April Data is Positive

According to RMLS, “market activity in March showed forward progress for month-to-month comparisons, but remains slow compared with the level of activity a year ago.”  From March to February we have seen a jump in sales of over 22%, and the level of inventory has dropped to 9.1 months as opposed to 10.4 last month.  That means that at the current rate of sales, it would take 9.1 months to sell out of the inventory that we currently have.  Market time is now at 83 days, close to the 84 days YTD.  That means that city-wide the average time on the market is 84 days.

North Portland and Lake Oswego/West Linn are the big winners as far as appreciation with a YTD appreciation of 8.2% and 8.7% respectively.  Northeast and Southeast are still strong at 6.9% and 5% respectively.  This is evidence that prices are still up throughout the majority of the city.  The lone aberration is Clackamas county and Milwaukie are depreciating, unfortunately, at a rate of -6.4% YTD.

The feeling in the Real Estate industry in Portland is that the market is picking up despite the obvious negative comparison to the first quarter of 2007.  Buyers are having a great time with the market right now and sellers are doing fine if they are pricing their property correctly.  In fact, when I have analyzed neighborhoods where my buyers have purchased homes in the last month, I have found that homes have been selling within 3% of their listing price.  This means, that when the seller has their home priced correctly, there is plenty of evidence for the Realtor to protect that price.  Have a great month! 

April 12, 2008 · Filed Under Portland Real Estate Market Data

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