The May Market Action Report (seen here) shows that the housing recovery remains strong in the Portland metropolitan area posting the best sales numbers of any month since before the financial meltdown of the fall of 2008.
Last month we incorporated an article noting how Yamhill County’s recovery is playing out differently than Portland’s recovery (click here). The bottom line of that was that we are not Portland and we are lagging the Portland markets by at least one year. This month I want to focus our attention on the details of Yamhill County’s recovery. There is much good news here but some sobering data as well.
Yamhill County, May 2013 ( Monthly Home Sales report here )
1. Total sales: 109 representing sales volume of $25 million; average price $230,502 for May
a. 7 sales under $100,000
b. 0 sales over $750,000
c. 7 sales over $500,000
d. Most active price range: $200k-$250k (20 sales)
2. Time on the market before getting an accepted offer
a. Almost half of the May sales went pending in less than a month
b. 50 out of 109 sales had been on the market for over 90 days
c. Officially, our time on market is averaging 141 days as we sell off much long-standing inventory
3. How many pending sales are working their way through a transaction as of June 25, 2013? ( pendings list here)
a. 242 properties in Yamhill County are pending
i. Year to date, a 23.8% improvement from 2012
ii. 115 properties went pending in May
b. 39 new homes/under construction/proposed are pending
c. Under $100k= 8 properties are pending
d. $500k- $1.4 million= 17 properties are pending
4. Inventory: At the current rate of sales, how long would it take to sell off the current inventory?
a. There are 618 residential properties for sale
b. May’s rate of sales is 109 sales per month
c. Yamhill County has 5.7 months worth of inventory
i. Portland Metro currently has a 2.5 month supply of properties
ii. The last time Portland had almost 6 month supply was in spring of 2012
iii. We are over a year behind Portland
5. Notable:
a. The Lots & Land category has been almost completely dead for 6 years. Recovery is under way:
i. 6 properties sold in May (still modest)
ii. 28 properties have sold year to date (best performance in 6 years)
iii. 22 properties are pending (this is a positive change and harbinger of things to come)
iv. New construction is strong in Portland and visible as you drive through the city
v. We are beginning to see signs of life in this area which is promising for our Lots & Land inventory
Summer unofficially arrived on Memorial Day weekend and then officially by the calendar this past week. School is out, the tourism season is underway, people are moving, and we have an encouraging housing market. Our sellers are hopeful and so are we.
Buyers, prices are correcting and climbing, interest rates spiked last week and are between 4% and 4.5% on a 30 year fixed loan (historically still amazing but up from 3.1% just last fall). Inventory is getting tighter. The train has left the station at the bottom of the market and you should carefully consider how far it goes before you get to buy low at great rates for the next chapter of your life.
Thank you again for your loyalty, your trust, your support and your referrals to us. We appreciate you and will continue to work diligently for you.
Best regards,
Randy
