So are we starting off the year here in Salem Oregon with a bang or a bust?

One of the biggest stats that we run in real estate is inventories. I mean less inventory means sellers can price higher due to less competition, and lots of inventory means super competitive pricing to get a home sold.

• 30 day absorption rate: 77 
• Inventory: 18.8 months
• Average Price: $210,083
• Median Price: $195,000 
• DOM: 112

Salem's inventory had been holding steady at 12 months. This is a huge jump up into the 18 month range. With only 77 sales to show for January, this is an ominous start to the 2009 real estate year. Interest rates were nice and low, but with Oregon's unemployment rate at 9%, I am guessing many buyers are worried about economic woes. For the local Salem market, the state budget shortfall and recent reports of cutting many programs by 20%...this does not bode well for our thousands of state jobs located here in Salem.

Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines worried about their jobs. Many potential buyers just received a pay cut, as many companies did across the board pay cuts to avoid layoffs. Many buyers who wanted to jump in, lost money in the stock market for a down payment. I think Salemites are in for a painful real estate year as the woes that started in other parts of the country come knocking on our door, impacting our local real estate market.

Bang or bust?  Bust

For other metro city snapshots: 

Keizer 

Silverton