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According to Melvin Broadous, a broker with Equity Group inc., the real estate market in Oregon is "stable but slow." And he emphasizes the need to examine markets individually by area. The viability of home buying and selling depends in large part on "factors particular to a region," he says. And his experiences as president of Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors (PMAR), tells him the Portland Metro region is fairing better than most of the country.

Higher interest rates, stagnant selling prices and rising loan foreclosures on homeowners by banks have followed a housing boom that some call a building glut. And these recent events have led to a tightening of loan criteria that has reduced the number of potential buyers.

Larger, more expensive houses were selling much faster than the apparently "modest" range of $180 to $240 thousand in the recent past. The fluidity of subprime loan money that swept the country over the last four or five years falsely inflated the number of potential homebuyers competing on the housing market by allowing those who had little hope of purchasing a house with a standard mortgage.

The arguably less than ethical attitude of some mortgage firms, drawn in by promises of easier and much higher short-term profits, and lenders like Countrywide and Wells Fargo who securitized and sold subprime mortgages despite their quality contributed greatly to the scope of the problems.

"If you could fog a mirror and had any kind of job, you got a loan," says Broadous, "And largely this was from subprime money."

The fallout from subprime loans which often carry grossly higher, or rising, interest rates and other potentially dubious costs has been a formidable challenge for local brokers like those at Equity Group inc., that work closely, even co-dependently, with mortgage brokers and lenders. What affects one, tends to have an effect on the other.

"Representation is so critical, both on the listing side, on the seller's side, and on the buyer's side because there are so many potholes in today's market," he says. "Interview several brokers to find out if they'd have the capacity to accomplish the things you need them to."

Broadous suggests the use of an organization such as the Portland Housing Center, which believes everyone deserves access to homeownership. The center aims to accomplish this through "quality education, counseling and financial services." They can be found on line at www.portlandhousingcenter.org.

A common assumption about subprime

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