Market Statistics: April 2020
Every month RMLS publishes statistics on the Portland Metro real estate market. Here's our take on last month's numbers:
The market numbers for the Portland Metro area were a bit of a mixed bag last month. April is typically a very busy month for real estate, but the statewide Stay-Home Order led to a marked decrease in activity. Nonetheless, many homes did sell, quickly, and for higher prices than this time last year.
The Median Home Price in the metro area continued its steady climb, landing at $424,000, which is 4.7% higher than this time last year. The Median Price did, however, decrease by $1,000 from March's all-time high of $425,000. Although the drop is small, it is the first time prices in Portland have fallen from March to April since 2008.
New listings were down by nearly a third from last year (32.4%) and almost 18% from March. This is the first time in a decade that new listings have dropped from March to April. Pending sales decreased by over a third from last year (34.2%) but only 13% from March.
Along with a drop in New listings and in Pending sales, the number of Closed sales were also down in April: 16.4% from last year and 14.5% from last month. Even though fewer homes sold last month, the ones that did, sold faster than both last year and last month. The time it took for the average home to sell was 44 days - down from 53 days last month and 61 days last year.
What will the market do as we move forward into summer? We’re about two months into the pandemic in the US, but there is still a lot of uncertainty. Much of the state of Oregon began to open up last week, which should be a good sign for the local economy. Fortunately for home buyers and sellers, technologies like virtual tours and high quality videos have allowed the real estate industry to continue to work in ways that are safe for both clients and agents. And interest rates continue to be at all-time lows, giving buyers with good credit and solid employment an additional incentive. For people who have the ability to make a move, the market is still providing opportunity while working with strict safety protocol.
With the state of things still changing frequently, we continue to keep a close eye on the situation. As always, if you have questions or concerns about your home, the market, or anything else, we’re here to help and provide guidance through this difficult situation.
—by Laura Bower, Think Real Estate
