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