February Market Update — Portland Metro Area
Last month’s stats showed a Portland real estate market that seems poised for a very busy Spring. In February, closed sales were down, likely the lingering effect of the January ice storm that took a lot of steam out of the market. But pending sales went up and prices have really started to climb as well. Thankfully, we saw more new listings than we have for a while, meaning there are actually some homes on the market for the buyers out there looking.
What's it mean for buyers?
It feels like this could be the last chance to buy a house without too much competition. Prices have started going up on an annual basis, and homes are selling. We saw a slow January (thank you ice storm) and so the February closings were down, but we saw lots of homes go pending last month. As rates creep down, competition could become fierce again.
What's it mean for sellers?
Inventory went up again last month, driven by lots of new listings. There are plenty of buyers out there, and we still don’t have a balanced market in terms of listings vs. buyers, so the Spring season will be interesting. If rates continue to creep downward, expect a lot of buyers to get into the market, making Spring a great time to list your home.
