Portland Real Estate Market COVID19 Update – Major Rebound – Buyer Traffic Down ONLY 20%

When COVID19 hit Oregon hard in March of 2020 local home buyer traffic dropped over 60% in the Portland real estate market. In April buyer traffic increased about 40% from March. Now every year buyer traffic normally increases from March to April (but not by 40%!). So in April we were down about 30% from April of last year, 2019.

Now that May is about over it looks like June 2020 will start at 20% down off typical June numbers. This is a huge recovery!

The reader must understand that there are also now less showings per sale, less tire kickers, and so even a 20% drop in showings isn’t a 20% drop in sales. When all the numbers come out, we might be currently at say a 15% drop in sales or so from this time of the year normally.

By end of June 2020 or sometime during July of 2020, the real estate market in Portland could see a 100% rebound.

Why is the Portland Real Estate Market rebounding from COVID19 so quickly?

Here are some ideas:

1. Thankfully Oregon is not one of the harder hit states.
2. Most people are stuck at home and many are realizing that their current home is not where they want to be! If this goes on for a long time, people really want to be in a home that best serves their needs and wants.
3. The Portland real estate market had strong economic support coming into 2020 from nearly every angle.

Changing Home Buyer Needs and Wants are impacting the Real Estate Market

Here are a few things we are seeing on the ground right now. It is hard to say how long these trends will last, depends on how long of an impact COVID19 has on our daily lives.

1. Rural properties with land not far from the city, and any city properties on larger than average lots are the new hot commodity. Home buyers, more than usual, are looking for space to spread out.
2. Condo sales are suffering, not recovering as quickly as detached home sales, for the same reason as above.
3. Home amenities like office space, home gym space, pools, hot tubs, central air – really any amenities you can think of – are all more important than they were a few months ago.

We’re ready to help.

Whether you’re a forced home seller or a first time home buyer, our top 1% seller and buyers agents are ready to help. For our sellers (among many other services) we provide a 3D virtual tour walk through for every property. For buyers we conduct video tours on their behalf as needed (We are following all required guidelines to make sure our clients feel safe and know how to navigate the fast paced Portland real estate market on your behalf. Give us a call today!