Median list price for homes in Portland up from last year

The median list price for homes in Portland rose to $269,000 in June, up 3.46 percent from a year ago.

The price in June was 1.62 percent higher than the median list price in May, according to Realtor.com.

The price topped the national median list price of $195,000 in June, which marked a 2.68 percent increase over June 2011, said the real estate website group.

In Portland, the for-sale inventory of homes dropped 16.41 percent from last year, to 5,145. Nationally, inventory fell 19.35 percent, to about 1.89 million.

The median time for homes to be on the market in Portland was 87 days — flat compared with May. Nationally, the median time for homes to be on the market was 84 days, Realtor.com said.

Results from Goldman, Coke help stocks maintain gains

U.S. stocks reclaimed Tuesday gains after solid results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Coca-Cola Co.

“We had good reports from Goldman and Coca-Cola; not only did they beat expectations, but they did so by a pretty wide margin,” said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates. “Banks seem to be holding up fairly well, and that’s one of the riskier sectors. When you see strength there, it tends to bode well for the rest of the market.”

After sliding 82 points and rising as much as 102 points, the Dow Jones industrial average finished at 12,805.54, up 78.33 points, or 0.6 percent. Component Walt Disney Co. rose 3.1 percent after Bank of America Corp. upgraded the entertainment conglomerate to a “buy” rating.

Blue-chip gainers also included Coca-Cola, up 1.6 percent after the beverage maker reported second-quarter profit that surpassed expectations.

The S&P 500 index advanced 10.03 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,363.67.

Shares of Goldman Sachs gained 0.3 percent after the Wall Street bank reported second-quarter profit above estimates and said it was selling its hedge-fund administration unit to State Street Corp., shares of which lost 6.4 percent.

Mattel Inc. leapt 9.7 percent after the toy maker reported second-quarter profit that beat average estimates.

The Nasdaq composite index climbed 13.10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,910.04.

Reports of sticking throttles on Fords, Mazdas probed

Federal safety regulators are investigating complaints that the throttles can stick on Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute SUVS and cause them to crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents that the investigation includes 730,000 Escapes and Tributes from the 2001 to 2004 model years. The recalled SUVs all have six-cylinder engines.

The safety agency says it has received 99 complaints about the problem. The agency says there were 13 crashes, nine injuries and one death.

The throttles on the SUVs can fail to return to idle when the driver takes their foot off the gas pedal. The agency is investigating whether some of the complaints stem from repairs made on a previous recall.

 

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