• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

That Portland Life

Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate

  • Real Estate
    • Welcome to Portland
    • Selling in Portland
    • Buying In Portland
    • Instant Home Value
    • Home Search
    • Communities
      • Portland Proper
      • Southwest Washington
      • Eastern Suburbs
      • Western Suburbs
    • Real Estate Blog
  • Meet the Team
  • Reviews
  • Lifestyle
    • Events
    • Best of Portland
    • Featured Business

Contact Us!

1500 NE Irving St. STE 110
Portland OR 97232
503.703.1712
Team@ThatPortlandLife.com
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Meetup
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Market Updates

2024 Comprehensive Report

December 31, 2024 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Download Report

Welcome to our 2024 Comprehensive Market Report, tailored to provide an insightful overview of real estate trends across Portland and its major suburbs. This year has been unique—some areas experienced a decline in home values for the first time in over a decade. While the Portland Metro appreciated just over 2% overall, a closer look at specific areas reveals a more nuanced story. High interest rates, market uncertainty, and buyer anticipation of future rate drops have significantly impacted trends.

These elevated interest rates are also keeping many sellers in their homes longer than usual. Compared to last year, listings are down by just over 1,000, but with closed sales up by over 6,000, this trend could lead to a low-inventory situation once again.

Although statistics show we currently have three months’ worth of inventory on the market, the reality feels different. Well-priced, updated homes are still selling quickly, often with multiple offers, while less-competitive listings linger and skew the data.

Inside this guide, you’ll find neighborhood-specific breakdowns of key trends, including median home prices, types of homes available, and how each area fared in 2024. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply keep up with the Portland market, this guide is designed to equip you with the knowledge you need to make confident decisions.

Portland’s real estate isn’t just about numbers—it’s about the communities that make this city vibrant. From the streets of Alberta to the suburbs of Beaverton, every statistic tells a story. Explore the full report to see how your neighborhood fits into this year’s dynamic real estate landscape.

Download full report

As always, feel free to reach out with any questions, and if 2025 is the year you’re ready to make a move, let’s chat! Here’s to a happy and successful 2025!

search for homes
Instant Home Value
meet with us

Portland Area Market Update

October 7, 2024 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

As we move into fall, the Portland real estate market is showing mixed signals depending on price point and property type. The most recent market data reveals that affordability and interest rates are key factors driving buyer activity and competition.

Market Overview

Homes priced under $550,000 are flying off the shelf, with multiple offers and incredibly busy open houses becoming the norm. These properties are often receiving offers within the first weekend. This leads to buyers waiving contingencies to stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape. The recent dip in interest rates had the largest impact on these lower-priced homes, which sparked a surge in buyer demand and intense bidding wars.

portland home

However, homes listed above $550,000 are experiencing a slower market pace. Properties in this range are typically sitting for a couple of weeks before receiving serious interest—unless they are priced aggressively or offer something truly unique, like exceptional design or prime location. As a result, sellers in this price bracket need to be more strategic in their approach, ensuring their homes are staged well and priced to attract discerning buyers.

Overall, the average sale price for the Portland metro area rose slightly, increasing from $600,500 to $611,900, which represents a modest 1.9% growth compared to last year. This suggests a steady market environment despite varying activity levels across price points.

Most Expensive Sale in September

The most expensive home sale in September was a breathtaking estate located in Portland’s prestigious Dunthorpe neighborhood. This 5-bedroom main residence, complete with a 4-bedroom guest house, boasts just under 10,000 square feet of luxurious living space. The property was meticulously remodeled from the studs out by the previous owners and is situated on over an acre of beautifully landscaped grounds.

Originally listed for $5.9 million, the home sold for $5.38 million after being on the market for just over five months. The Dunthorpe neighborhood, known for its privacy, top-rated schools, and proximity to both downtown Portland and Lake Oswego, continues to attract buyers seeking a blend of elegance and convenience.

