AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The Portland real estate market is generally trending towards a recovery, although some weaknesses remain, especially in the realm of home price figures. According to a November 11, 2009 article in the Oregonian, “The Portland area and Oregon are still doing better than the national average in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. But the troubles here are growing worse at a faster than the nation in the September report from First American CoreLogic. Portland’s delinquency rate was 5.99 percent in September, Oregon’s 4.97 percent and U.S. 7.27 percent. But since September 2008, the delinquency rate in Portland and Oregon has grown more than twice as fast as the nation’s. The foreclosure rate growth shows a similar but slightly less dramatic spread…Portland-area single-family home prices fell 12.2 percent in the third quarter compared to a year earlier, the 33rd biggest decline in the National Association of Realtors existing home prices report.”

According to another article in the Oregonian, this one written by Ryan Frank, Portland home sales rose considerably in the month of October. The November 12, 2009 article found that “Portland home sales rose surprisingly fast in October thanks to relatively low interest rates and the federal tax credit for home buyers. The Regional Multiple Listing Service’s report provides further signs the housing market is stabilizing after hitting record lows last winter. But economists continue to warn of a second but smaller housing slowdown once the federal government pulls back on incentives. Congress recently agreed to continue home-buyer incentives to July 1. The Portland region’s primary home listing reported Thursday that the number of closed sales rose 37 percent from a year ago to 2,009.”

Real estate in Portland is now facing declining home prices, according to a November 12, 2009 article in the Portland Business Journal. The piece noted that “Portland home prices fell 12.6 percent in October compared to the same month last year, according to data released Thursday by the Regional Multiple Listing Service. Despite the drop in prices, inventory hit its lowest point since August 2007. It would take 6.5 months to sell the 13,101 homes on the market in Portland. A six-month inventory is considered healthy.”