By Lily Ray Wyss, August 28, 2023
By Lily Ray Wyss, August 28, 2023
What we discuss:
Is everyone napping or is it just the Portland Oregon Real Estate Market?
When looking at the numbers from last month it really makes it apparent how another interest rate hike is affecting activity from both home buyers and home sellers.
New listings are down 12% with 2,899 homes hitting the market.
Pending sales are down 5% with 2,145 homes going under contract.
Sold homes saw a decrease of 8% with 1,912 homes going to new homeowners.
While activity is down across the board home buyers will be happy to hear that we saw a significant increase in home inventory up to 2.4 months (from 2 months in June).
You may wonder, how did we see an increase in inventory with so few listings hitting the market? Well, our absorption rate has been low.
With interest rates going into the 7’s it has made buyers even more hesitant to buy or they have completely put their search on pause.
What does this mean for you if you are a buyer who is actively shopping for a home? Potentially more opportunities and negotiation power.
I say potentially because:
Two weeks ago I previewed a home for some out-of-town clients and we were convinced it would sell quickly and for a lot of money. The home was in a prime SE Portland location, was dialed in and even has a legal ADU.
But you know what, it is still on the market today!
Alternatively, I have another client who wrote an offer on a house at a different price point in SW Portland, the home was also super dialed in (meaning well taken care of and with some cool design features) and that home got 6 offers in the first weekend.
So all this to say, based on your needs and preferences we can either get you into a solid home and even negotiate a lower interest rate (contact me to learn what I mean here) and other great terms, or you can be competing with other buyers.
But no worries reach out to me and I can help you determine what the specific market you will be shopping in will look like and we can even track current sales.
Home sellers or potential home sellers you must be wondering what does this market look like for you? Well likely you will either have one of the homes that gets multiple offers or your home could sit on the market for some time which in this case you will need to be prepared to do some negotiating with buyers.
The key to your success is prepping your home so that there is the least amount of items that could give buyers pause as possible that are within your control.
Making sure you have all repairs done, your home is deep cleaned (see video for why this matters), and that you price your home correctly. Among a bunch of other prep actions I can help you determine.
This market is extremely particular and both buyers and sellers are experiencing wildly different markets. The common thread to success for everyone is the right preparation and expectation setting. And lucky for you these are some of my favorite things to help with!
Reach out and we can come up with your custom strategy. I look forward to chatting with you!