Focusing on the Portland area, our year to date median sales price was $379,900, up 9.5% from $347,000 in 2016. I expect we'll see the rate of increase slow a bit in 2018, to something like 8%.
In 2017, we had 31,624 closed sales, down 3.6% from 32,798 closed sales in 2016. The year has started off quickly. I'm guessing, at the end of 2018, we'll be similarly close.
Our year to date market time was 45 days, as compared to 42 days in 2016. Toward the end of 2017, we were definitely seeing buyers a bit more relaxed at not having to race out immediately to see a new listing. Some buyers even had the luxury of seeing a house a second time, before choosing to write an offer. I welcome this wee bit of slowing, and think both buyers and sellers make better decisions when not acting in a pressure cooker.
And we finished the year with 1.6 months of inventory, up a tad from December 2016's 1.3 months of inventory. This slight bump in inventory was also a welcome change, giving buyers more properties to consider.
These numbers bear out what I had been feeling. We did slightly less business, still saw prices increase a bit. Personally, I did 3 fewer transactions in 2017 than in 2016, but made slightly more money.
The Portland market remains a sellers' market...to an extent. With the extreme frenzy of 2015 and 2016 gone, sellers do have to price according to comparable properties, usually have to do an amount of repairs as a part of selling, and often don't have a plethora of offers from which to choose.
We're in a funny spot, where it is a good time to buy or sell. As the year progresses, we expect to see interest rates edge up. as high as 5% toward the end of 2018. This increase will decrease buying power for buyers getting loans, and could put a bit of downward pressure on pricing.
If you're thinking about making a move, or just curious, get in touch. I'd be glad to talk! leslievjones@gmail.com 503-312-8038.
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