Hood River Real Estate Update

Here are the year to date sales figures from the RMLS for Stevenson, WA. in Skamania County.

Month   Year    Listed     volume           average           sold              volume      average        DOM

Jan    2007        4         1,583,900        395,975              2              689,000      344,500       287 

Feb    2007        1          299,000         299,000              2              655,090      327,545        107

Mar    2007        3           977,900         325,966             1              315,553      315,553         62

Apr    2007        4          1,215,800        303,950              0                0                 0                0

May   2007        4          1,360,000        340,000              1              225,000      225,000        132

Jun    2007        3             817,000        272,333              3              850,000      283,333        31

Jul     2007        5           1,537,000       307,400              4              931,400      232,850       124

Aug   2007         4             976,500        244,125             1              499,900      499,900       238

 Totals               28          8,767,100        313,111           14          4,165,943      297,567       140

The Barlow Road is a famous section of the Oregon Trail. It was built as an alternate route around Mt. Hood from The Dalles to Oregon City. This route gave the pioneers a second choice to the treacherous rapids of the Columbia River.

When Samuel K. Barlow arrived at The Dalles from Illinois in 1845 he was unhappy with the high toll fees charged to emigrants going down the Columbia River. He also had concerns about the dangers of this route. Barow scouted out a wagon road around the south side of Mt. Hood which he began operating as a toll road in 1846. The road was very rough with trees and rocks which made it even more difficult. When the road opened in 1846 Barlow charged $5.00 per wagon and 10 cents for every head of livestock. Five dollars was about a weeks wages, however the fee to float down the Columbia River in boats or rafts was nearly $50.00. By 1863, tolls had changed to $2.50 per wagon and team, 75 cents for horse and rider, and 10 cents for other livestock.

The Barlow Road operated under many owners as a toll road from 1846 to 1919.  After 1919 there were no more tolls collected when the estate of the final owner deeded the road to the State of Oregon.


Many say the Barlow Road started in The Dalles. However in 1845 when Sam Barlow scouted the new road, there was already a route from The Dalles to Tygh Valley. By 1850, many emigrants by-passed The Dalles. They would travel straight from the John Day River to Tygh Valley and cross the Deschutes River at Sherar's Bridge. Tygh Valley could be considered the beginning of the Barlow Road.

According to the National Park Service, the start of the road is considered to be the first tollgate site at Gate Creek. Whatever starting point you choose, the ending was always Oregon City, which was the "End of the Oregon Trail."

The Oregon Trail was named a National Historic Trail by Congress in 1978. This Historic Trail designation was meant to protect the trail remnants and artifacts for public enjoyment. There is actually very little of the original Oregon Trail still visible today, only about 20 percent of which approximately 10 percent of this is on National Forest land. On April 13, 1992, the Barlow Road was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District.

The Mount Hood National Forest maintains 40 miles of Barlow Road corridor. Much of the road on the Forest is still in use today for recreation activities. About 30 miles remain "intact," but not always in a form you would expect. The Barlow Road underwent an evolution of travel modes--from oxen-pulled wagon to Model A Fords.  Much of the original route is beneath U.S. Highway 26 in the Zig Zag valley.  The new motorized routes (including Mount Hood Loop Highway of 1924) left many isolated pieces of "pristine wagon ruts" which are still visible today.

The ruts are actually a swale- or five to six foot wide trench worn out by the wagon and the stock that pulled them. Near "Pioneer Woman's Grave," they get four to five feet deep.There are fine traces within 200 feet of paved parking at Pioneer Woman's Grave and Barlow Pass. There is a one mile hiking trail from Barlow Pass to Pioneer Woman's Grave which  has some of the best rut traces to be seen. The ruts are marked with rustic "Original Wagon Route" signs. There are also fine traces near Devil's Half Acre.  Wagons were lowered at Laurel Hill, this is located between mileposts 50 and 51 on Hwy 26. There is a short trail leading to Laurel Chute where emigrants used ropes to lower their wagons. Here is where a stump with rope burn was near the top of chute number two, but the marks have disintegrated over time.

Pioneer graves can still be seen. In addition to "Pioneer Woman's Grave," there are several others at Summit Meadow. These are located on private land across the street from where the Summit House stood.

Disclaimer: I assume no responsibilty for accuracy of information provided within this post and blog. Many entries on this blog are based on the opinions and  ideas of the author and are provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.  

Here's the breakdown for residential home sales through August 25, 2007 from the RMLS for Hood River County. 

Cascade Locks- 1 home sold                                    Sale pendings- 2

Hood River- City- $150-$199,000-   0 sales                  Sale pendings-1                            

                         $200-$250,000-    2 sales                 Sale pendings- 

                         $251-$350,000-   4 sales                   Sale pendings- 4             

                         $351-$450,000-   0 sales                   Sale pendings-2

                         $451-$550,000-   0 sales                   Sale pendings-1

                         $551-$$650,000-   0 sales                 Sale pendings- 2

                         $651-$1,000,000-   0 sales                Sale pendings-2

Hood River-Westside- $200-$1,000,000-  2 sales            Sale pendings- 2

Hood River-Eastside- 1 sale

Odell- $200-$300,000- 3 sales                                      Sale pendings- 2

Parkdale- $300-$400,000-  1 sales                               Sale pendings-1

Countywide - 14  total homes sold, 18 currently sale pending, this total is only residential homes. unimproved & commercial properties are not included in these statistics.

FOR COMPARISON-August 2006 Market trends are as follows:  TOTAL Residential home sales-38

Cascade Locks- 1 Sale

Hood River-City- 30 sales (13 condos and 17 Single family homes)

Hood River-Westside- 2 sales

Hood River-Eastside-  1 sale

Odell- 3 sales

Parkdale- 1 sale

A great program for first time homebuyers is an FHA loan.   Some credit issues and other concerns homeowners may have can be underwritten in FHA. This is partly because the mortgage insurance guarantees the investor in case of a default.   FHA should see a major increase in the next few years due to the tightening of 100% Loan to Value programs and shrinking of the sub-prime market. Here in Hood River County, Oregon FHA has just increased the maximum loan from $200,160 to $299,250.       Link to FHA loan limits.  For more information on FHA loans contact your friendly mortage broker.

Sandy River Delta
Confluence of the Columbia and Sandy rivers
Troutdale, Oregon

Restoration efforts on this delta near the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia rivers in Troutdale, Oregon, are in progress through the U.S. Forest Service. 

Bird Blind  Artist Maya Lin plans to preserve the sites ecology and create an elliptical bird blind in a forest glade at this location near the Sandy River Delta in Troutdale, Oregon. The slats will have inscriptions of the names of birds, mammals and amphibians that were noted by the Lewis and Clark and the Corp of Discovery expedition. This  bird blind will allow visitors to make similar observations.

Work is planned to begin on this project the summer of 2007.

Celilo Park
Near The Dalles, Oregon  The Confluence Project is working with Native American communities to identify an appropriate plan to honor Celilo Falls. This is an area rich with Native American history.  The area around the falls was a thriving Native American fishing ground for thousands of years prior to the raising of the level of the Columbia River and the disappearance ot Celilo Falls. It continues to be an important site for the tribes today. The site for this park is still in the planning stages.