Portland real estate market conditions October 2010

The numbers for October still portray a slow market for Portland real estate. While this is frustrating for sellers, it  means continued opportunities for home buyers.

To compare with last month, check my previous market conditions blog.

Comparing October 2010 with October 2009, closed sales are down 35.7%, pending sales are down 21.5% and new listings are also down by 9.4%. These numbers seem terrible. But think about what was happening last October. The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was set to expire after November 30, 2009.  Many, many buyers already had their new homes in escrow to take advantage of the credit. The tax credit artificially inflated October 2009 real estate sales figures. So of course the Oct. 2010 statistics look terrible compared with last year.

Looking at October 2010 compared with September 2010, shows a much smaller decline (and a decline we would expect in any real estate market as we approach the holidays). Closed sales are down 7.7%. Pending sales are up 3% over September. And new listings are down12.1%.  Even in normal real estate markets many would be sellers prefer to list their homes after the holidays rather than start a listing in October or November. Let’s see if the stats for the beginning of 2011 bears this out.

At the current rate of sales the Portland real estate market has 10.7 months of inventory. See the chart and explanation below.

If you’re ready to buy and plan to be in your new home for a couple of years, there are great opportunities for buying a home in Portland. Interest rates remain around 4.25% for 30 year fixed loans. Don’t miss out on these great rates. As interest goes up, your buying power erodes. This would make a great blog topic. I’ll work on it.

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.