No relief in sight for homebuyers in the Portland market – Jon Bell, Portland Business Journal
Though the Portland residential real estate began its end-of-summer cool down in August, sales activity remained strong and prices continued to rise.
So says the latest market report from the Regional Multiple Listing Service, which noted that the 3,347 pending sales in August were down about 4 percent from July but still up almost 24 percent over August 2014.
Closed sales followed a similar pattern, with 3,098 sales closing in August, up 20 percent over the same month last year but down about 10 percent below July.
RMLS also reported that inventory rose in August to 1.9 months and total market time slipped to 41 days. The average sales price in August was $332,600, up just over 6 percent from the same time last year.
Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, said the Portland market remains hot and that there is plenty of competition among buyers.
“In a normal market there is a slight build-up of inventory in the late summer to carry the market through the winter, but not this year,” he said.
“We are virtually sold out in the price ranges where 90 percent of the sales activity is taking place. Buyers will need to be buyer-ready to be able to instantly react get a home in these price ranges.”
In addition, the continued strength of the economy, the lack of inventory and lingering low interest rates aren’t going to make it any easier for prospective buyers in Portland.
“With inventory levels at one-third of normal for this time of year, we expect to see no let-up in the backlog of buyers,” said Israel Hill, managing broker for John L. Scott’s Northeast Portland office.
“This will continue to keep us at an extremely low level of inventory well into next year. We see no relief in the current sellers market in close-in neighborhoods.”
Read the article online here.
