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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 2012
Highlights of the inaugural month of the 2012 real estate season included strong closed and pending sale figures (the best January since 2007), a bump in new listings, and a reduction in market time. However, January results also revealed continued low inventory levels and a dip in the median sale prices from a year ago.
January and February are traditionally the slowest months in the market, so the smaller sample is partially to blame for the pricing decline. Twelve-month rolling calculations showed 6.9% and 6.1% declines in median and average prices when comparing Feb 2011 – Jan 2012 to Feb 2010 – Jan 2011.
With only 8,500 properties on the market at the end of January, buyers have little to sift through. It’s not uncommon to see 2 or 3 parties queued up on the porch to view close-in neighborhood listings, and multiple offers are back in style.
Here are the figures for January:
Market Summary
| January 2012 | Prev. Month - December 2011 |
Last Year – January 2011 |
|
| Median Sale Price | $207,500 | $216,000 | $215,000 |
| Average Sale Price | $249,100 | $260,800 | $248,900 |
| Closed Sales | 1,224 | 1,612 | 1,035 |
| Pending Sales | 1,823 | 1,443 | 1,489 |
| New Listings | 2,613 | 1,700 | 3,128 |
| Active Listings | 8,514 | 8,612 | 11,697 |
| Distress Sales | N/A | 35% | 43% |
| Total Market Time * | 136 days | 142 days | 160 days |
| Inventory (in months) | 7.0 | 5.3 | 11.3 |
Below is activity by market area. Please note that median and average sale prices are only for January 2012, so prices might seem wonky due to the light sample. 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 | $364,800 | $300,000 | -1.3% | 176 |
| West Portland & Downtown | $366,300 | $290,000 | -5.5% | 176 |
| NW Washington County | $339,100 | $311,000 | -0.9% | 118 |
| Tigard / Tualatin / Sherwood / Wilsonville | $260,900 | $235,400 | -8.6% | 166 |
| Northeast Portland | $268,300 | $219,800 | -6.2% | 109 |
| Milwaukie / Clackamas | $230,600 | $204,300 | -7.9% | 113 |
| Oregon City / Canby | $222,700 | $200,800 | -7.2% | 159 |
| North Portland | $195,700 | $200,100 | -3.1% | 67 |
| Southeast Portland | $225,400 | $170,500 | -8.4% | 110 |
| Beaverton / Aloha | $206,900 | $173,000 | -8.8% | 154 |
| Hillsboro / Forest Grove | $183,800 | $173,500 | -8.7% | 145 |
| Yamhill County | $158,800 | $139,800 | -9.8% | 121 |
| Gresham / Troutdale | $216,600 | $165,900 | -7.1% | 121 |
| Columbia County | $140,500 | $115,000 | -12.8% | 165 |
‘Stuff’ Portlanders Say
Riffing on the explosively viral ‘Sh*t Girls Say‘ video meme, it was only time before a Portland version emerged.
Given the Portlandia mania, it would be tough to pull off something totally fresh. A few clinkers here, but offset by a number of classic Portland truisms.
How long before the inevitable Vancouver, WA version?
