The Most Recent Market Stats are out!

RMLS just released the most recent stats about the Portland area real estate market.  As we've been feeling in our office, things are easing a bit.  Thank goodness!

Our market has been plagued by low inventory, with not enough houses on the market to meet demand.  As often is the case, this demand has been helping to drive prices up.  Not that a ton of houses have flooded the market, but inventory in April increased from 1.3 months to 1.4 months. When the May numbers come out, I predict we'll see a further increase in inventory.

We have clearly been in a seller's market.  A  balanced market, where neither buyers nor sellers are seen as having more power or advantage, is thought to be five or six months of inventory.

Speaking of those prices...Our year to date median sales price is now at $329,000, up 13.4% from the year to date median price in 2015 of $290,000.

The other indicator I like to watch is the total market time in our area.  The total market time for houses that went under contract in April was 43 days.  This compares to 61 days from April 2015.  Market times in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland for April 2016 were 25, 29 and 29 days respectively. Isolated to the neighborhoods inside Interstate 205, I'm sure we'd see even shorter market times.

It would be great to see a bit more easing, whereby we'd see more buyers getting their offers accepted.

Read the full Portland area report.

Get in touch with me if you have questions about the Portland real estate market, or want to talk about buying or selling. leslievjones@gmail.com  503-312-8038

Portland Market Stats

The Regional Multiple Listing Service released the numbers for July 2015 last week.  There are a few items to note.

Inventory remains quite low.  At our current rate of sales, it would only take us 1.7 months to sell all the homes currently on the market.  This is for the whole Portland metro area.  In Portland's close-in neighborhoods, inventory continues to be a real challenge.  In the 97214 zip code, there are currently 19 houses on the market, ranging from $389,900 to $825,000, with a median price of $660,000.  And in the 97232 zip code, there are currently 11 houses on the market, ranging from $349,000 to $849,000, at a median price of $669,950.

With short inventory comes shorter market times.  In July, houses that closed had been on the market an average of 45 days, compared to 57 days in 2014. In Portland's east side neighborhoods we are seeing market times of 23 days in North Portland, 25 days in NE Portland and 32 days in SE Portland.  These market times are from the time a listing becomes active in RMLS, until an offer is accepted and the listing status becomes pending.

We're doing a pretty large volume of business. July 2015 had the most closings of any July on record, with 3452 closings, up 28% from July 2014.  Wow.

We're still seeing plenty of buyers entering the market as we head toward fall, and usually see a flurry of activity as the holidays draw near. If you've been thinking of buying or selling, there is still time to get it done before the end of the year.  Get in touch and I'd be glad to outline first steps.  leslievjones@gmail.com  503-312-8038

Read the full Portland report.

The Regional Multiple Listing Service released stats for April, and yes, the market is certainly active. 

More rising prices; median price for the first four months of this year is up  is up 15.6% over the same period in 2012 to $250,000.  The median price for April 2013, alone, is $257,000.

We have more pending and closed sales and inventory remains low with 3.1 months of inventory city wide; pending sales increased 11.9% from March 2013 and 24.4% from April 2012.  Closed sales are up 9.8% over March 2013 and 16.1 % over April 2012.

And our average market time remains low at 91 days city wide.  This is an average, so imagine how quickly the good ones are actually selling.

The real estate conversation is all about inventory.  There are plenty of buyers in the marketplace right now, hoping to get in before prices and interest rates rise.  But...there aren't so many houses to choose from, making multiple offers and bidding wars commonplace.    Low appraisals are a risk as prices are driven higher, so cash offers become quite appealing.  We are even seeing multiple cash offers; in some cases buyers needing to buy using financing  need not even submit offers.

The conversation is also about sustainability; can this market continue?  I don't think so. An amount of the pricing increase is being driven up by emotional decisions; winning the bidding war.  As prices rise, and more people can afford to sell, we'll see more houses come on the market, which will ease the inventory shortage.  And while I don't relish a return to the stagnant market of 2008-2011, a bit more balanced market would be welcome. 

So if you've been thinking of selling, now is a pretty good time.  Interest rates remain reasonably low such that more buyers can afford to buy at a certain price range.  As both interest rates and prices rise, the pool of buyers for any given price range will decrease.

See the full report.