What to Expect as We Enter Fall

Looking ahead, we anticipate the Portland market to hold fairly steady as we move into the fall season. While interest rates are expected to remain stable, we may see a gradual cooling of buyer activity as the year-end approaches and the holiday season kicks in. This typically results in fewer listings and a slight slowdown in overall transaction volume.

For sellers, it’s essential to stay proactive by pricing competitively and ensuring your home is in tip-top shape before listing. For buyers, this could be an opportunity to explore higher price points that have seen reduced competition, especially if you’re not in a hurry and have the flexibility to negotiate.

Whether you’re buying or selling, working with a knowledgeable realtor can make all the difference in navigating these shifting market dynamics. If you have any questions or want to know more about specific neighborhoods, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Portland Real Estate Market May 2024

May 1, 2024 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Navigating Portland’s Dynamic Market in 2024

It’s May which means it is time to look back on the previous month and analyze the real estate trends and market conditions. As we venture deeper into 2024, the Portland real estate market is showing signs of holding steady. While rates had started coming down, beacause of the positive jobs report and increased inflation, they went back up into the 7s again. This has again led to some uncertainty in the market. There are still buyers in the market, but the buyer pool is smaller than it typically is this time of year. We are still seeing appreciation month over month, up 2.3% from the previous month. Inventory still continues to be the main driving factor driving home prices upwards. If we do see rates stay down continuously, expect to see appreciation jump into the 5-6% range.

The Most and Least Expensive Homes Sold Last Month

The Portland real estate market is diverse, ranging from luxury to affordability. Last month’s sales highlight this range vividly.

An exemplar of luxury, the most expensive home sold last month in Portland was located in King Heights. This beautiful property has 6 bedrooms, 7 full bathrooms and 1 half bathroom. With over 8900 square feet this home sits on just under 1 acre. This home sold for a remarkable $4,558,000. There were 4 other homes that sold in Portland last month for over 2 million showcasing the strength of Portland’s high-end market.

Contrasting this luxury, the least expensive home sold offers a glimpse into the market’s affordability. Situated in SE Portland, this cottage has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. The home also has just over 1100 sqft and sold for just $249,000. The home definitely needs a little bit of work, but if you are willing to do some sweat equity, this home was a great deal! There were multiple other homes that sold for under $250,000 but they were either condemned or tear-downs. There were however multiple cute homes in the $250-$300K range.

For Sellers: Seizing the Moment

While this spring market has not been as hot as markets in the past couple years we are still seeing multiple offers on homes that are priced well and showing well. This often means that the homes are fully or partially staged. The buyers that we are seeing in the market are very well qualified which leads to fewer sales falling apart. This is good news as sellers so if you are considering a sale. Now could be the perfect time.

For Buyers: Know your Strength

Inventory and interest rates have led to a less than ideal market for buyers this spring. Top economists were expecting rates to come down to ease affordability concerns but unfortunately they have held steady in the high 6% to low 7% range. With low inventory some homes are still seeing multiple offers so if you are looking in the 500-800 range and in the highly coveted neighborhoods, expect to be writing against other buyers. The good news is if you are open to doing some finishing work or painting, you can likely get a good deal and have the seller buy down your interest rate.

Tailored Advice and Guidance

Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply explore your options in Portland’s real estate market, personalized advice is key. For strategies, market timing, affordability, or property valuation, feel free to reach out. Together, we can navigate the evolving landscape of Portland’s real estate market in 2024.

Search For Homes
Instant Home Value

Portland Real Estate Market Feb 2024: Trends, Extremes, and Opportunities

February 1, 2024 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Navigating Portland’s Dynamic Market in 2024

It’s February which means it is time to look back on the previous month and analyze the real estate trends and market conditions. As we venture deeper into 2024, the Portland real estate market is showing signs of significant change. The last few months have seen a drop in interest rates, resulting in an increased influx of buyers. Although rates are higher than the lows of 2021, there’s an emerging acceptance of these figures as the new normal. Reflecting on 2023, a year marked by a downturn in real estate, it’s notable that the average home price still rose by 3.5%. With the recent increase in market activity, we’re anticipating an appreciation of over 5% in 2024, a projection in line with most economists’ expectations.

