Market Statistics: July 2020

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

For the first time since February, new listings in the Portland Metro Area increased compared to the same time last year. Pending sales also continued on their upward trend, with an increase of over 20% compared to last year. Pending Sales far outpacing New Listings pushed inventory down even farther this month to 1.2 months. This is the lowest inventory we’ve seen in almost 5 years. December of 2015 was the last time inventory dropped below 1.3 months; at that time, the median home price was just $320,000 — $115,000 lower than the current median home price. The near record low inventory helped push the Median Home Price up to $445,000 in July - 8.1% higher than the same time last year. We have not seen prices increase this much year-over-year in two and a half years.

Real Estate in a Pandemic
As in all aspects of the economy, 2020 has been a unique year for the Real Estate industry. July marked the 4th month after the start of the Pandemic in the United States. Looking back at these four months compared to the last two years, we see the impact that the state-wide shutdown and subsequent record low interest rates have had on the Median Home Price, Inventory, and Closed Sales.

—by Laura Bower, Think Real Estate