Portland's Home Values - What's Ahead

Happy Holidays!

Burr…  It’s cold outside.

Home sales in the Portland Area have cooled slightly for the winter, but for the year have rebounded with a 16% rise in the number of homes sold, reduced market times to sell by more than 25%, and a 13.5% increase in the average sales price of a home.  These are high marks, and Portland is ranking very well among turnaround cities.  Nationally, home prices have risen about 10% this year. 

What’s Ahead

Through the past year, a sense of urgency drove home buyers taking advantage of still-affordable home prices and historically low mortgage rates.  These home buyers were faced with a limited supply of homes for sale, and were often forced into bidding with investors and other buyers who paid with cash.  “Cash” buyers represented almost a third of home sales in 2013!  Sellers were rewarded with quick sales, often above their asking prices.  Market reports that I follow seem to agree that home prices will rise in 2014, but at a slower, more steady pace between 3% to 5%.  An interesting find reported by Kiplinger Business Forecasts says the percentage of consumers who intend to buy a home in the next six months is the highest since the year 2000.  Adding to this push is a pent-up demand among younger adults paying premium rents.  Can you believe studio and one-bedroom apartments located in the various hipster Portland neighborhoods run between $1,250 - $1,500 a month (some even higher)?

How are homes selling in your neighborhood?  Well, over the past year Portland’s leading area was inner-SE with an impressive 16.2% increase in the average price of a home.  A close runner up was North Portland with a 15% increase, followed by the inner-NE neighborhoods at 13.2%.  Area’s on the Westside including Beaverton and Aloha that had a larger share of distressed bank-owned and short-sale properties beat Portland’s best with a 17.8% average price increase.

Mortgage interest rates are about 4.5% and projected to be closer to 5% in 2014.

Hope your holidays are wonderful.  Stay warm, but get outside and have some fun!

Please call me when it’s time to buy or sell a home.  I’ll work hard for you.

Darin Provost, Broker

Vintage Real Estate

503-784-7626