The daffodils are starting to bloom and so are the stats. According to RMLS the month of February was promising for Sellers, and still great for buyers. Inventory is at 10.4 months, 2.4 months lower than our record high of 12.8 in January. This means at the current rate of sales it would take 10.4 months to sell out of our inventory. Homes are still moving much slower than they did last year at this time, but the optimism in the air is refreshing.
The fact that closed sales are up over 25% and that pending sales are up almost 10% suggests that the trend will continue through March. This is a good sign that buyers are starting to come out again to take advantage of good rates and a lot of housing choices.
Again, we are seeing an appreciation in housing prices throughout the city with NE, SE and N Portland still increasing at rates above 6%. Lake Oswego and West Linn have seen the most appreciation YTD with an increase of over 8% in home prices. The average sales price in the city YTD is $344,700 according to RMLS and the median sales price is $290,000, and the average days on the market for a home is 84 days.
In review, we have inventory decreasing with an increase of closed and pending sales from last month, a steady increase in appreciation, and a continual increase in the average and median sales prices. All of this information should be good for sellers. The fact is that inventory is still high, so sellers must price their home well and make it look great compared to the competition. Let's not forget that it still is a buyers market. Change is on the horizon, probably with a few bumps along the way.
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