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: Strong End to Summer

September 28, 2013

By all accounts in the real estate business, it was a successful summer in Portland. The August RMLS report for the Portland real estate market paints the picture in numbers: In August alone, 2,623 buyers closed on the perfect home – and, as it usually goes in the summer – there were even more closed sales in the previous two months. Home sellers were busy too, getting 3,423 new listings on the market this August. Overall, looking at the average and median sales prices for a Portland home from the beginning of the year to August, prices are up by around 15% compared to last year. The Portland real estate market usually winds down in August and September, so it’s...

Tiny Homes are Big in Portland

August 29, 2013

Imagine coming home and taking two steps to the kitchen, grabbing some food, turning around, and sitting on the couch. When it’s time for bed, you stand up and go up the ladder to your loft. Your home is less than 100 square feet, cost less than $5,000 to build and is so small that it doesn’t qualify as a “permanent residential structure” under the building code, so it actually sits up on wheels. This might not be your reality, but it is for hundreds who are part of the Tiny House movement in Portland. Some do it because it’s affordable, others to be different, but most who live in tiny houses seem to just prefer it over anything else....

Foreclosures and Short Sales in Portland: Dropping Fast

July 30, 2013

Home shoppers intent on snagging a deal on a short sale or foreclosed property in the Portland area had better act fast. Recent reports indicate that the number of new listings coming on the market is shrinking, while low inventory and rising home prices indicate that the supply of distressed properties won’t last forever. Quick refresher: A short sale is a way for the home owner to avoid foreclosure by selling the home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. An REO property is one that has already been foreclosed upon and is owned by a bank or lender. Here are three reasons that it won’t pay to wait when it comes to nailing a deal on a...

Be Aware of Real Estate Scams in Portland

July 17, 2013

You’re behind on your mortgage payments and the bank is threatening to foreclose. Then you receive an offer from someone claiming to be from a credit agency. They say they can sell your home, saving your credit and your peace of mind. Can you believe them? Of course not. Unfortunately, that call is not so easy to make when you’re the person with the huge mortgage and the tempting offer on your plate. This kind of enticement has sent homeowners in Portland and across the country into their worst fraud nightmares, costing them money, ruining their credit and deflating home values across neighborhoods. With underwater mortgages and financial troubles for homeowners in every income bracket, scam artists have come up...

Has Fannie Mae Solved the Short Sale Maze?

June 16, 2013

As many in Portland have already experienced, buying or selling a home through the short sale process can be a bit of a maze. Although short sales are an invaluable tool for underwater home owners, many offers fall through because one or more parties can’t agree to terms in the agreement. For home owners, the short sale process begins when the lender agrees to sell the home for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. Then the home seller can work with their short sale real estate agent to list the home and find a potential buyer. From there, sellers’ and buyers’ agents negotiate with the various lending institutions, lien holders and other parties. If the maze is negotiated...

April 2013 Portland Market Action Report: A great time to sell!

May 31, 2013

The Oregonian reports this months that Portland home sellers are throwing out their to-do lists and selling their homes as-is, in response to low inventory and rising home prices. Meanwhile, Portland real estate agents are having to look high and low for properties that meet their buyers’ needs. There’s no doubt that April was a fantastic month for Portland real estate buyers, sellers and real estate agents. According to the latest Market Action report from the RMLS, 3,623 new listings came on the market in the Portland area in April. That’s more than in any single month since August 2010. Even though the average sales price for a Portland home is up about 10% this year, buyers are not hesitating...

Portland Housing Inventory is at Record Lows 2013

April 24, 2013

Can’t find a home? You’re not alone. Believe it or not, there are half as many (about 6,000) homes for sale in Portland this spring of 2013 verses the Portland housing inventory in spring 2011 (about 12,000 homes for sale). Multiple offers are becoming the norm in hot areas for any home that is priced at previous market prices. Across the board, homes are selling faster and for more in Portland. Now more than ever, you need a great Portland listing agent that can maximize the multiple offer situation or a Portland buyer’s agent who knows how to win in a multiple offer situation. Why are we seeing record low inventory in Portland? 1. Home builders in Portland have been...

A Busy 2013 Spring for Portland Real Estate Agents

April 1, 2013

U.S. home sales are at three-year high, according an Associated Press story this week. Are Portland home sales following the nationwide trend? Judging from the February RMLS Report on the Portland real estate market that also came out this week, it looks like we’re on track to have a very fast-past year, indeed. Market inventory stands at 4.5 months, lower than the February inventory for the previous two years. Pending Portland real estate sales in February increased by 11.8% over last month. The RMLS reports that this is the best February for Portland pending sales since 2007. What does all this mean? Portland real estate agents are busy, and it’s a good time to be a home buyer or a...

Portland Real Estate Market Heading Up

January 2, 2013

The Portland real estate market is likely on an upswing, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors and others who presented at the 2012 Realtors Conference and Expo. This is welcome news to nearly everyone involved in the real estate industry. As long as lenders are able to continue to lend, real estate market trends are almost all positive in the next few years, according to Yun. From inflation, to interest rates, to reconstruction, construction, fewer foreclosures on the market and pent-up demand for new homes, Yun touches on several areas that all point toward a positive next several years in real estate market trends. Because of these trends, rises in home sales are forecast...

Top Portland Neighborhoods for 2013 (part 1)

December 26, 2012

With 95 neighborhoods, the city of Portland has a place for everyone – seniors, families, first-time home buyers, and anyone looking for the convenience of urban life with the safety and familiarity of a good neighborhood. In 2012, we saw the Portland real estate market begin to pick up again, making 2013 the perfect year to invest in a home. Foreclosed properties and short sales continue to come on the market, and the savvy buyer might just find a screaming deal this year. Where are the great properties? All over the Portland, area, really. Young professionals continue to flood into the Pearl district and are starting to move into new developments in the south Waterfront and in North Portland. Southeast...

1 … 29 30 31 32 33

Stephen FitzMaurice

Team at eXp Realty