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re:PDX is presented by Claire Widmark, broker affiliated with M Realty LLC in Portland, Oregon.
Phone: 971-275-3691
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Portland Real Estate Market Statistics – January 2011
The 2011 Portland real estate year starts with a dive off a short cliff.
Just over a thousand homes closed escrow — a fairly typical result for the last few years. But the average sale price ($248,900) plummeted to its lowest levels since May 2004 and median prices ($215,000) were comparable to those in February 2005. It’s amazing to think that the average home in the Portland metro area now costs $106,000 less than it did in the summer of 2008. (Side note: I am now showing homes priced under $80,000 for the first time ever. Remarkable.)
Of course, January is a low volume month and perhaps that skews the data some, so I expect the average and median prices to bounce back to $270K and $230K ranges respectively next month.
Other than the soft prices, the activity volumes are fairly typical for the first month of the year: 3,000+ new listings, ~1,500 pending sales, 12,000 homes actively marketed.
January 2011 statistics are shown below:
Market Summary
| January 2011 | Last Month - December 2010 |
Last Year - January 2010 |
|
| Median Sale Price | $215,000 | $230,000 | $240,000 |
| Average Sale Price | $248,900 | $278,000 | $282,400 |
| Closed Sales | 1,035 | 1,462 | 986 |
| Pending Sales | 1,489 | 1,426 | 1,535 |
| New Listings | 3,128 | 1,925 | 3,937 |
| Active Listings | 11,697 | 11,611 | 12,449 |
| Total Market Time * | 160 days | 145 days | 145 |
| Inventory (in months) | 11.3 | 7.9 | 12.6 |
Below is activity by market area. Please note that median and average sale prices are year-to-date, that is to say, they are compiled just one months’ worth of data. By March, we’ll see those numbers settle out into their normal patterns. The appreciation numbers are a 12-month average compared to the previous 12-month average. Total market time is the number of days between the date it went on the market and when it received an acceptable offer.
Market Report by Area
| Area | YTD Avg. Sale Price |
YTD Median Sale Price |
12-Mo. Change | Total Mkt Time* |
| Lake Oswego / West Linn | $390,000 | $365,000 | -10.2% | 258 |
| West Portland & Downtown | $368,500 | $300,000 | -2.7% | 168 |
| NW Washington County | $319,800 | $302,500 | -1.3% | 154 |
| Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville | $282,300 | $279,500 | -4.0% | 156 |
| Northeast Portland | $280,700 | $255,000 | -0.8% | 119 |
| Milwaukie / Clackamas | $247,400 | $231,900 | -9.2% | 141 |
| Oregon City / Canby | $209,500 | $205,000 | -8.4% | 142 |
| North Portland | $208,300 | $206,000 | -3.3% | 135 |
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove | $207,600 | $198,500 | -8.6% | 165 |
| Beaverton / Aloha | $201,800 | $181,200 | -3.1% | 182 |
| Southeast Portland | $198,800 | $182,000 | -1.9% | 124 |
| Gresham / Troutdale | $193,300 | $175,000 | -4.6% | 145 |
| Yamhill County | $176,400 | $150,000 | -3.7% | 152 |
| Columbia County | $172,100 | $157,500 | -6.2% | 225 |
Market data courtesy of RMLS, January 2011.
NPR Highlights Portland’s In-Migration Puzzle
NPR shared an interesting story outlining the dichotomy of why people are continuing to migrate to Portland despite a lack of employment opportunities and racial diversity.
In short, it noted the typical stereotypical responses — outdoor life, food, music, beer, biking — you know, lifestyle stuff.
For jobs? Not so much.
From the NPR transcript:
Oregon economist Christian Kaylor says he can think of only one explanation for the migration into Portland: the quality of life.
Kaylor says wages there are sometimes 20 percent lower than in Seattle or San Francisco. But people keep coming. In fact, Portland’s appeal is part of why the city’s unemployment rate tends to be about a point higher than the national average.
“In recessions, Portland tends to see population growth, even as we lose jobs,” Kaylor says. “So one of the reasons we have that higher unemployment rate is because people do continue to move here even as jobs disappear.”
Foodcarts, rock bands, and brewpubs aside, perhaps these recent additions will someday find reasonable employment options and eventually fuel the housing market in years to come. I have worked with several that fit this mold, and I hope their careers can continue to support both their lifestyle and housing choices.
