February 2021 Market Update

February 15, 2021

Hey, it’s time for the first market update of 2021. And if you’re a homeowner or a future homeowner, it’s important to know what’s going on right here in the Portland area. This is my February 2021 report featuring January stats from RMLS.

New listings decreased 6.4% from January 2020 to January 2021. And for perspective, last year was down 9.6% from 2019. Pending sales increased 9.9% and closed sales increased 11.1%. Inventory increased from 24 days in December to 30 days in January. And you might think that’s great. That’s a 25% increase. However, the average December to January inventory increase historically over the last 21 years is 40% according to my calculations.

So we’re continuing to see fewer homes come on the market, but an increase in homes being purchased. This is causing an inventory crisis in our market and in markets across the country. In the video, I share a quick look at a heat map I made of 22 years of inventory levels in the Portland market. I know I’m a nerd. This gives a good visual of years when we’ve had a buyer’s market depicted in blue versus a sellers market as depicted in green. You’ll see there’s much more green than blue and it doesn’t appear that it would suddenly turn blue unless of course, something out of the blue happened. January average market time was 44 days compared to 74 days for the prior January. And shorter market times are a direct result of low inventory.

Now let’s look at average sales prices for January 2021. Portland Metro overall is at 514,700. Beaverton-Aloha, 432,900. Hillsboro-Forest Grove is at 451,300. Tigard/Tualatin/Sherwood/Wilsonville at 552,200. Northwest, Washington County, at 586,800. West Portland at 639,900. And Lake Oswego, West Linn at 812,700! Of those cities, the shortest average market time was Beaverton-Aloha at 29 days. And probably the stat you’ve all been waiting for, we’re currently looking at 8% appreciation over the past 12 months.

This report reflects the real estate market in 97005, 97006, 97007, 97008, 97034, 97035, 97068, 97070, 97123, 97140, 97219, 97223, 97224, 97225 and 97229.

Thank you for joining me for this review of our current state of the market. If you’d like to have a discussion about what all of this means for you and your situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My team and I are always here to help. And remember, whether upsizing or downsizing, my service will move you.