July 26, 2012
Five years ago this week, with the sudden disappearance (then bankruptcy) of one of the largest mortgage companies in America, we woke up on a Monday morning to unshakable ominous feelings and pervasive stillness in our industry. What was going on? Just another California housing roller coaster ride, or was it something worse? Panic in the face of ‘old timers’ made the rest of us very uneasy.
Fast forward 5 years through a very dark tunnel and we find ourselves in a housing recovery which appears to be substantial and sustained.
Click on the image below to view the Market Action Report.
The Portland metropolitan area markets continue to experience a strong recovery. This is the 10th month of substantially improving sales numbers. Here is a summary:
• Pending Sales (accepted offers) are up 21.7% over June of 2012
• Closed Sales are up 14.6% over last year
• Current inventory is down to a 3.9 month supply at the current rate of sales; 6 month supply is considered a balanced market between sellers and buyers.
• Average sales price and median sales price are up 8.6% and 6.4%, which initially just means that the higher price ranges are finally selling.
The closed sales and low inventories reflect numbers which have not been seen in 5 years. The housing market continues to improve in spite of the fact that the national economy remains shaky and anemic. However, it is the bad economy that is fueling historically low interest rates (tied to the bond market), last week as low as 3.5% for a 30 year fixed loan.
Portland now is a sellers’ market in many price ranges. We put a home on the market in Beaverton last week and had multiple offers on the first day. Yamhill County trails Portland with a 7.6 month inventory but we are also seeing some multiple offer situations and brisk sales.
Buyers believe that this is a good time to buy and that if they do not move now, they may miss the best time to buy in a generation at least. The log-jam of homes on the market which paralyzed the market has broken up and things are flowing again. Even the new construction industry is perking up!
View the Yamhill County Home Sales report below.
Here’s to a fair and balanced market, happy buyers, and happy sellers who can stop living in fear and move on with their lives.
As always, thank you all for entrusting your sales and purchases, and your personal referrals, to The McCreith Team!
Best regards,
Randy
Randy McCreith, Principal Broker
The McCreith Team
Bella Casa Real Estate Group
Cell: 503-310-9147 Fax: 866-281-6653
[email protected]
