• New listings are up 89.6% over December 2012
• The 1,344 closed sales in January were the most closings in a January since 2007
• The 1,906 accepted offers were also the most for a January since 2007
• Active inventory still at historic lows – only 4.7 months of inventory is      available
• Time on the market also continues to shrink – regional average is just 114 days
• Sales prices are up 5.4%

West Linn and Lake Oswego listings had the biggest increase in pending sales, up 34% from January of 2012.  The Tigard and Wilsonville neighborhoods had a fantastic month as well, with pending sales up 32%!

The greatest number of listings (686 homes) are in West Portland with the lowest inventory levels found in NW Washington County (218 homes). The Southeast Portland neighborhoods closed 177 home sales in January of 2013 – amazing!

North Portland homes continue to sell quickly – averaging just 69 days on the market.

Let’s hope our February numbers will be just as positive!  It’s a great time to be buying or selling a home in Portland, Oregon.

• December 2012 had 9.2% more closed sales than December 2011
• Pending sales declined 4.1% from this same period last year
• Lowest inventory level in years – just 3.6 months of inventory at current rate of sales
• Median and average sales prices are up 14.5% and 11.3% respectively
• Total dollar volume of sales for 2012 was $6.45 billion ($5.2 billion in 2011)

With so many areas reporting less pending sales for December 2012, it was great to see Tigard & Wilsonville listings reporting a 30.4% increase in pending sales (compared to December 2011).

North Portland listings continue to sell the fastest on average, taking just 43 days.  Lake Oswego and West Linn homes are taking a considerably longer time on the market at 157 days on average.  But then again, they also have the honor of highest average sales price of $512,100.

NW Washington County is one of the largest geographic areas in RMLS, but is experiencing record low inventory levels.  Just 51 listings were added in December 2012 which should make that particular market even more competitive.  Know someone considering selling their home in the 97229 zip code?  Now is the time!

I’m excited to see even more recovery and growth in the Portland real estate market as we head into 2013!

• Pending sales are up 2.7%
• Number of closed sales was 13.9% higher than November 2011
• Inventory levels continue to drop – just 4.2 months of inventory at November rate of sales
• Year-to-date trends show pending sales up 17.1% and closed sales up 19.9%
• Days on Market continues to drop from 143 days to 112 days

You would have the greatest number of listings to choose from in the West Portland area (Downtown/Pearl/Portland Heights/SW Portland) with 779 active listings.  North Portland has the lowest inventory levels, at just 281 active listings.

SE Portland had the highest number of closed sales, 223!

Where are homes selling the fastest? North Portland listings are averaging just 58 days on the market.

All areas, but one, are reporting increases in average sales price.  Gresham/Troutdale sales prices are down 1.4% and NE Portland listings are seeing the highest increase in average sales prices at 6.1%!

Not a bad start to the holiday season. I’m curious to see where the December numbers come in at and whether the market rebound continues.  I’m optimistic!

December Holiday Events in Portland

2^nd – 31^st nightly, Oregon Zoo Zoolights

www.oregonzoo.org/events

 7^th - 21^st nightly, Christmas Ship Parade on Columbia & Willamette Rivers

www.christmasships.org

15^th – 31^st nightly, The Lights on Peacock Lane

www.peacocklane.net

16^th 8am-11am, Benny visits the downtown Macy’s Santaland

www.osualum.com/portland

As reported by Market Action, a publication of RMLS, here are some encouraging stats from the reporting period of October 2012:

• Both pending and closed sales posted the best October numbers since 2006
• There were 2,177 pending sales, a 15.9% improvement over the 1,878 offers accepted in the same month last year
• The 2,103 sales were 42.7% higher than October 2011 and 11% higher than sales of 1,894 in September 2012
• The 7,981 active listings would be exhausted in 3.8 months at the October rate of sales
• Average sale price so far in 2012 is $273,400, 3.7% higher than the average price of $263,700 in the same period last year
• Total market time has dropped 21% from 144 days last year to 102 days for the first ten months of 2012

Which listings are selling the fastest? The average days on market for homes in NE Portland neighborhoods is just 61 days, 72 days in North Portland.  Listings in NW Washington County are not far behind at an average of 75 days on market.

North Portland and NW Washington County also have the lowest inventory of active listings.  No wonder homes are selling so quickly!

Hillsboro/Forest Grove had 36.7% more pending sales in October 2012, than they did in October of 2011.  Wow!

SE Portland has a year-to-date sale price increase of 5%!

Although it isn’t completely reflected in the Market Action report just yet, I have to mention the First Time Buyer/Investor market in Beaverton & Aloha.  From first hand experience, this market is HOT.  Nearly every listing under $200k is selling in a matter of days, if that, and receiving multiple offers.  I’ve been lucky to have had two of my offers accepted by sellers/banks. It would be amazing to see more inventory hit the market for all of the first time buyers out there looking for their very first home and wanting to take advantage of super low interest rates (~3.5%!).  If you have a home or investment property that you’ve been sitting on, now would be a great time to list your home with me.  There are plenty of buyers out there for you.

As we head into our holiday season, which is a historically slow time for our Portland Metro real estate market, it would be great to continue our rebound!