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!

portland real estate forecast 2022

2022 Portland Real Estate Market Forecast (Prelim.)

August 13, 2021

The Portland real estate market has been on a wild ride since early 2020. The real estate market here was actually slowing and becoming more affordable back in 2017, and that trend continued until the pandemic hit. Year zero, or 2020, was the most unusual in my real estate career (licensed for 18+ years now in town). 2021 returned to seasonal selling norms (slow in winter, fast in spring, slower in the late summer months), and those market trends look like they will continue in 2022. Every year since 2003 (when I started keeping track) the Portland real estate market has followed the same seasonal trends, even in the previous hottest (2006, 2016) or slowest years (2008-2011). So if you’re...

portland real estate market

Top 5 Portland Real Estate Market Stories of Summer 2021

August 2, 2021

It’s been a roller coaster ride of a year for the Portland real estate market. After over a year of a global pandemic, demand for single family housing shot through the roof, and Portland’s supply struggled to meet that demand. All year we’ve been monitoring the effects of this situation on the market. Accordingly, the top real estate market news stories of 2021 tend to revolve around the inventory crisis. Keep reading to find out crucial takeaways from the market so far this year. 1. Low Inventory Drives Home Prices Up Since the year’s start, inventory in Portland has hit record lows, the lowest point being May. Our monthly RMLS report calculates the ratio of new listings to closed sales...

affordable portland suburbs

5 Most Affordable Portland Suburbs in 2021

July 30, 2021

Unless you’ve been living off the grid, you’ve likely heard that soaring home prices have plagued the Portland metropolitan area – and the country – all year. So of course, the question of affordability looms. How much longer will home prices keep shooting up? Will this mean that Portland no longer ranks as an affordable area to live in? And the truth is that Portland’s affordability does appear to have taken a hit. So while we write this article once a year, this year the topic is more pressing than ever. Suburbs provide an excellent alternative to living in city limits for many home buyers. For one thing, you’re bound to be able to afford more space. And while we...

June Home Sales in Portland Real Estate Market Beat Out Past 10 Years

July 23, 2021

If you’ve read this blog at all this year, you know that one of the biggest stories we’ve been following is Portland’s low inventory. Yet if you read the title of this post, you know that home sales are still going through the roof. So how do these two truths not contradict? First, let’s talk about what inventory means. When we quote an inventory number, that number comes from our monthly RMLS reports. It’s calculated by dividing the number of active residential listings at the end of the month by the number of closed sales for that month. So you’re looking at a ratio: when it’s under 1.0, that means more homes sold than came on the market. For June,...

how many days to sell a home

How Many Days to Sell a Home in 2021?

July 19, 2021

In case you haven’t already heard, 2021 is a great year to sell a home in the Portland real estate market! But just in case you’ve been living under a real estate rock, here’s a quick catch up. Inventory has been hovering at a notorious low, because homes are selling faster than new listings come up. Now, typically the real estate market starts slowing by late summer and continues to cool off into the fall and winter months. So what we’re looking at below (RMLS report), covering through the end of June 2021, should represent the fastest time of year to sell a home: As you can see, the ratio of active listings to sold properties dipped below 1 to...

As Portland Home Prices Soar, Home Affordability Takes a Hit

July 12, 2021

Low inventory and rising home prices have made themselves felt here in Portland, as they have across the country. According to the latest numbers from Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI), 64% of respondents feel that right now is a bad time to buy a home, while 77% feel it’s a good time to sell. Buyers, especially first time buyers, are feeling the sting of lack of affordability pushing them out of the market. So how does Portland shape up in comparison to the rest of the country? We’ll take a look at ATTOM’s recently released affordability data for the second quarter of 2021 to find out. Portland Home Prices Grew Faster Than Wages To consider affordability, you can’t...

Single Level Homes Sell Faster and for More in Portland – 2021 Report

July 7, 2021

Portland is a city famed for its beautiful – and diverse – single family homes. You can find it all here, from gorgeously ornate Victorians to smooth and sleek modern builds. It might surprise you, then, to learn that once again, recent sales data shows that buyers seem to prefer the unassuming single level home. Let’s take a look at the numbers as well as why the appeal of the single level, or ranch style, home proves so enduring. All Home Styles Are Selling Quickly in 2021 – But Especially Single Level Homes First, we should note that homes of all shapes and sizes are flying off the market like hotcakes. In our latest data set, we looked at detached...

portland housing supply forecast

Portland Housing Supply: Here’s What the Future Looks Like

July 5, 2021

All year we’ve been covering the big real estate story of the pandemic: the lack of single family homes. With inventory at an all time low, and demand through the roof, it’s only a matter of time before buyers begin considering other options – not to mention developers. Now, the current situation in Portland’s housing supply can be at least partly explained by the pandemic. But with no sign of demand abating, we can also assume that the need for more homes won’t go anywhere anytime soon. Given these conditions, then, what does the future of Portland’s housing supply look like? In the long term, how will single family homes fare versus multiple unit dwellings? What about owners versus renters?...

average hoa fees and costs

Average HOA Fees in Portland 2021. Are your HOA fees too high?

June 28, 2021

Some HOA fees are too high due to past mismanagement There are some condo complexes in Portland right now that have higher monthly HOA fees than the cost of the monthly mortgage if you were to buy one of their condos for sale. This happens for two main reasons. First, sometimes HOA management collected too little in fees for too many years, giving themselves a financial break at the time by not saving up properly for future costs to cover whatever the HOA made itself responsible for. This is why it is crucial for a condo buyer to analyze the HOAs financials and reserve study before purchasing, to make sure the HOA won’t suddenly have a special assessment (huge hike...

The National Housing Shortage Continues: How Does Portland Shape Up?

June 25, 2021

We’ve been talking about it for months now. With demand for housing, particularly for single family homes, through the roof, Portland has been struggling on the supply side. And we aren’t alone. All year and across the country, real estate markets struggled with a lack of existing home sales, all while demand for more space remained unabated. The latest national numbers don’t show much change. This week, the National Association of Realtors released new information for May, and it shows the persistence of the current inventory problem. Existing home sales dropped 0.9% from April. It’s not a huge dip, but it does mark the fourth straight month existing home sales have dipped. That’s bad news for a market that desperately...