When comparing the week of September 14-20 with the week prior, the number of times an RMLS subscriber opened a Supra lockbox decreased 1.2% in Washington and increased 1.4% in Oregon.
Click the chart for a larger view (Washington, top; Oregon, bottom)
Archive
View an archive of the Supra lockbox statistical reports on Flickr.
PMAR’s public service website, HOWNW.com (Home Ownership Opportunities Northwest) has a new section that offers consumers information from reliable sources such as the National Association of Realtors®, the Federal Trade Commission, Fannie Mae and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about how to avoid foreclosure and fraud.
To explore these useful new resources, visit: http://hownw.com/consumer/avoidingforeclosure.asp
Pending sales in Clark County surpassed August 2008 & 2007 totals
Sales Activity
Sales activity (pending sales & closed sales) outpaced totals from last August in several areas. Clark County continues to post impressive numbers in this category, as pending sales were up 24.9% and closed sales increased 21.4%. Portland posted a 13% increase in pending sales and 4% in closed sales.
In Southern Oregon, Curry County saw a big jump in pending sales, a 75% increase over last August. Coos County, the Columbia Basin region and Baker County also saw pending and closed sales grow.
Housing Inventory
Inventory, on the other hand, rose in many areas this month. However, most of the increases were modest and inventory remains well below 2008 levels.
Portland saw inventory rise to 7.8 months, up from 7.3 in July, but was still 21% below where inventory was in August 2008. Clark County, similarly, was at 8 months in August, but that was 37% lower than August 2008, when inventory stood at 12.7 months.
Baker, Curry, Douglas & Lane counties and the Mid-Columbia region all saw inventory increase in August, but in all cases, it was still lower than 2008.
Days on Market
You may have noticed that this month we have comparable data for the “Total Market Time” (TMT) statistical category. This is the amount of time that it takes from when a property is listed to when an offer is accepted on that same property. If the property is re-listed within 31 days, TMT continues to accrue; however, it does not include the time that it was off the market.
We started tracking this stat in August 2008, so we finally had comparable data this month. As you may recall, we used to measure “Current Listing Market Time” instead, this measure was less accurate as it only tracked the amount of time that a listing was on the market, it did not track the property address (so if it was re-listed, it would reset).
Overall, it appears that it is taking more time to market properties, all of our market areas saw increases compared to last August, with the exception of the Columbia Basin region and Union County.
In Portland it took 135 days to sell a property, up 11.5% from last August when it took 121 days.
Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming Realtor® events & education for the remainder of September in Oregon & Southern Washington. If you have an event that is not listed here, please let us know by commenting below. For future events, please send an e-mail to communications (at) rmls (dot) com.
– September 10: Greater Portland chapter of Women’s Council of Realtors® hosts “How to Create a Business Plan in Times of Chaos & Craziness”
– September 10: Portland Metropolitan Associaton of Realtors® (PMAR) hosts “Death of the 30 Day Close”
– September 12: Salem Association of Realtors® Food Drive
– September 17: Oregon Association of Realtors® (OAR) hosts “A Taste of Portland”, a benefit for the OAR HOME Foundation
– September 17: Clark County Association of Realtors® (CCAR) hosts “Barns, Bottles & BBQ”
– September 18: Eugene Association of Realtors® (EAR) hosts “FHA: Client Mortgage Options”
– September 21: PMAR Luncheon, “Preserving Homeownership”
– September 21-22: ABR Course from OAR
– September 23: Education event good for 3 required hours, hosted by Douglas County Board of Realtors® – several topics, read more here.
– September 23: CCAR hosts “Make the Phone Ring with Referrals”
– September 24: PMAR Owner and Manager Forum “New Twists on Old Environmental Issues”
– September 24: EAR hosts “Oregon Legislative Update”
COMING NEXT MONTH: RMLS™ Fall Education Summit & Trade Fair in Pendleton, Oregon – October 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wildhorse Resort & Casino. The event will feature a session on distressed properties from OAR, a panel discussion on water rights, and more! Visit http://tradefair.rmls.com for more information.
Also, if you’re an RMLS™ subscriber, we have lots of FREE opportunities for continuing education credit at a location near you, click the link for your area to view the September Training Calendar:
– Coos County
– Eastern Oregon
– Eugene
– Florence
– Gresham
– Portland
– Roseburg
– Salem
– Vancouver
Image courtesy of Ayhan Yildiz
There’s been some encouraging news lately in the RMLS™ market areas. The number of sales and pending sales are finally outpacing the totals from the same month in 2008. How much of it might be a result of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, though?
I recently put together some statistics for the Oregonian on the Portland metro area, and thought I would share them with you.
There is no question that home sales in the lower-end of the market have seen a big jump this year. In 2007, homes priced between $0 and $249,999 only made up 35% of all sales in the Portland metro area. In 2009 so far, they make up 49.6% of the market.
As you’d expect, coinciding with the increase in lower-end homes is a drop in high-end homes. Homes priced $500,000 or above have dropped from 13.5% of the market in 2007, to just 8.2% of the market this year.
Click on the graph for a larger view
The question is: what will happen when the $8,000 tax credit expires on December 1?
I know the tax credit definitely got me off the fence & I can literally think of 15 of my friends and acquaintances (off the top of my head) who have bought or are actively looking to buy.
So in my humble opinion, there’s little doubt that the tax credit spurred people to buy. But as the deadline for the credit approaches, it should be interesting to see where sales go.
We released the latest Market Action reports to RMLS™ subscribers yesterday. Many areas of Oregon and Southwest Washington are showing improvement as far as sales and inventory go – here are a few highlights:
Portland Metro Active Listings: Note how the 2009 line is basically flat.
Inventory: Inventory is showing steady improvement in Portland (7.3 months), Clark County (7.3 months), and Lane County (6.2 months). In most circles, 6 months of supply is considered a balanced market. The drop in inventory comes thanks to strong closed sales, but also because the number of active listings is growing at a much slower pace than usual.
Closed sales: The Portland metro area was finally able to post a gain in same-month closed sales for the first time since April 2007. Closed sales were up 8.6% compared to last July. Clark County posted a gain for the second straight month – closed sales were up 23.5% there. Lane County also posted an 11% gain. Baker County, Curry County, Douglas County, and the Mid-Columbia region also saw growth.
Clark Co. Pending Sales: Oh, so close to reaching July 2007 levels.