Q2, 2019: Is the Slowdown Already Over?

You know how you were hearing buzz about the Portland housing market slowing down? At least a little bit? We even saw a slow winter and a rocky spring, just as the experts predicted we would.

And while it’s true that we’re still not seeing the red-hot market of the past few years, the outlook this summer buying and selling season is bright and sunny. Let’s look at what that unexpected burst of energy in our housing market means.

Home Prices

The median sold price for homes in Portland was $415,000 during the second quarter of the year, which is actually up slightly from the $410,00 we saw during the second quarter of 2018. However, compared to past years, this is a very modest year-over-year price increase.

At least for now, skyrocketing price increases for Portland homes have subsided. But this doesn’t mean that home values are returning to previous levels.

If you’re a homeowner in Portland, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Home values are still 32% higher than there were during the pre-recession home value peak. They’re also 79% higher than they were during the housing crash. If you’ve owned a home in Portland for even a couple of years, you’ve almost certainly built up some substantial equity in it.

Days on Market

More listings mean that homes are sitting on the market a little bit longer—around 13 days on the market is the median right now. But it was just 9 days during this time period last year. We’ve slowly seen inventory in Portland increase over the past year or so, which is likely why homes are sticking around a bit longer.

However, it’s still a good time to be a seller! Many homes, especially the ones that are on the lower end of the price spectrum, still go fairly quickly due to the lack of affordable inventory. We have 2.1 months of inventory on the market at the current sales pace, but 6 months is a balanced market. This means that it’s still very much a sellers’ market.

But there’s good news if you’re a buyer, too. There are fewer bidding wars and homes that go for well over asking. This might give you a little breathing room if you’re looking to buy a home here in Portland this summer.

Homes Sold

There were 8, 417 homes sold during the second quarter of this year, which is a slight decline over the 8,771 homes sold during the second quarter of last year. Not too much of a change there.

But this number does indicate that we’ve broken the 10-month slump in home sales we saw last year and at the beginning of this year.

Interest Rates

So many economists predicted much higher interest rates than we currently have. In fact, we’re still hovering at just around 4%. These incredibly good rates are helping people when it comes to affording their monthly mortgage payments, despite the ever-increasing prices of homes.

But no one knows exactly how much longer these great interest rates will be around. It may be smart to buy know before they increase.

Ready to Buy or Sell?

Buying or selling in a market like ours comes with plenty of good and bad for both buyers and sellers. If you’re wanting to buy or sell in the near future, give me a call! I’ll be happy to sit down with you and help you come up with a game plan for our new normal here in Portland.

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Words of Praise

Marika has worked with our family on several projects. In each instance, she has demonstrated that she is Professional, Knowledgeable, and Competent. She has the ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner addressing all of our concerns. The very first time that I was able to work with Marika she was assisting our family with a difficult situation. Her guidance and direction were key to bringing about a quick and positive resolution for our family. The most recent instance involved providing research and guidance concerning the selling of our family home, her input allowed us to understand what we should expect for our property and what to expect from the process ahead of the family. I do not and would not hesitate to use Marika Feibel as my Principal Broker.

John Mikkelson

Marika came to us as a reference from a close friend who moved to Portland from the LA area late last year. Being in a similar circumstance to him (eg. No strong connections to the area, no idea as to reputability, first-time home buyers), we were grateful for the reference for someone he obviously trusted impeccably. Any and all expectations/preconceptions we had were entirely blown away. Marika was a paragon of professionality. She remained patient, amiable, flexible and always smiling despite the grueling amount of properties and questions we threw at her. She even took the time to scout out potential listings up to 3 months before our big listing visit days to better direct our focus and optimize yield for a limited time frame. When we finally found a property, Marika held our hand each step of the way: from offering to escrow. She was there during the inspection, and there for the assessment. She was always there for us and our future home.

Finding a home can feel like a pitched battle. Everything has weight. Everything is time sensitive, urgent, and profound. It’s easy to stress out to the point of shutting down. Had it not been for Marika’s organizational skills, advice, and guidance, my wife and I honestly don’t know how we would have found our way through this process.

So, with all of that being said, I would recommend Marika without hesitation to any and all potential clients. She really made it a good experience.

Eric Schub

I highly recommend Marika and her team. We had an aggressive time frame in which to sell our home and Marika Feibel absolutely crushed it! From market analysis to open houses and everything in between, Marika was a true professional and always available to communicate via our preferred medium. We will definitely look to her for our future real estate needs.

Steve Inaudi

My wife and I recently had Marika Feibel do a comp check for our house in SE Ladd’s Addition and were very satisfied with her help and assistance during the process. Marika is a great communicator and helped walk us through the process in a way that was very easy to follow and understand. The comp check that she ran came in very close to the appraiser’s value and we left feeling good about the agreed-upon sale price. Marika was also the real estate agent that helped us find the house back in 2010 and we’ve also selected her to help us with the sale of our condominium on SW Jefferson St. We would highly recommend her to anyone.

Tony Tranquilli

I highly recommend Marika and her team. We had an aggressive time frame in which to sell our home and Marika and her team absolutely crushed it! From market analysis to open houses and everything in between, Marika was a true professional and always available to communicate via our preferred medium. We will look to her for our future real estate needs.

Desiree Inaudi

During the summer and early fall of 2017, Marika was my real estate agent for the sale and also purchase of a house in Portland. What impressed me the most about Marika is that she was very responsive and available when needed or a question came up. Marika’s list pricing strategy was wise and resulted in many over asking offers. Marika was on site and arranged many of the details needed to get our house sold. She is efficient and keeps the ball moving forward and remains calm and professional throughout the entire process. Marika did a great job keeping me informed about the details and what to expect next. I would not hesitate to use Marika’s services again.