The latest numbers for the Portland Metro

The year has started off on a positive note. Sales activity in the Portland metro area continued to show improvement in closed and pending sales when comparing this January to the same month a year ago. Closed sales experienced a 18.3% increase, posting the highest numbers for January since 2007. Pending sales saw growth of 22.4% in the same comparison. Market time also improved, decreasing from 160 to 136 days.

There were 16.5% fewer newly listed residential properties. The combination of higher sales and fewer new listings helped to create a much lower listing inventory for this season than seen in the previous two years. At January’s rate of sales, the active listing count of 8,514 would be exhausted in only 7.0 months. 

Comparing month-to-previous month, closed sales fell 24.1% (1,612 v. 1,224) when compared to December 2011, pending sales increased 26.3% (1,443 v. 1,823) and new listings climbed 53.7% (1,700 v. 2,613).
Sale Prices
The average sale price of $249,100 for January 2012 was virtually the same as the $248,900 posted in January 2011, while the median declined 3.5%.
Compared to December 2011, the average price fell 4.5% ($260,800 v. $249,100) and the median fell 4.2% ($216,600 v. $207,500).
Over the rolling twelve month calculation shown to the right, which compares February 2010-January 2011 with February 2011-January 2012, the median price dropped 6.9% and the average price declined 6.1%. 

Latest Market Action-RMLS Data


Positive sign for the overall  Portland Metro Market.  Look for an increase in housing inventory this spring and summer which could lead to the housing market getting closer to normal levels.