The Most and Least Expensive Homes Sold Last Month

The Portland real estate market is diverse, ranging from luxury to affordability. Last month’s sales highlight this range vividly.

An exemplar of luxury, the most expensive home sold last month in Portland was located in Dunthorpe. This stunning property, with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and 3 half bathrooms over 7450 square feet, sat on 1.1 Acres. This home sold for a remarkable $3,250,000 showcasing the strength of Portland’s high-end market.

Contrasting this luxury, the least expensive home sold offers a glimpse into the market’s affordability. Situated in NE Portland, this cottage with 1bedroom and 1 bathroom, and a total area of 640 sqft, sold for just $298,000. Despite its modesty, it was cute, move in ready and had a large yard, proving that the Portland market caters to a wide range of budgets.

For Sellers: Seizing the Moment

The onset of Portland’s spring market this February brings new opportunities for sellers. With inventory levels dipping and buyer interest spiking, well-priced homes in popular areas are again attracting multiple offers. Recent experiences, like my offer being $60K over yet fourth in line, hint at a competitive season ahead. Sellers contemplating the right time to list might find the current market conditions ideal, especially with the trend of multiple offers expected to continue until around June.

For Buyers: Strategies in a Competitive Market

Buyers should brace for a competitive landscape. Homes are quickly becoming sought-after, often drawing multiple offers. While the highest offer often wins, we have several strategies to make your offer stand out. Currently, interest rates are around 6.5%, but a further decrease expected in spring could intensify competition. For those seeking less competition, exploring homes that have been on the market longer or are in less popular areas might be advantageous. Remember, the best time to buy is when it feels right for you, but with prices likely to rise, acting sooner may be beneficial.

Tailored Advice and Guidance

Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or simply explore your options in Portland’s real estate market, personalized advice is key. For strategies, market timing, affordability, or property valuation, feel free to reach out. Together, we can navigate the evolving landscape of Portland’s real estate market in 2024.

Search For Homes
Instant Home Value

Unveiling Real Estate Trends in Portland: June 2023

June 13, 2023 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

The real estate market in Portland is dynamic. It’s influenced by various factors, including supply and demand, economic indicators, and shifting buyer preferences. We will dissect key statistics to offer insights into the current state of the Portland real estate market. Our analysis will encompass crucial areas, including new listings, inventory levels, closed sales, time properties spend on the market, and average and median sale prices. We will examine these data points to reveal emerging trends and provide expert predictions for the Portland real estate market. As a reminder, statistics always come out one month behind, so the current market is slightly different.

New Listings:

In May 2023, the Portland real estate market witnessed 3,240 new listings—a 15.9% decrease compared to May 2022. However, a resounding 22.1% surge was observed compared to the preceding month, April 2023. These statistics signify an upward fluctuation in the availability of homes for sale in the Portland area, indicative of both changing market conditions and shifting buyer behavior. Buyers are starting to get used to the high interest rates and are entering the market again.

Inventory in Months:

The inventory in months—an essential metric gauging housing supply relative to the current sales pace—presents a compelling narrative in the Portland real estate market. Throughout 2023, the Portland market has experienced wide fluctuations in inventory levels. In January, the Portland market had a robust 2.7 months of inventory, only to decrease to 1.6 months by March. With another rise in interest rates an upward trajectory returned, with inventory stabilizing at 1.9 months for both April and May. This signals that while the number of houses being listed has remained fairly steady through the year the changes in interest rates are directly affecting how many buyers are entering the market.

