The 2017 Portland Market has been a lot cooler than 2016. In general the number of sales are down and the average days on market has gone up. However, that being said, appreciation has been 9%.
This Fall there has been a surge in the market and increased activity that should reflect next month but in general, we have stabilized and the rocket trajectory seems to look more like a steady climbing line. There does not seem to be a deep fall off nor market crash but a slowing or plateauing has been occurring for some time now.
The markets that have seen the biggest impact are properties listed over $900,000, homes located on busier streets, and homes requiring large renovations. This trend started last April and has continued to be very consistent.
Gone are the days (for now) where you encounter multiple offers and see people offering way over list price.
This time of year starting after Thanksgiving until the new year is often where you get the best prices because many of the buyers go into hibernation until after 12/31.
Insider tip: Buyers pay attention…We suspect there may be a lot of new listings that go on the market December 31, 2017. This is because there is a new City Of Portland rule in effect 1/1/18 that requires a home energy performance score for every home that is goes on the market and any home listed prior to this date is exempt (we will have a blog post on this soon).
However, if you look at inventory numbers, you see that we are well below what we typically refer to as a “buyer’s market” which is anything over 6 months of inventory. We are only at 2 months!
So whatever the numbers are and however you want to strategize, our advice has always been the same. The best time to buy and sell real estate is when it is the best time for YOU to buy and sell real estate.
