Summer Market Report
The first summer market report is out. In keeping with my good news/bad news theme, I’ll be breaking down the June Market Action report, courtesy of RMLS, as glass half-full/half-empty. Careful or next time I might break it down in haiku. Hmmm.
June Market Action
- Glass Half Full - For the second straight month there was a slight increase in sales. (0.8% increase vs May 2008)
- Glass Half Empty - Closed sales are still down over 31% from the same time last year.
- Glass Half Full - The rate on inventory has remained virtually the same vs May 2008 (9.5 months vs 9.1 months in May)
- Glass Half Empty - There were only 5 months of inventory in June 2007.
- Glass Half Full - The average sales price is up 4.1% from last month.
- Glass Half Empty - It’s down 1% from last year.
What I’m seeing is a market finding its balance. It seems to have settled into itself and I expect the rest of the summer to follow a similar trend of slight month-to-month increases that will be about 30% lower than the previous year. The good news is the Portland market is not trending down month-to-month. Many national markets are still following each and every month. The local stability is very positive when compared to the national scene.
For the optimists out there, many Portland neighborhoods are still appreciating well. N Portland say a 5.7% increase from last year. NE Portland had even higher appreciation at 6.7% compared to this time last year. Lake Oswego and West Linn, despite slow market times, saw a 4.9% increase in home prices. The news isn’t quite as rosy in other areas, though, as Milwaukie/Clackmas dropped 8%.
The upshot of all this, of course, is that Portland is obviously in a very strong buyers’ market. Interest rates remain relatively low and while financing is harder to come by, there are plenty of loan packages available for qualified buyers. Sellers need to remember the simple rule that the homes that sell in a buyers’ market are the ones that are immaculate and/or priced the best. Where once it was location, location, location, now it is much more price, price, price. If you want to sell your home and not just “try to sell your home”, you need to price it right.
Click here to view the complete Market Action report.
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