Portland Real Estate Market Conditions for March 2011

I wouldn’t call it a real estate boom. But we’re definitely moving in the right direction. Closed sales are up, pending sales (in escrow) are up. In addition there was a small increase in new listings compared with last month. We are slowly returning to a more normal market.

To compare March 2011 with February 2011, check my previous market conditions blog.

A snapshot of the Portland real estate market for buyers: The median price for a home in Portland is $215,000. Prices in the Portland real estate market may be starting to bottom out. Here’s what’s happening. First there is a significant drop in number of homes for sale in Portland. More buyers are closing on their new homes and less sellers are putting there homes on the market in these uncertain times. That means less “inventory” or homes for sale in Portland. When there is less for sale, demand pushes prices up. And we’re starting to see a very small increase in prices. The figures for March 2011 are just a small piece of information. Is it a trend or a fluke? Stay tuned.

Comparing March 2011 with March 2010: We had 10.2% less closed sales than last March. Pending sales are also 16.2% less, and new listings are way below March 2010. They are down 38.7%

March 2011 compared with February 2011: Closed sales are up 50.4%. Pending sales are up 26.5%. And new listings are even on the increase—up 6% over last month.

At the current rate of sales the homes for sale in Portland and the metro area would last for 7.1 months if no new homes came on the market. See the chart below for more information about what this means.

Sales Price: are up. I haven’t written that in a while! Compared with February 2011, the average sales price for Portland real estate is up 6.8% and the median price is also up slightly (0.6%). Compared with March a year ago the average sales price is down 6.8% and the median is down 10%.

With the first quarter of 2011 competed, the average sold price of a home for sale in Portland dropped 9.2 % compared with the first quarter of 2010.

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.