Portland Oregon Real Estate Market Activity - January 2008
Feb 16th, 2008 by Jody McLeod
Portland area median prices - January 2008
Yes, the numbers are confirming what many of us already knew: things have slowed in the Portland market.
Reports are out today show that Portland’s real estate market has a 12.8 month inventory of homes. What does that mean? Well, if no new listings were taken as of today it would take over a year to sell all of the available inventory. That’s a huge jump from the previous 2 years. In January 2007 we had 6.5 months available and the year before that, when things were going gang-busters in the real estate market, there was only 3.2 months. RMLS reports that inventory hasn’t been this high since January of 2000.
The jump is due to an increase in the number of listings (11.9%) and a decrease in sales (-31.9%). Data released yesterday from the National Assocation of Realtors report that real estate sales numbers fell in 45 states in the last quarter of 2007, with Oregon being one of the hardest hit at -38.4%. *Ouch!* Here is an Associated Press story about NAR’s numbers.
The GOOD news is that the Portland Metro area is still in the positive when it comes to appreciation. As you can see by the table below the only neighborhood in our market that didn’t appreciate was Milwaukie-Clackamas. NAR reports that the Portland area had a positive appreciation of 1.8%. *Whew!* That’s good news.
Portland Real Estate Activity - January 2008
| Area | Average Days on Market | % Appreciation - Last 12 Months | Average Sale Price YTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Portland | 76 | 8.3 | $268,000 |
| NE Portland | 81 | 7.3 | $329,900 |
| SE Portland | 69 | 6.7 | $279,600 |
| Gresham-Troutdale | 80 | 4.4 | $249,600 |
| Milwaukie-Clackamas | 93 | -6.4 | $369,000 |
| Oregon City-Canby | 103 | 1.1 | $319,300 |
| Lake Oswego-West Linn | 77 | 7.5 | $588,800 |
| West Portland | 89 | 4.6 | $503,100 |
| NW Washington County | 78 | 6.3 | $418,300 |
| Beaverton-Aloha | 67 | 3.2 | $257,100 |
| Tigard-Wilsonville | 81 | 4.8 | $377,700 |
| Hillsboro-Forest Grove | 93 | 4.2 | $280,600 |
| Mt. Hood-Govt Camp | 75 | 2.5 | $239,800 |
| Columbia County | 115 | 10.9 | $225,800 |
So, what does this all mean? Is Portland’s real estate market is headed down the tubes? I am holding steadfast in my opinion that we will not be hit like many parts of the country. Our appreciation is holding. Mortgage rates are low. Spring is just around the corner. The stimulas package is a go. There is potential for an upswing. I’m keeping my fingers (toes, legs, and anything else) crossed that it will happen.
Technorati Tags: Portland Real Estate, market activity, appreciation, average sale price, median price, 97209
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Those numbers seem so far off! I have been house hunting vigorously in the last couple of weeks and most homes in SE Portland are 399+. Also, from what I have seen, what is left out there may be large in quantity but low on quality.
VeganFabulous: The numbers are taken from all of SE Portland, so you will get a wide range of home prices to create that $245,900 number in the map. The asking prices you are seeing might have to do with the neighborhoods you’ve chosen to search. Here are some stats to show you what I mean: The Hawthorne area has a median price of $352,500, and the Mt. Tabor area has a median price of $420,000. However, other parts of SE Portland have much lower median prices. The North Lents neighborhood’s median price is $190,000 and Montavilla’s is around $200,000. It’s a huge difference, I know, but since the RMLS numbers shown on the above map come from the entire SE area, the overall median price ends up in the middle.
I also find it frustrating to see lower quality homes with high asking prices. But the real estate market has a way of self-regulating itself, just like it is doing now. People won’t buy the over-priced, lower quality homes and the sellers will ending up reducing their price or taking the listing off the market. I just want to add that asking price doesn’t have to be the price you pay. Offer less than asking! If you find a home you really like but you think the asking price is too high, then ask your real estate agent to help you figure out an acceptable offer price. That is his or her job and many homes are selling for less than the asking price. Good luck!