This edition of the Graph of the Week explores Oregon’s population over time and is quick since our next quarterly forecast is fast approaching (Thursday.) I love what Bill over at Calculated Risk has done now a couple of times with a GIF of the U.S. population and have simply borrowed his idea and made an Oregon version. There are quite a few interesting points: health care and longer life expectancy, the Baby Boomer and Millennials, etc. Oregon does differ from the nation primarily due to our strong in-migration patterns which have occurred basically since Lewis & Clark. Among other things, in-migration boosts Oregon’s overall population growth rate above the typical state and it also helps fill in the generational gaps.

Migration has certainly been a boon to the Oregon economy over time and our office’s forecast includes above average population growth and migration trends moving forward as well. The…

The VA home loan benefit is one of the most valuable of all benefits issued to our service members. The program itself is based upon a qualifying veteran’s initial entitlement, currently $36,000. The VA guarantees all VA loans up to four times the existing entitlement, or $144,000. For loan amounts above $144,000, the VA guarantee is one-fourth of the loan amounts up to $417,000, higher in areas deemed “high cost.”

When a veteran applies for a VA mortgage, one of the first steps is to obtain the Certificate of Eligibility or COE from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The COE is a document that validates the borrower’s eligibility to receive a VA loan but also includes the amount of entitlement available. What may not always be clear is that the veteran can take advantage of their VA home loan benefit over and over again, as long as part or all…