Closed Sales:

Closed sales, representing successfully concluded transactions, offer a tangible indicator of market performance in the Portland real estate market. May 2023 witnessed 2,008 closed sales in Portland, registering a 31.1% decline relative to May 2022. Yet, an astounding recovery of 17.6% was experienced when juxtaposed with April 2023. This again indicates that buyer demand is tied directly to interest rates and even the seasonal spring push can’t cause us to rebound back to 2021 and 2022 numbers.

Time on Market:

The inventory level in the Portland real estate market underscores a prevailing seller’s market, where demand outstrips supply, leading to intensified competition among buyers. However, the total market time is much higher than what is expected for a sellers market. The average days a home took to sell still decreased substantially this past month to an average of just 40 days in Portland. When compared to what we are seeing on the ground day to day, this number seems high. Many homes that are priced well and presented well are selling in a week or less. So while we know demand is there, as a seller having a real estate professional is more important than ever.

market time, portland real estate May 2023
Year-to-Date Summary:

When comparing the first five months of 2023 with the same period in 2022, a slowdown in market activity emerges. New listings registered a notable decline of 23.5%. This also caused pending sales and closed sales to drop by 29.0% and 34.0%, respectively. When we consider these numbers next to the end of year numbers from 2022 we see a different story. May of 2022 was when the market notably shifted towards the downward trend. This continued into the summer before leveling out in the fall. Since the fall of 2022 we have seen a slow but steady climb in pricing, inventory and buyer demand which all point to a recovering real estate market.

Average and Median Sale Prices:

Analyzing the average and median sale prices in the Portland real estate market offers invaluable insights into the market’s overall price trajectory. Through May 2023, the average sale price in Portland decreased by 4.5%, from $615,600 to $588,200. Similarly, the median sale price had a comparable decrease of 4.4%, dropping from $549,000 to $525,000. If we compare these numbers to last month as opposed to last May we actually see an increase of 2.1% for the average and 3.8% for the median. This again points to a recovering and growing real estate market.

Average sales Price May 2023
Conclusion:

Through an analysis of the real estate statistics, we have witnessed undeniable fluctuations in new listings, pending and closed sales, inventory levels, and average and median sale prices in the Portland real estate market. While market activity has slowed compared to the previous year, month-over-month data reflects a resilient rebound. If you are thinking of selling, personal timing matters more than anything. With home prices climbing you don’t have to have a fear of missing the top. If you are on the fence about buying, the longer you wait, the more expensive things will continue to get. Interest rates do play a huge part into what the monthly payment will be, but we don’t expect them to suddenly drop. Hopefully this information is helpful as you consider whether now is the right time to jump into the real estate market or not. If you are thinking of buying and want to know what you might qualify for, We have all our favorite lenders listed HERE. And if you are ready to start looking at homes, you can do that HERE. Wondering what your home is worth? FInd out HERE

Be Ready to Buy

October 24, 2022 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

You need to be ready to buy when the market shifts. 

We still have an inventory crisis, and that will keep the market from crashing.  Pricing will continue going down as long as the interest rates continue to climb. As soon as inflation is back under control, they will drop the rates again.  When they do, you want to be ready to buy so you can enjoy the climb and build wealth.  

What do you need to do to be a ready to buy? Here are the 4 things I would focus on to best position yourself for a future purchase. 

Save your money.

You’ll need a downpayment and the more money you can put down, the better the house will be. Set aside a percentage of every paycheck, somewhere you can’t touch it, and let it build up as much as you can. If the bulk of your money is tied up in investments, I’d pull it and hold the cash so the stock market isn’t deciding how large of a downpayment you have. Of course talk with your financial advisor about this strategy, but stocks are also predicted to continue declining.  

Pay down your debts.

Your debt to income ratio is a huge part of being able to buy a house. Start with paying off your smaller debts and then wrap those payments into the larger debts. This will put yourself in as strong a position as possible.  

Work on your credit score.

This will improve naturally as you pay your debts down. You also want to make sure you stay up to date on all your payments and remove any past delinquencies that may still be showing up.  Free credit report sites can give you a quick overview, but for a better look I’d head over to one of the actual reporting agencies.  

