Portland Real Estate Market Conditions For April 2011

Here are the latest figures for the Portland real estate market for April 201 (courtesy of RMLS). In a quick summary,  the market is worse than this time last year, but shows steady improvement for the first four months of 2011.

To compare April 2011 figures with March 2011, check my previous blog.

A snapshot of the Portland real estate market for Buyers: If you are thinking of buying a home in Portland, now is a good time to act.  The number of homes to choose from is shrinking and prices are starting to rise. They are currently at 2004 home price levels. With interest rates still under 5% for many borrowers, there are many good opportunities to buy a home in Portland.

Comparing April 2011 Portland real estate numbers with April 2010: closed sales decreased 17%, pending sales were 33% less and new listings also are less by 34.2%.

April 2011 compared with March 2011 Portland home sales: again closed sales are down, but only by 0.3%. Pending home sales are also slightly down –by 0.5%. But new listings are slightly up over last month by 1.4%.  On the whole, April looks pretty much like March.

At the current rate of sales the homes for sale in the Portland real estate market would last about 7.2 months. (In March  there were 7.1 months of inventory. See the chart and explanation below for more details.)

Portland Home Sale Prices: Home prices are now at 2004 to 2005 price  levels.

The average sales price for a home in Portland dropped 5.2% compared to April 2010 and the median price went down 8.4% to $219,900. (See the Portland Metro Residential Highlights chart below for more details.)

However, the average sales price for April 2011 increased 2.4% over March 2011 average; and the median sales price increased 2.3%.  In fact the median sold price has slowly but steadily increased every month this year. I’ve graphed the median sold prices for the past 12 months. Here it is:

 

Here’s more information from RMLS.

Is it a buyers market or a seller’s market? See the chart below.

It’s all based on the number of months of inventory. How many months would it take to sell all the homes currently on the market if no new property came up for sale? Less than 4 months inventory is a sellers market; 4-6 months is a neutral market; and more than 6 months inventory is a buyers market. All information is courtesy of RMLS.