Portland Real Estate Market Update- July 2020

Buyer demand in July was HOT!  Pending sales were up almost 22% over July of last year.  There are more homes hitting the market than at the same time last year, but with so much more demand, the inventory continues to drop to an incredibly low 1.2 months (a balanced market is 6 months of inventory).  There is talk by some of a real estate market crash, however, it would take rates going up significantly to drop buyer demand AND an extraordinary amount of foreclosures or short sales to increase inventory for that to happen. The 45 year low interest rates are propelling the high demand and even pushing prices higher as buyers compete for the homes available.  It's a fantastic time to sell and if you're moving up, the rates on your new home will be amazing.  The challenge is in navigating finding the new home to purchase, getting your offer accepted, and timing all of that.  We are here to help with strategies previously used in 2015 & 2016 where multiple offers were the norm and created some unique challenges for both buyers and sellers.  Even though prices are going up with increased demand, the low interest rates have boosted the affordability in the Portland Metro to the highest it's been in almost 5 years!  A snapshot of current interest rates can be found below.