Stable But Not (Yet) Recovering
Filed Under The Market · Tagged: beaverton, first time buyer, gmac, lake oswego, mortgage, oregon, portland, real estate, rmls, tax credit, west linn
RMLS released April’s Market Action report and the numbers are consistent with the recent trends.
If you’re a potential home buyer, you’ll be ecstatic to hear that Portland housing is at its most affordable point since December 2004. Have I mentioned that now is an incredible time to buy, especially if you’re a first time buyer? Affordability takes into account housing prices as compared to average income. While this economy has been no fun for most of us, there is a silver lining if you have stable employment and want to buy a home.
Put simply, the market is slowly improving. We’re seeing incremental increases in sales activity (as measured by closed sales) and slow decrease in housing inventory. As I’ve been saying for quite some time, it is my contention that the housing market will not fully stabilize and begin its recovery cycle until inventory comes back down to a reasonable level. April’s inventory was at eleven months, meaning at the current rate of sale there are enough houses on the market to last eleven months. I’d like to see inventory absorbed and a monthly figure of seven or eight. That would bring us closer to balance. Still, the decrease from twelve months to eleven is a positive sign.
In a sign that prices are beginning to find their equilibrium, housing prices stayed just about the same in April, as compared to March.
When we compare April 2008 versus April 2009, we see a similar trend of stability. Prices are down roughly 10% compared to April of last year. Sales volume is down about 18% and new listings are down 28%. Those figures are very similar to what we’ve been seeing since February or so. Again, the signs point towards a stability, though not yet recovery.
OK, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for, how much have prices dropped? The twelve-month average shows a 7.4% drop in prices. All things considered, that’s pretty good. Portland has been lucky to avoid the true crash that markets hit places like Detroit, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
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Agent Profile
Jesse Knight specializes in residential real estate with a focus on first time home buyers in the Portland Metro market. Through face-to-face meetings and the targeted use of technology tools, Jesse provides complete representation. Jesse is your consultant, advocate and all around real estate professional.
