Portland Downton Condos VS. Rest of Condos in the Metro, 2023 Report
Condos can be a great lifestyle choice for a home buyer that doesn’t have time or patience for routine home and yard maintenance issues. It can also be a great choice for a home buyer looking to purchase a second home, vacation property, or for someone who travels a lot and needs a low-maintenance homebased to return to. There are many reasons home buyers choose the condo lifestyle.
Recent Market History for Condos in Portland, Oregon
There are also many reasons why the Portland, Oregon condo market has been struggling since 2018. From 2017-2020 the heavy development of multiple luxury apartments in key locations (inner-eastside and downtown) have pulled potential condo buyers into high-rise luxury rental markets instead. Then the pandemic starting in 2020 caused many home buyers to seek out the suburbs and escape high density housing situations (like condos).
Also downtown Portland has had its share of struggles in recent years, further impacting desirability for the many thousands of condos located in or near downtown. In fact, Portland’s downtown issues are often discussed, we are going to breakdown this condo market report into downtown Portland condos vs. all other Portland condos.
Increased remodeling and maintenance costs since 2020 have risen dramatically, which means HOA costs have inflated more than 20% since 2020 in Portland, Oregon.
We are going to take a look at condos active, pending, and sold in the last six months (from 4/20/2023).
The state of the downtown Portland, Oregon real estate condo market today.
When I say downtown Portland condo market, I’m referring to the area above and producing my research from that highlighted area.
| Portland, Oregon Downtown Condo Market | Number of: | Average Days on Market | Average Price per Sq. Ft. | Median Price |
| Active | 244 | 76 | $561 | $499,990 |
| Pending | 87 | 56 | $785 | $475,000 |
| Sold, last six months | 231 | 117 | $420 | $380,000 |
The Portland, Oregon condo market for the rest of the city proper, excluding downtown.
| Portland, Oregon Condo Market – Excluding Downtown | Number of: | Average Days on Market | Average Price per Sq. Ft. | Median Price |
| Active | 301 | 59 | $367 | $375,000 |
| Pending | 252 | 52 | $338 | $339,950 |
| Sold, last six months | 810 | 55 | $296 | $325,000 |
Portland Condos Downtown Took Twice as Long to Sell
The first most noticeable difference is the average time on market to sold between these two reports. A whopping 117 days in downtown and only 55 outside of it.
The second most noticeable difference between downtown condos and the rest of the metro, is that downtown condos are still a lot more expensive on average.
The third most noticeable difference between the downtown condos on the market right now, and the rest of the city, is the ratio between active and pending condos. The ratio between active and pending properties for sale can tell you what the local market is like. Here’s an example:
| Active Properties | Pending Properties | Ratio | Does the Market Favor Buyers or Sellers? |
| 100 | 100 | 1:1 | Balanced |
| 50 | 100 | 1:2 | Favors Sellers |
| 100 | 50 | 2:1 | Favors Buyers |
| 25 | 100 | 1:4 | Strongly Favors Sellers |
| 100 | 25 | 4:1 | Strongly Favors Buyers |
Now let’s apply the above real estate market rules to today’s condo market in Portland:
| Active Condos | Pending Condos | Ratio | Does the Market Favor Buyers or Sellers? | |
| Downtown Condos Today | 244 | 87 | 2.8 : 1 | Strongly favors buyers. |
| Rest of the Metro Condos | 301 | 252 | 1 : 1.2 | Close to balanced. |
The Portland Condo Market Today, as a Whole
Condo prices haven’t gone anywhere in 5 years.
When looking at price per sq. ft. for condos back in summer of 2018, hovering around $390 a sq. ft., and comparing them with April of 2023, about five years later, the average price per sq. ft. for sold condo is about $398. One could almost draw a straight line across. Condos really started dropping in 2018 and then of course picked up at the start of 2020, and now have fallen back down to where they were five years ago. The good news for condo owners is that the falling prices for condos seems to have stopped and leveled off, at least for the metro as a whole.
Work with a Portland Condo Expert
We’ve sold hundreds of Portland metro condos, click here to see the map and our top-ranked condo selling services. We charge less commission than most, and provide more marketing and services.
Our top 1% Portland buyers agents have also helped hundreds of new homeowners find the right property for them, whether they are looking for the maintenance-free condo lifestyle, or a home with a massive yard.
Give us a call at 503-714-1111 or chat with the bot on this site. We’d love to connect today!
