Q3 2019 Housing Market Update

We’ve seen a slow return to a normal housing market here in Portland, and it’s caused many to feel some relief. That said, we still saw a brisk spring and summer selling season in the area.

Now that we’re making our way into the cooler fall months, more inventory is coming onto the market, and it’s really a very good time to buy. People who haven’t wanted to buy for the past couple of years during our crazy market are starting to take the plunge.

Home Prices

The median sold price for homes in Portland was $415,000 during the second quarter of the year, which is exactly what the median sold price was during the second quarter of this year. We’re still seeing modest home price increases compared to this time last year, however.

At least for now, skyrocketing price increases for homes in Portland have subsided. That certainly makes it an easier time to be a buyer here. In fact, buying is far easier than it’s been in many months.

Days on Market

We definitely have more homes on the market, and there’s no doubt that they’re sitting for a bit longer. Currently, homes are on the market for a median of around 16 days. Bidding wars are largely a thing of the past, and buyers aren’t feeling as rushed to make offers on homes that have just come on the market.

Buyers are also able to be a little pickier about what they want in a home than they have been. They’re taking their time to look for their needs and wants. They also have higher expectations when it comes to home condition and are more able to ask sellers for concessions now.

But if you’re thinking of selling a home in Portland, don’t worry! It is 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 price increases we’ve had in the past few years. And home inventory is still on the low end—all the numbers point to it still being a market that’s in favor of sellers.

Homes Sold

There were 8,481 homes sold during the second quarter of this year, which is really consistent with the numbers we saw during the second quarter of this year and during the third quarter of last year.

Interestingly, that’s despite more home inventory coming onto the market. There isn’t a rush of buyers to snap up all of those homes.

Interest Rates

Many experts predicted much higher interest rates in 2019 than we have right now. Some really nice, and unexpected, rate drops are giving people more purchasing power. Rates are as low as they were in 2016, with the average rate hovering in the mid 3’s for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

These incredibly good rates are helping people when it comes to affording their monthly mortgage payments, despite high home prices. But no one knows exactly how much longer these great interest rates will be around. In fact, this last drop was pretty unexpected. 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

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.

Sylvia Baltzer

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

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

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

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.