affordable rates and high-quality services that simplify their lives and empower them to meet their financial goals. Sunset Credit Union is consistently rated as one of the best financial institutions in the nation offering some of the lowest loan rates in the Pacific Northwest. 

Visit Sunset Credit Union to learn more about how their products and services can simplify your life and improve your financial world. Open to anyone who lives, works, or attends school in Washington County. For more information, stop by their office at 1100 NW Murray Blvd #200 or visit their website at sspfcu.com.