Portland Market Activity - February 2008
Although sales activity picked up in February throughout the Portland metro area, the fact remains — a bulge of housing inventory continues to pile up.
As I mentioned the other day, only a little over 1,300 properties changed hands in the Portland metro area in February, leaving 10.4 months available inventory on hand — over 14,400 residential listings. For the year, closed sales are down almost 30% from this time in 2007.
The inventory overhang is having an effect on prices. Comparing the year-to-date median price of $280,000 to this time last year, it’s up a little (from $277,000 in 2007), but remember, the market was at $290,000 YTD back in July 2007. However, it isn’t the precipitous double-digit decline some have predicted.
Year-to-date, the average sale price was $342,800, up from $323,800 this time last year. Average time to market a home was 85 days (vs. 66 in Feb. 2007).
North Portland appears to be the darling market area right now. At just 55 days average time on the market and only 17% fewer sales than last year at this point, it’s perking right along. Yamhill County and Lake Oswego / West Linn are off to particularly slow starts with respect to volume (down 46%).
Below are the February 2008 results for average and median sale prices, appreciation, and time on market (or DOM*), sorted by average sale price. (Remember, the appreciation numbers are a 12-month rollup compared to the previous 12 months.)
| Area | YTD Avg. Sale Price | YTD Median Sale Price | 12-Mo. Apprec. | DOM |
| Lake Oswego / West Linn | $576,800 | $504,000 | 8.5% | 80 |
| West Portland | $503,200 | $397,500 | 4.5% | 101 |
| NW Washington County | $393,800 | $370,000 | 6.5% | 97 |
| Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville | $376,700 | $345,000 | 3.5% | 78 |
| Milwaukie / Clackamas | $371,200 | $311,700 | -6.7% | 87 |
| Northeast Portland | $311,900 | $260,000 | 6.5% | 68 |
| Oregon City / Canby | $306,300 | $286,000 | 0.7% | 92 |
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove | $292,800 | $260,000 | 4.1% | 94 |
| Yamhill County | $288,600 | $222,700 | 4.3% | 114 |
| Southeast Portland | $284,300 | $249,500 | 7.2% | 68 |
| Beaverton / Aloha | $279,700 | $255,000 | 3.5% | 78 |
| North Portland | $268,300 | $250,000 | 7.6% | 55 |
| Gresham / Troutdale | $254,400 | $242,000 | 3.9% | 91 |
| Columbia County | $228,300 | $216,000 | 10.1% | 118 |
Source: RMLS, March 2008.
* Note: DOM or days on market may exhibit reporting inconsistencies and should be used to analyze trends only.
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25 comments March 14th, 2008
