Structuring an Offer in Portland With Our Current Market

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You’ve found the perfect home, and you’re ready to write an offer. What should that offer look like relative to price? The answer depends largely on the market. In today’s real estate market, we’re not seeing those situations where you can be much - if at all - under the asking price. If it’s a beautiful home in a great area, expect to pay more than asking price.
 
One of the ways we reiterate this information is our Market Overview Report. This month for Northwest Portland, the report shows a list-to-sales price ratio of 97.7%; so we’re getting 97.7% of asking price with an average sales price of $557,000. There are also 142 homes for sale on the market, with 229 currently pending. That’s 161.3% of the overall market with a 1.37-month level of inventory.

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IF YOU'RE READY TO WRITE AN OFFER, EXPECT TO PAY MORE THAN ASKING PRICE.

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For Northeast Portland, we’re seeing a list-to-sales price ratio of 99.1%. That’s telling you that many homes are selling for well over asking price. There are also 175 homes for sale, with 353 pending in the spring market, so 201% of that whole market is basically pending. And, finally, it shows a month of inventory number of .93 - not even a month’s worth of inventory.

These numbers explain how the market is so explosive right now. We like to use this information we produce monthly to understand the market a bit more specifically from our point of view, which we can then turn around and use to educate our clients. They can then see factually what’s going on in the market and why their offer needs to be strong. If you want to know what’s going on in a different part of Portland than where you live, for instance, it’s a great way to keep your finger on the pulse.

Shoot us an email if you’d like to see this report delivered to your own inbox, and if you have any other questions don’t hesitate to call.

Is Your Portland HVAC System Properly Maintained?

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Sam Murzea, from MP Heating and Air Conditioning in Portland, is our go-to vendor when our clients have issues with HVAC systems. When Sam checks on these units, he often finds they aren’t maintained properly. Typically, people forget about their HVAC units and don’t know anything is wrong until they’re hot in the summer or cold in the winter. This is exactly why Sam suggests an annual checkup.

In an annual checkup, Sam’s team will check out all the electrical components, mechanical components, filters, coils, and everything else. This inspection will eliminate your stresses and worries about your HVAC system, all year long. If you have an AC unit, they can clean it in addition to checking the condenser and other components. Their goal is to prevent breakdowns and future repairs. 

In between these annual checkups, Sam recommends changing air filters regularly. Different systems require different change intervals. He also recommends changing filters every 30 days in order to ensure the best performance.

If you ignore all of these things, you may end up with no heat on the coldest day of the year or no air conditioning on the hottest day of the year! Additionally, carbon monoxide can leak. To keep your family comfortable and safe, perform regular maintenance on your HVAC units. Pay attention to it, and definitely don’t forget about it!

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Sam or myself. We look forward to working with you!

Is the Portland Market Heading Towards a Bubble?

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Portland is continuing to see an explosive real estate market. I’ve mentioned this before, but we are part of a 20-city composite for a Case Shiller S&P index that looks at national housing trends. The data that just came out last week shows the overall index leveling off a little bit. In January, we saw a 5.7% appreciation average across the 20 cities and that’s dipped down a bit to 5.4%.

However, in Portland we are still continuing to lead the pack with a 11.9% appreciation rate. We attribute our continued growth to a strong job market, strong housing demand, and the high quality of living we have here in the Pacific Northwest.

What’s also interesting is that mortgage defaults continue to be low, much lower than they have been in the past. We are at about a .75% default rate, which is a good place to be. Year-over-year price changes within that 20-city composite have remained very stable, right around the 5-6% range. 

I get asked if we’re headed toward a housing bubble quite often, and my answer continues to be no. There are so many other factors that are propping up the real estate market. Our appreciation rate may not continue to be 11%, and it shouldn’t, because it’s not healthy. However, there is a huge upside to our market, and homes are still as affordable as ever.

For someone making a 20% down payment, their mortgage payments would only take about 15% of their income. Just 10 years ago, that figure was near 25%. A middle income family doesn’t need to stretch their wallet in order to buy a home, a statement that has been echoed by the National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun.

If you have any questions for me about the Portland market, don’t hesitate to reach out by phone or email. I would love to hear from you.