Median list price of Portland homes up slightly in August

The median list price for homes in Portland rose to $268,500 in August, up 1.35 percent from a year ago and nearly flat compared with July, according to the real estate website Realtor.com.

Nationally, the median list price in August was $190,000, a 0.05 percent increase from a year ago, Realtor.com said.

Among online real estate searches in August, Portland was the 56th most-searched market in the country. The top markets were Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia.

Homes for sale in the Portland metropolitan area fell to 5,295, down almost 17 percent from a year ago. Nationally, the inventory of homes for sale was down 18.7 percent from a year ago.

The median time on the market in Portland was 102 days, a 6.25 percent increase from July. Nationally, the median age of inventory was 91 days, a 3.4 percent increase from July, Realtor.com said.

 

Dow swims upstream against Fedex current

SAN FRANCISCO — Most U.S. stocks slipped for a second day with the Dow industrials posting a fractional gain Tuesday as a gauge of home-builder sentiment showed improvement in September and shipper FedEx Corp. reduced its profit forecast.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 index shed 1.87 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 1,459.32.

Similarly, the Nasdaq composite declined 0.87 point to close at 3,177.80.

The Dow Jones industrial average, however, gained 11.54 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 13,564.64, with Kraft Foods Inc. its best performer and Alcoa Inc. the worst.

“The rally is a bit overheated at this point, there’s a growing disconnect in terms of what the market is doing and what the underlying economy is doing. Most recently, FedEx is reiterating that point for us, cutting its global outlook for the economy,” said Dave Abate, senior wealth adviser at Strategic Wealth Partners.

Yahoo completes lucrative deal with Alibaba Group

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo has completed a long-awaited $7.6 billion deal with China’s Alibaba Group, generating a windfall that could help ease the pain of Yahoo shareholders who have endured the company’s foibles during the past few years.

After Yahoo distributes most of the proceeds to its shareholders, its recently hired CEO Marissa Mayer will still have an extra $1.3 billion to finance acquisitions or hire new talent as she tries to revive the company’s revenue growth.

Tuesday’s resolution comes four months after Yahoo Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. outlined the details of a complex transaction that took more than two years of on-again, off-again negotiations to hammer out. The deal will give Alibaba greater autonomy as it prepares to pursue an initial public offering of stock within the next three years.

Yahoo paid $1 billion for a 40 percent stake in Alibaba in 2005 and is now reaping a huge return. Alibaba is paying $7.1 billion in cash and stock to buy back half of Yahoo’s holdings. Another $550 million is being paid to Yahoo under a revised technology and patent licensing agreement with Alibaba.

After paying taxes, Yahoo estimates it will pocket about $4.3 billion.