Portland Real Estate Market

Our local Portland real estate market is always changing. It takes a very busy real estate agent, top 1% in Portland, to keep a finger on its pulse. We write Portland housing market forecasts twice a year, an annual best month of the year to sell or buy a home article, population growth articles, Portland development articles, articles on real estate market trends, housing affordability, articles on Realtors themselves, and much more. Enjoy!

single level homes sell faster

Single Level Homes Sell Faster and for 19% More, 2022 Report

July 1, 2022

Brought to the forefront of American living shortly after World War II, ranch-style homes grew in popularity for their laid-back, easy-living vibe with flowing, open floor plans and easy access to the outdoors. Then came the 1980s. Ranch homes temporarily lost their appeal with homeowners during the building boom of this decade after the country had enjoyed economic growth. People had more money, and they wanted more. What came of this period were bigger homes with less-than-imaginative facades, fake chimneys, cathedral ceilings, and sometimes garish interiors. As with any trend or fashion that runs its course and fades from popularity, it usually comes back around into favor with the masses. As the adage goes, “everything old is new again,” and...

portland housing market

Portland Real Estate Market Update, July 2022

June 20, 2022

As we move into summer, we’re looking at how the real estate market is shaping up in Portland. Rising interest rates have cooled off a red hot sellers market, and comparing May 21 with May 22, 16% less homes went pending and closed sales dropped 8.4%. However, inventory remains low along with average market time, and despite a higher number of active price drops, home prices continue to climb (for now). We looked at the entire Portland metro area and Portland proper, then focused in on each quadrant. Here’s what we found. Overall Home Prices Continue to Climb For the entire Portland Metro area, the market this past month saw 3,853 new listings, 2,916 closed sales with an average sale...

sell a home vacant or tenant occupied

What Sells a Home Best? Vacant, Seller, or Tenant Occupied? 2022 Report

June 17, 2022

Since 2017 we’ve been creating this annual report to help our clients know what occupancy status is better for a potential home sale. Is it easier to sell a home if it is vacant, seller, or tenant occupied? While most of our clients can guess it is more difficult to sell tenant occupied, this annual report helps them know just how much harder it is to sell with a tenant inside. Also for homeowners deciding to move out first and vacate or sell while still living in the home, these reports can be helpful. The numbers used. This report is based on data from RMLS, our local multiple listing service. We are looking exclusively at city of Portland proper, detached...

Willamette Valley Riverfront Real Estate Guide

June 6, 2022

Does relaxing on your back deck or yard to the sound of the Willamette River flowing by sound good to you? If so, you’ll want to keep reading. Many people dream of living the waterfront lifestyle, but finding available riverfront real estate can take some work. We already created a comprehensive guide for riverfront real estate along the Columbia River, this article will focus on the banks of the Willamette River. To do some of the necessary leg work for you, we did an extensive search to find Willamette River riverfront property in Oregon along the Willamette Valley. We found a plethora of options from single-family homes to condos to floating homes in a variety of price ranges. We start at...

moving out of portland oregon

Are People Moving out of Portland? Population 2022 Update

June 3, 2022

What has happened to Portland over the past two years in terms of population growth? While it may seem to reason that with all Portland has endured—social unrest and the riots of 2020 overlapping the pandemic—residents would have left in search of serenity or safety. The statistics lead us to telling two different stories within the Portland metro. The population growth of Portland suburbs (the whole metro) and population loss within the official City of Portland boundaries (the city proper). The U.S. Census Bureau for Portland city proper says Portland (not its suburbs) lost 11,000 residents from July 2020 to July 2021. County by county research below was done by the fantastic PSU population center and results go through summer...

portland rental market

No Portland Homes for Rent, Only Apartments

June 3, 2022

As a licensed real estate agent serving the greater Portland metro area since 2003, my practice, like most agents serving the area, involves representing home buyers and sellers in the real estate market. (If you’re looking for a rental, it is best to lookup property management companies in the area you want to live in.) However, I’ve helped numerous landlords sell their rentals or purchase new ones and so have become very familiar with the ups and downs of the Portland rental market. One of the local trends I’ve felt over the past few years is the ongoing disappearance of detached homes available for rent in Portland. Recently, new research reports have confirmed this trend. Single Family Home Rental Trends...

rising real estate home prices

How Long Will Housing Prices Rise Nationally?

May 30, 2022

Big questions still loom large in the world of real estate, one of which is: “How long will housing prices rise?” While none of us has a crystal ball, we can look to recent past trends and what experts are saying to arrive at a well-informed answer. Here’s what we know. Will the Current Seller’s Market Still Hold in 2022? The hot, record-setting competitive year we saw in real estate in 2021 has maintained a strong seller’s market. The primary reason for this was the number of potential buyers outpacing inventory, which led to rapid price increases and even bidding wars in some areas. While this dynamic is expected to stay throughout 2022, higher mortgage rates will slow down the...

portland condo market 2022

Portland Real Estate Condo Market, 2022

May 27, 2022

Recent history. The Portland condo market took an absolute beating in 2020 after slowing down for years prior to the start of the pandemic. While the single family real estate market in Portland started booming by fall 2020 and hasn’t stopped skyrocketing (until very, very recently), the condo market in 2021 saw modest gains and recovery from an absolute frigid 2020. Now the condo market in Portland, having lived through the early stretches of the pandemic and the downtown riots that followed, is finally stable again in 2022. However, did the Portland condo market recover just in time for the greater real estate market to drop? Looking at the Utterly Terrible 2020 Portland Condo Market For much of 2020, only...

portland real estate market

Portland Real Estate Market Update, June 2022

May 13, 2022

We’ve all been waiting and wondering what it will take to shift the real estate market in Portland after two years of an unprecedented sellers market. Prices have continued to rise at record rates with inventory remaining low. While it is obvious this state of affairs isn’t sustainable, when the shift would happen and what would cause it have been big question marks for everyone. Interest Rate Hikes are Now, and Will Continue to Slow the Market How do I know that the interest rate hikes are causing a slowdown? We look at weekly buyer traffic reports. Typically from March to May home buyer traffic (visiting homes for sale to purchase them) increases and peaks in May. In 2022, home...

portland real estate market

Portland Real Estate Market, May 2022 Report – A Wild Ride

April 20, 2022

We live in interesting times. The Portland real estate market was scorching hot in the first quart of 2022 with no end in sight for skyrocketing home prices and crazy bidding wars. But mortgage interest rates are rising incredibly fast and in April we started to see the first slowdowns in the market. (Typically April is always hotter than March in Portland real estate, but probably not this year.) Buyer Traffic is Dropping in Response to Rising Interest Rates The above is for all Oregon homes listed in our local MLS, RMLS that is centered in Portland, Oregon. Buyer traffic typically never drops in April. Inventory will Remain Low through Spring and Summer There simply has been almost no inventory...