Hone what you want to buy.

Once interest rates come back down, there will be a frenzy again because we don’t have any inventory.  Knowing exactly what you want to buy will put you in the best position to immediately jump on it when it comes on the market.  

This market is different than anything we have ever seen before, and as such we are all learning something new everyday.  If it were my money, I’d be buying homes as soon as the interest rates hit 5.5%. If you want to talk about a buying strategy, or what this could mean for you, please reach out!

Want to meet with us? You can schedule with us HERE

April Market Update

May 17, 2022 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

Its time again to look back at the numbers and see how healthy the real estate market is. With all the news about being in a bubble and an incoming crash, it is more important than ever to really look at past and present statistics. Let’s dive in to the numbers for April 2022!

Since November we have been seeing the inventory hover right around .8 months. This means if no one else listed their home, everything would be sold in less than a month. This is still true for April, but the number is climbing. When we have the stats out for May I expect the number to be closer to .9 or even 1. We have really been feeling the extra inventory and are so grateful for it.

The average sales price is up 13.4% compared to April of last year and a whopping 4% from just last month. The former is not surprising as we have been seeing double digit appreciation for the last couple years. The 4% increase from last month is astonishing, but not unbelievable. As soon as we saw the rates increase, we noticed people throwing out crazy offer numbers so they could lock their rate in. We noticed multiple homes that closed in this timeframe sold for around 30% over what they were listed for.

Summary

Now that everyone has settled into the newly increased rate hikes things are back to “Portland normal”. We are still seeing the really cute homes fly off the shelf for about 100k over asking price. Many people are still waiving some or all of their contingencies, and homes are getting multiple offers. The biggest difference is we are mostly seeing 2-3 offers instead of 20.

We expect this trend to continue as things settle a bit. We don’t expect to see any big drops or dips. Despite what major news outlets may be saying, the market correcting itself is a good things and will benefit everyone involved!

If you want specifics about what the changing market means for your home sale or purchase, we would be happy to chat with you! If you want to chat with a lender about your purchasing power, you can see who we trust here

Year End Market Update

January 18, 2022 by Jessica Berger and Tekela Fisher Leave a Comment

The year end numbers are out for the Portland market for 2021. The year was absolutely insane in many ways, so lets dive into the numbers!

year end review
Appreciation

Firstly, if you bought a house more than a year ago, you averaged a 15.8% appreciation. To put that into perspective a $500,000 house is now worth, on average, $580,000. Some areas are even seeing much higher numbers. For example, Oregon City and Troutdale both saw an average appreciation of over 19%. The rural areas around Mt. Hood are up over 30%. If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that people wanted more space. So rural areas had really aggressive bidding wars and some serious price jumps.

Average Home Price

The average home price in the Portland metro is now at $582,000. I know many people are waiting on the market to drop and this simply isn’t going to happen. It will cool down, especially as climbing interest rates push people out of the market, but prices will continue to climb and affordability will continue to be an issue. We predict that 2022 will be just as competitive as 2021 was. We are still seeing houses get bid up to 100k over list price in many instances, and almost everything is still getting multiple offers. If you are on the fence, now would be a good time to get off of it.

Average Days on Market

The average days on market dropped yet again to the lowest numbers on record. We had just over 2 weeks of inventory for the month of December. This isn’t surprising because it’s December, there are a lot of holidays, and not many people want to move during this time. We have seen a lot of houses coming on the market in the last couple weeks and that number will start to tick back up.

We hope these numbers help you to get a pulse on what is going on in and around Portland! If you want specific numbers for your neighborhood, let us know and we will happily send them over. If you need anything else real estate related, feel free to submit the form below and we will get right back to you!

Ready to jump in but want to know more about us? You can read about Jessica or Tekela! Also, if you need a lender, you can find some that we love HERE

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Privacy Policy

Thank you for allowing us to help you with your real estate needs.

 

Loading Comments...