July Real Estate Market is HOT in Portland

The Portland housing market was as hot as the weather last month, according to the latest report from the RMLS.
What qualifies a housing market as “hot”?

If you ask a real estate agent, the first thing he or she will probably say is “low inventory”. It’s supply and demand — when there are fewer houses on the market, the demand for them goes up, driving up prices and competition.

That’s exactly how the Portland housing market looks right now, not just in the last month but for the last 6 months. The average inventory has been hovering around 2 months, and in July it was 1.7 months. When we see inventory that low for that extended period of time, things definitely start to heat up! To give you a point of comparison, last year’s average inventory was 3 months.

Another indicator of a hot housing market is the on-the-ground activity — how many homes are getting offers and getting sold. This gives a more nuanced story. For example, although there were 3,494 pending sales in July, that was below the 3,605 pending sales in June. Then again, when we look at how many sales were pending in July of 2014 (2,802), we come out with a 25 percent year-over-year increase.
How many homes moved from “pending sale” to “sold” in the Portland area in July this year? The RMLS counted 3,452. That’s an increase both over last month — 4.25% — and over July last year — a whopping 29% there.

Fewer homes on the market, but more being sold. What does it all mean? Things are happening fast. Last July, the average number of days a home spent on the market was 57. This year, that number has been whittled down to 45 days in July. That’s right — if you list your home with your Portland real estate agent today, on average, it’ll be in contract by Halloween. Of course, in some Portland neighborhoods homes often sell in a few days, in others it can take a month or two (think farther away from city center and some suburbs). Last year we sold 54 homes in less than 30 days market time and this year we are set to beat that number significantly.

For more facts, figures and details, check out the RMLS report for yourself. I email it out once a month as soon as it’s available, and all you have to do is subscribe here. The more you know, the faster you can act in this hot market! With mortgage pre-approval and a great real estate agent, you’ll be sure to catch the Portland home you’re looking for.