Market Statistics: January 2020

Every month RMLS publishes statistics on the Portland Metro real estate market. Here's our take on last month's numbers:

The Median Sale Price in the Portland Metro area rose again last month to $406,000 - an increase of 5.5% over January of 2019. New listings nearly doubled from last month, but are still almost 10% lower than this time last year. Pending sales were also higher this January compared to last year - increasing by just over 11%. With increased new listings and pending sales we anticipate closed sales to increase again next month. Inventory also rose in January - to 2.2 months - but is a third lower than this time last year, reflecting a tighter market for buyers and more leverage for sellers. The amount of time it takes the average home to sell fell by 2.6% from January of last year to 74 days.

The increased activity and lower inventory indicate that many buyers are looking to take advantage of continuing low interest rates. Mortgage interest rates are currently at a historic lows of around 3.5% - the lowest they’ve been since October of 2016. With more buyers in the market during a seasonally slow time, the inventory that is available is selling faster and many buyers are finding themselves in competitive situations, which push prices higher.

—by Laura Bower, Think Real Estate