By Living Room Realty, September 20, 2021
The conversations surrounding Real Estate in the Portland Metro area these days seem to be centered around the idea that the market is cooling off. While the terms “hot” and “cool” are always relative, I thought it would be prudent to share some statistics to help frame this conversation.
According to the most recent RMLS Market Action Report, new listings and pending sales each decreased by around 4-5% in August. Inventory increased by 10%, and total time on market increased by about 15%. Taken at face value, these stats might lead one to believe that the market is beginning to shift.
However, when we look at the actual statistics for inventory and time on market, we see that we still only had 1 month’s worth of inventory in August, and the average time on market was 23 days. Inventory has been at or below 1 month for the duration of 2021, and the average time on market YTD is 28 days. So, these key indicators of market activity are still very consistent with what we have been seeing all year in the Portland Market.
Something we don’t have hard data for, but that I have noticed through my own experiences as a Realtor, is that there does seem to be a lower number of competing offers when a new listing hits the market. Throughout the Spring and Summer months, it was very common to see 10-15 offers on a new listing during the first weekend on the market. Now, it seems that we are seeing closer to 3-5 offers for a hot new listing.
Competition being a bit less steep is certainly a welcome sight for Buyers, especially those who have been looking for a home all year. With that said, we are still in a heavily favored Seller’s Market, and Buyers should not mistake the decrease in competition for a shift in overall market conditions. If your hope is to wait for the market to turn, you may be waiting quite a while.
To add some perspective, one of the hottest real estate markets I have worked in (besides 2020 and 2021) was during the Spring and Summer of 2016. In August of 2016, we had 1.9 months worth of inventory, and the average time on market was 34 days. So, even if our current inventory numbers doubled, and time on market increased by 48%, we would still have market stats consistent with one of the hottest Sellers’ Markets Portland has ever seen.
In short, if you are thinking about Selling, you didn’t miss your window. If that is still a goal, let’s chat, so we can set up a plan and timeline. If you’re thinking about Buying, but hoping to wait for the market to turn, I’d probably advise against waiting. While the market will surely turn eventually, the amount of inventory needed for a balanced market (6 months worth), is not something we will likely see in the Portland Market in the near future.
Thanks for reading. Call or text anytime, if you’d like to discuss the market.
