Hot temps belie some cooling in Portland’s residential real estate market

August 15, 2016, by Jon Bell, Portland Business Journal

The heat of the summer is upon us, but the latest figures from the Regional Multiple Listing Service show that July was somewhat of a cooler month for residential real estate in Portland, at least compared to June.

RMLS’ Market Action report for July showed that, while new listings were up about 2.3 percent from July of last year, they were down nearly 3 percent from June. That dip, however, didn’t ding the month in the bigger picture, as this past July was the strongest in terms of new listings since 2008.

Pending sales and closed sales also fell a bit over both last month and last year, and average sale price dipped slightly from $412,000 in June to $407,1000 in July. That said, average sale price in July was still up more than 10 percent from July of 2015, when the average sale price was $369,100.

Inventory remains fairly tight as well, and that’s having an impact in certain areas, said Brigitte Pascutoi, managing broker of John L. Scott Sunset Corridor.

“The inventory under $500,000 is still moving if priced right, with multiple offers, backups, and continued competitive activity,” she said, in an emailed comment. “We are also seeing more cash buyers. My agents are busy and still feeling the need for housing and inventory, especially in the ‘affordable’ ranges.”

Read the article online here.