There was a one liner in a KGW piece a few nights ago, where Zillow said the Portland market , "is a buyers market right now". That caught my attention. Zillow's article about the national market also points to slowing.
The RMLS report for April can show some hints of this. For the first four months of the year, our inventory was equal to, or higher than the inventory for the same months in 2016 and 2017.
The market time for listings that sold in that same time period was also equal to, or longer than 2016 and 2017.
And pending sales are down 2.6% from April 2017.
Zillow's report for Portland shows our annual home value change increased 6.2% as compared to a 9.1% increase in national values.
Anecdotally, we're still seeing multiple offers on certain properties. We're also seeing more and more houses on the market and price reductions in a variety of areas.
What does this mean for you?
If you've been in the market to buy, while prices are still going up. the pressure is easing. While the list price used to be a starting point, with prices going up from there, it now can be possible to buy a house at or below the list price. Some buyers stay out of the market, while they save money to buy. In the past few years, prices have been rising quicker than most people can save. We may be entering a time when you can actually save faster than the market increases.
If you are thinking of selling, you might want to get your property on the market sooner than later. While we're seeing some slowing now, we often see a bit of a lull in the summer months, especially July and August.
Let me know if you have questions about your specific situation. I'm always glad to talk.
Leslie Jones 503-312-8038 leslievjones@gmail.com
