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 market

Portland Real Estate Market March 2014: Fresher than ever

May 7, 2014

Things that aren’t very good stale: Crackers, beer and the Portland real estate market. Luckily, Portlanders can fear no more this spring about stale real estate because the real estate market is fresh as a newly hatched chick (besides, here in the rainy Northwest, soggyness is a greater danger than staleness). According to a recent Trulia report, relative to the rest of the country, the Portland real estate market sells homes at one of the fastest rates in the nation. This month’s RMLS numbers back up the report. Inventory, an important marker of how quickly homes are passing from the hands of sellers to buyers, fell to 3.1 months in March. Average total time on the market was 85 days....

portland real estate market

Best time to sell a house in the Portland real estate market.

April 9, 2014

There is a lot of debate in the Portland real estate industry surrounding the best time of the year to sell a Portland home. What I’ve found listening to the debate is that most Portland real estate agents are talking about it based on their experience. Experience can be useful, but when you’re considering broad questions, a bigger data picture is much more useful than one agent’s experience. So I will share my experience as a top Portland real estate agent, but I will also use the official Portland real estate market data as obtained from RMLS. (You can also sign up here to get it for free.) Big data picture for the Portland real estate market. Take a look...

portland real estate market

Portland Real Estate Market News: Busy, Snowy February 2014

March 15, 2014

RLMS Market Action report for the Portland Metro Area, released this week, focused on February’ highlighted the number of closed sales in February, a whopping 1,467. According to the report, this was the best February in the Portland real estate market for closed sales since 2007. What does that mean? The average time on the Portland real estate market right now is 100 days, so it’s safe to say that it was a good winter for Portland home sales. Deals that were made in January, December, even November, closed last month and 1,467 happy home buyers and sellers went their separate ways. Following these leading numbers was the news that new transactions didn’t happen as prodigiously in February as they...

portland real estate market

Hot Real Estate Market, Hotter Portland Neighborhoods!

January 31, 2014

The new year is off to a good start for Portland real estate buyers, sellers and agents, according to the RMLS Report for the Portland Metro area for December 2013. The figure that stands out in this month’s real estate market report is that median and average home sale prices in the Portland area are up by nearly 13% compared to last year. Although the number of closed sales and new listings are down from November, the month of December overall pulled in ahead overall compared to the same month last year. And, the number of pending sales reached 1,484, the most for any December since 2006! What’s causing all of this positive Portland real estate market action? Portland always...

portland days on market

Average Days on Market in Portland Real Estate by Area 2014

January 20, 2014

Entering into the 2014 Portland Real Estate Market it is crucial to consider the average days on market in 2013. At the end of 2013 North Portland had the fastest average days on market at a speedy 45. Average days on market is a strong indicator of what part of town is truly up-and-coming and what part of town is starting to decline. Right behind North Portland was Northwest Portland (up in the Forest Heights area), coming in at 48 average days on market. Third place was a close fight between Lake Oswego / West Linn at 91 days and Northeast Portland at 92 average days on market. This will be a surprise to some, but West Portland came in...

real estate online shopping

Portland Home Buyers Shop Online, Buy With a Real Estate Agent

January 2, 2014

Forget Silicon Valley – did you know the city of Portland, Oregon is the tech hub of the Pacific Northwest? HP, Intel, Yahoo! and hundreds of other web and tech businesses have major operations in the Portland area. Portland residents are known for being wired, and not just on coffee. We pride ourselves in being able to access information with the touch of a screen or click of the mouse. What does all of this have to do with real estate? Well, besides the technology industry providing thousands of jobs, making Portland a great place to relocate, it’s interesting to note how technology has changed the real estate industry itself. Stop for a moment and consider how you would go...

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Portland Real Estate Market 2014 Prediction

December 30, 2013

Portland should have a banner year in real estate in 2014. Portland’s “underwater” mortgage rate is among the nation’s lowest. Corelogic is reporting only 6.6% of the Portland real estate market has mortgages higher than what the property is worth. This is way down from what Zillow reported in the Portland market in early 2012, a whopping 16.9% of Portland homes were underwater. So what does that mean for 2014 home sales? Basically it means that Portland homes are worth more and not a significantly larger number of home owners will be able to sell their homes come 2014. More homes will hit the market and sell, and those same sellers who likely have been waiting years for the opportunity,...

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Rent Vs. Buy in Portland Real Estate Market Prediction 2014

December 6, 2013

Which is a better investment? Should you avoid risk and keep renting, or bite the bullet and purchase a home? Here are some key factors to consider: Portland area rents have incrased an average of 5% in 2013. That is an annual “depreciation” of -5%. In contrast home prices have risen in Portland 10% from 2012 to 2013. According to the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors: The average annual monthly home payment in Portland was 14,467 in 2013, while the average rent paid was 13,212. However, the homeowner had an average interest deduction of $2,853, property tax deduction of $896 and gained appreciation (equity) of $4,702. This is based on median home prices in Portland and a 30 year fixed...

condos in portland

Buying a Portland Condo: Six questions to ask

December 1, 2013

Condo sales in the Portland real estate market are steadily rising. Portland condos took the hardest hit during the housing bubble and crash, but are rebounding fast. Many think a Portland condo is one of your best (and last) chances to still get a deal from the Portland housing market crash. From first-time homebuyers to empty-nesters looking to downsize, a condo is a great, affordable housing option for many Portland residents. With inventory in the Portland housing market low and the economy picking up again, condos are becoming an even more popular option. But owning a condo is different from owning a house for several reasons. Before you buy, read the fine print and ask plenty of questions. Here are...

portland real estate market

Portland Real Estate Market Update: Autumn as usual?

October 28, 2013

The Portland real estate market – just like real estate markets across the world – has its yearly cycle. For any number of reasons, buying and selling activity slows down in the winter, picks up in the spring, goes crazy in the summer, and quiets down again in the fall. Given these cycles, one would expect the September RMLS report for Portland to show numbers that reflect slightly less activity than August. Bingo – the number of closed sales is down 18%, the number of new listings is down 15%, and the average sales price for a Portland home slipped from $321,900 in August to 317,300 in September. To get a complete picture of what’s happening in the Portland real...