Real Estate Market Update

The Portland metro area market improved in February compared to a record low January, but remains slow compared with February 2008.

Comparing February 2009 with the same month in 2008, closed sales dropped 38.1%. Pending sales also fell 30.5%. New listings decreased 19.7%.

On the other hand, when comparing February 2009 with January 2009, closed sales grew 17.1% (857 v. 732) and pending sales were up 3.3% (1,276 v. 1,235). New listings, on the other hand, dropped 17.3% (3,471 v. 4,196).

At the month’s rate of sales, the 14,188 active residential listings would last approximately 16.6 months, down from a record 19.2 months in January.

Sale Prices
The average sale price for February 2009 was down 12.9% compared to February 2008, while the median sale price dropped 7.5%.

Month-to-month, the average sale price and median sale price are both up when compared with January levels; the average sale price increased a slight 0.4% ($298,500 v. $297,200) and the median sale price was up 3.6% ($259,000 v. $250,000).

Year-to-Date
Comparing January-February 2009 with the same period in 2008, closed sales dropped 35.8%. Pending sales also fell 29.1%. New listings decreased 17.2%.

If you have any questions about the local market in your neighborhood contact me today!

Portland Real Estate Market Update

December Residential Highlights
The year ended quietly as sales activity in the Portland metro continued to slow. However, the level of inventory dropped after reaching a record high in November.

The number of closed sales (987) hit its lowest point since February 1992 (905). Pending transactions (810) were at a record low since RMLS™ began reporting in 1992, the previous record was 845 in December 1994.

Comparing December 2008 with December 2007, closed sales fell 34% and pending sales dropped 34.2%. New listings also decreased 17.4%.

At the month’s rate of sales, the 13,882 active residential listings would last 14.1 months if no new listings were to enter the market. That is a slight decrease from last month’s record high of 15 months.

2008 Summary
Comparing market activity in 2008 with 2007, new listings decreased 8.7%. Pending sales dropped 30.8% and closed sales fell 32.1%.

At $6.3 billion this year, total sales volume dropped 35% from 2007’s $9.7 billion.

Fourth Quarter Summary
Comparing the fourth quarter of 2008 with that of 2007, new listings fell 20.3% (8,326 v. 10,450*). Closed sales, on the other hand, dropped 32.1% (3,598 v. 5,298) and pending sales fell 35.8% (3,061 v. 4,766).

Please call me if you have any questions about the real estate activity in your neighborhood. You can find more information on my website at www.audreybonnet.com

Source: RMLS Market Action