Today’s market update is hot off the press. Learn what’s been going on in our local market right here.
The key thing we look for in the market right now, as we’re discerning whether it’s shifting or merely a glitch, is the inventory in months. In June, July, and August, we were respectively at 2.1, 2.4, and 2.3 months of supply; in September, inventory jumped to 3.1 months.
The big question this month was whether it was going to continue going up, stay the same, or drop down a little. Well, October’s inventory showed we had 2.7 months of supply. Remember, the lower the months of supply, the stronger the market is for sellers. While 2.7 months is better than what the majority of last year saw, it is comforting to know that we didn’t continue to go up from 3.1 months.
Next in this update, I want to discuss our average sales price for October, which was $454,400 for the Portland Metro area. As you know, real estate is locally based; certain areas and neighborhoods are going to be higher or lower on average than others. The median sales price was $395,000. The average sales price is up 5.6% and the median sales price is up 5.3% year over year, so we’re seeing some healthy growth.
The big message I want to leave you with—especially millennials who have just graduated from school and may have college debt—is that it is increasingly less affordable to buy a home. $454,400 is a lot of money for the average home, and that means homes in the $300,000 range are going to be townhomes, condos, or properties that need a lot of work.
The best thing to do, even if these prices don’t seem affordable, is to think about buying sooner than later. As prices continue to go up, homeownership will get farther out of reach for some people just starting in the market.
If you’d like to see the entire market report, you can find it on my business page on Facebook. Otherwise, you can reach out to me to receive the report or to have any other questions answered. I hope to hear from you soon!
