Portland Condo Market Update – April 2007

South WaterfrontFor residents with busy lifestyles, or those that require low maintenance ownership, or some needing affordable housing options, the modern condominium or townhouse has become a much more popular form of property ownership in the past several years.

But has the condo craze crested in Portland?

As with the detached, single-family housing market in the Portland area, the condo and townhome market is experiencing something of a listing glut. My analysis of the multiple listing service shows that there are two and a half times more condo/townhome inventory on the market than May 2006. Over 2,450 listings now sit active on the market, and this doesn’t include by-owner sales, private listings, and in-house listings.

What constitutes the ‘average’ condo these days? As of April 9, 2007, the average condo in the Portland metro area was listed for $360,500, had 1,360 sq. ft., and has been on the market around 95 days.

Below are the current (again, as of April 9, 2007) active condo and attached listings, sorted by community area. The greatest number of condos can be found in the Portland West area, which includes the downtown core.

Area
Listings
Avg. List Price Avg. Sq. Ft. $ per sq. ft. DOM
West Portland
777
$552,339
1,298
$425
123
Southeast Portland
248
$272,387
1,366
$199
77
Beaverton / Aloha
240
$236,415
1,428
$166
54
Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville
201
$262,558
1,372
$191
128
Lake Oswego / West Linn
190
$341,063
1,327
$257
78
Northeast Portland
173
$253,704
1,193
$213
76
NW Washington County
124
$202,566
1,048
$193
73
Hillsboro / Forest Grove
120
$268,396
1,627
$165
70
Gresham / Troutdale
109
$248,230
1,619
$153
68
North Portland
97
$402,548
1,475
$273
206
Milwaukie / Clackamas
83
$306,530
1,584
$194
51
Oregon City / Canby
52
$254,473
1,595
$160
50
Yamhill County
44
$207,585
1,414
$147
34
TOTAL OR AVG
2,458
$360,522
1,361
$265
95

A few caveats….Remember that most condos under development do not put their pre-sales (or under construction) listings in the Multiple Listing Service. Also, the city center listings include 168 properties in ‘under construction’ status, averaging $757,000 and 1,448 sq. ft., and 229 days on the market. In all market areas, the days on market averages can be heavily impacted by projects under construction.

Property owners in the city center are perhaps at most risk. An unprecedented period of new construction in the Pearl District, the South Waterfront, Northwest, and now the Pearl extension has added hundreds and hundreds of lofts, 1- and 2-bedroom properties at what is now over $500 per sq. ft. One ‘casualty’ of the condo glut was the recent news that the Ladd Tower would be developed as a luxury apartment complex, perhaps in response to both the trends in new construction and an improving rental market.

Properties such as the Strand, Riverscape and the Meriwether have several listings in the MLS. More units will be coming on the market over the next several months as projects near their completion date, including the Benson, Waterfront Pearl, the Casey, the Wyatt, the Civic, the John Ross and the Metropolitan. What speculative investors that are left in town will likely be placing their unlived-in units on the market upon closing.

Outlying areas are also experiencing a bulge in listings, but my guess is that they will absorb these listings in a timely manner. And with the income from rental property on the upswing, I suspect we’ll see fewer condo conversions of apartment complexes.

[tags] Portland, Oregon, condo, condominium, townhouse, townhome, attached, real estate [/tags]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • NewsVine
  • Technorati
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • FriendFeed
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Live
  • Reddit

Comments

One Response to “Portland Condo Market Update – April 2007”

  1. » From Ron Ares’ re:PDX - Portland Condo Market Update - April 2007 - My Oregon News Blog on May 31st, 2007 11:13 am

    [...] For residents with busy lifestyles, or those that require low maintenance ownership, or some needing affordable housing options, the modern condominium or townhouse has become a much more popular form of property ownership in the past several years. But has the condo craze crested in Portland? As with the detached, single-family housing market in the Portland […] Read more… [...]

Leave a Reply