The Current State of Affairs in Real Estate

The Current State of Affairs in Real Estate

It is Mid-October, 2020 and I can summarize the state of the Real Estate Market in a brief phrase: inventory is low, urgency is high and the selling/buying season has been compressed. To a certain extent, Portland has always had its own economic bubble and these past few months have been no exception. With the Great Recession as an example: it effected Portland for sure, but not nearly to the degree as the rest of the country. Without departing from my own area of expertise, one thing that I can say with certainty is that people are still able and willing to buy homes in the Portland Metro Area.

Inventory

Looking back over the last several years, inventory has oscillated between low, very low and ridiculous. We are currently in the latter adjective. Inventory is essentially at zero and anything decent that comes along is gobbled up in a few days. There are some exceptions at the upper and upper-middle price points, but for everything else, all bets are off. If a house goes live and you are not looking at strong interest or offers inside of two weeks, then the price it too high or there is some limiting factor (like: busy street, steep lot, poor condition, etc). Even with challenging properties, it all goes back to price: get the price right and it will sell. Bidding wars are common, and they seem to ebb & flow based on how special any given house is.

Urgency

If the last 7 months has taught us anything, it is more important than ever to love where you live. People are out-growing their homes and have certainly had to face any shortcomings that may have been easier to overlook in years past. It is hard to find a quiet corner at my house with 2 kids TRYING to home-school; I’ve finally admitted out loud that we should probably move. It is a conversation that a lot of folks are having. Rates are super low, winter is coming and people want to get their living situation squared away before Thanksgiving. Hence the urgency.

Compression

The high season for Portland Real Estate is usually February through April. It starts slowly in January and can turn on a dime in early May. August is dead and we usually get a Fall bump in September & October. The details are different every year, but the arc is semi-predictable. Like many things in 2020-the rulebook is out the window. This year started off normally but came to a screeching halt in Mid-March. There were some early adopters in June as things started to normalize, but July, August and September were by far the busiest that I have ever seen my years in this business. Basically, the Spring high season and Fall bump were all compressed into a much shorter time frame. I’m starting to see some indicators that things are softening, but so far we’ve only gone from 11 down to 9. My instinct is that we’ll be down to 7-ish when the rains start to come and the election approaches.

In Closing

2020 has been a wild ride. What seemed unfathomable in February feels almost normal today. When I was watching the Super Bowl earlier this year, if you would have told me that we would be watching the 20/21 season with empty stadiums, I would have said that you are mad. Well, here we are and it actually feels kind of normal. This year has been a lot of things, but “easy” is not one of them. I am choosing to embrace the struggles and find ways to grow from them. Life is a challenge; if it were easy, they would call it something else.

Drew Burchette

Principal Broker | OR

I arrived in the real estate business over a decade ago and have since helped scores of people buy and sell their homes. The groundswell that I created in my practice is rooted in the relationships that I have nurtured over the years. My style is educational, and I see myself as the coach and leader of your real estate transaction. My coaching is geared towards empowering you to make informed decisions that will lead to your best possible outcome. I excel at asking the questions that get to the heart of the matter which in turn enables a smooth sale process. Away from the office I am passionate about so many things, but it all begins and ends with my family. My boys are both in elementary school and parenting is an ongoing challenge and joy for my wife and I. We love to travel around Oregon, the East Coast, Mexico and beyond. My passion for surfing, kiteboarding, and fishing help to keep me grounded in life. Read more reviews

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