Our market is charging through 2021 and racking up historic numbers.
With one month already in the books for 2021, how is our market doing? The answer: hotter than ever, and we have the historic data to prove it. Traditionally, January is one of the slowest months for our area market. This year, you can go ahead and forget about “traditional”—January is the new spring.
In the combined Vancouver/Portland metro market, homes are fetching $450,000 on average; in Salem, they’re reeling in $347,000. No matter how you slice it, these are historic prices, and they’re due in part to the fact that there are hardly any homes available for sale on the market. At the time of this recording in January, we sold 33 homes. Out of those 33, 31 had multiple offers! Several were million-dollar properties.
Right now across the Portland metro market, the list-to-sale price ratio is 100.6%; we hit 113.2%. That means sellers who listed their home with us for $400,000 received, on average, 13% more than that.
“To say it’s a great time to be a seller is a colossal understatement.”
Active listings are down 16.5% year over year in the Portland metro market, but pending sales are up 19%. Closed sales, on the other hand, are down 4.7%. Why are fewer homes being sold? Well, the simple answer is a lack of inventory. We’d be seeing way more closed sales if there were more homes to sell in the first place. (Reminder: Today’s closed sales are the pendings from six to eight weeks ago).
In Clark County, active listings are up 9%, pendings are up 30%, and closed sales are down by roughly 5.8%. That closed sales figure will certainly pick up in February. In Salem, we’re seeing very similar numbers across the board. Historic prices and historically low inventory are shaping the entire region.
The average days on market for the Portland metro is 40; we’re averaging just seven. I’ve been in this business for 21 years and have never seen a market like this. To say it’s a great time to be a seller is a colossal understatement. For one of those 33 homes we sold in January, we garnered 35 offers, which helped it sell for a whopping $85,000 over asking price.
If you’re a homebuyer, I won’t lie—it’s tough out there. If you want to get yourself into a great home, you’ll need to have all your ducks in a row, be ready to compete hard, and play to win. The continuation of low interest rates is the saving grace for homebuyers. Despite rising prices, you’ll still be able to afford a great deal of home for your money.
Inventory levels won’t be jumping up dramatically anytime soon, and demand remains high. That means there’s no crash on the horizon. The only thing we can see ahead in 2021: a crazy hot market.
As always, reach out if you have any questions about our market or other specific real estate topics. I’m happy to be a resource for you and can assist with whatever buying, selling, or investing needs you may have.
