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Ashland Poised for Real Estate Rebound
Boasting its “cultural infrastructure,” natural beauty and a low inventory of homes, Ashland is well-positioned to benefit from a real estate rebound, according to locals who track the trends.
With prices low and the market showing positive signs, this is a good time to buy property here, says Barbara Allen, a Realtor with Ashland’s Windermere Van Vleet & Associates, Inc.
“The factors that have always attracted people to Ashland ensure that the demand for housing will increase and property will be a reliable long-term investment,” says Allen. “People want to live in a town that’s small, has this much culture and feels friendly and safe. There is nothing like Ashland.”
News coverage touting Ashland as being “unspoiled” and a haven for retirees has also drawn buyers nationally. “At one time 35 percent of our business came from the Bay Area. Now, studies confirm that more homebuyers are coming from a number of other states.”
Allen cites the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon University and the Britt Festival as cultural anchors, providing Ashland with “more cultural opportunities per capita than most towns our size.”
A slow-growth attitude and anti-sprawl land use constraints by state and local governments position Ashland for the future, says Rick Harris, an Ashland broker with Coldwell Banker. Because of that, says Harris, Ashland didn’t see an excessive amount of new construction and overbuilding. The result is a relatively low inventory of homes.
“And whenever you have a limited supply,” Harris says, “the properties are more likely to hold their value.”
Russ Silbiger, an Ashland City Councilor, sees Aleph Springs as an example of an “infill” project that’s consistent with the city’s preferred pattern of growth.
“Particularly considering the location, so close to downtown, it definitely represents the right kind of development for us,” says Silbiger.
According to Chris Toogood, a Realtor with the John L. Scott agency in Ashland, homebuyers will continue to be attracted by the mild climate and the location, less than a half-day’s drive from both San Francisco and Portland.
And, Toogood adds, relative to the Bay Area, homes here are still relatively inexpensive,” she says. “Ashland is a great value.”
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