We continue to see promising signs in the Portland-Metro real estate market. The recently released RMLS™ Market Action report for April, speaks for itself:
Year to Date Summary. The Portland metro real estate market continues to have a strong year. There have been 9,314 accepted offers and 7,039 closed sales in 2013, up 16.4% from 8,000 pendings and 12.9% from 6,236 closed sales in the same period last year. The 11,678 new listings this year represent a 4.4% increase from the 11,182 entered by this time last year.
Average and Median Sale Prices. The average sales price so far this year was $293,600, up 15.3% from the same period in 2012, when the average was $254,600. In the same comparison, the median increased 15.6% from $216,200 last year to $250,000 in the first four months of 2013.
Depending upon whether you’re a seller or buyer, the inventory numbers are either good or bad: April’s inventory is at 3.1 months; down from 3.2 in March. For first-timers to this report, RMLS™ explains that months of inventory is determined as follows:
“Inventory in Months is calculated by dividing the Active Listings at the end of the month in question by the number of closed sales for that month. This includes proposed and under construction homes.”
A “healthy market” i.e. one in which sellers and buyers have roughly equal negotiating power, is 6 to 8 months. With the current low inventory, it means that sellers have the greater bargaining power in the establishing final selling price. The result has been less time homes spend on the market. In other words, homes are being snapped faster and faster. In many instances, offering prices have exceeded list prices and back-up offers are becoming commonplace. April time on the market was 91 days; March was 112. This feeding frenzy will likely continue into the summer months, and only slow down when more sellers list their property and new housing construction becomes available. ~PCQ
