So, are real estate prices going up or going down in OR? (Portland: sales, real estate market)

[heavens54]

In the rest of the country they are going down, right? What about Oregon, are they reflecting this trend? Thanks.

[jc4christ]

Yes our real estate market has definitely dropped in the last couple of years, but it seems to be stabilizing from what i've been told

[mdvaden]

Maybe a little, but I have not seen solid evidence in Southern Oregon.

But I suspect a teeny bit.

Heard on the news here the other day, that home sales are up 10% over last year, but time on the market is up a little.

[dachmom]

It depends on where you are in Oregon. I read an article last week on MSN.com that said Salem, Oregon is one of the towns where the average price for a home went up, not down. It's supposed to be a buyer's market, but I don't see housing prices going down, I do see houses taking longer to sell.

[DavePautsch]

dachmom is right on target.
Housing prices are based on supply and demand, which is more impacted by the LOCAL economy than anything else. The Pacific Northwest as a whole has also had some insulation from the national housing slump because there is a demand for housing because people want to move here (partly because of the lower housing costs as compared to SoCal, Nevada, Arizona...)

On MSNBC this morning they specifically highlighted Portland as one of the 5 areas where housing prices were still going up.

Here in the mid-Willamette Valley (Albany, Lebanon, Corvallis), we are seeing pockets of flattening, but all in all, despite rising inventories, prices are holding pretty steady over the past 6-9 months. Days on the Market seem to be increasing slightly, mostly due to the challenges of the first time home buyers to get financing...a slightly reduced buyer pool.

Our local economy (in the mid-Valley) is pretty solid, new jobs are being created, and people are still moving here. If that changes, you'll see a change in housing prices across the board.

[Waterlily]

I have here a list of USA cities, the prices and if they are going up or down as compared to last year. Home prices show improvement - USATODAY.com

You'll notice it's only the large cities listed. All 3 cities from Oregon are going up. We do have pockets where that is not the case. This summer here in the Bay area of the Oregon Coast price just seem to be staying the same. I understand that some towns in southern Oregon may have droped a bit.

Yes housing prices are all about your local area.

[iammarby]

In the Eastern part of Oregon.... I have noted an increase in existing home pricing...an example would be ...( in 1 case) a home built in the 1950's, 2 years ago sold for $60,000.00 (in 1 small city) & today that same home would sell at about $90,000.00 to $100,000.00 So It may vary sharply from location to location.

Originally Posted by heavens54

In the rest of the country they are going down, right? What about Oregon, are they reflecting this trend? Thanks.

[Lady Joyce]

It all depends on where you are asking about in Oregon. The state is really diverse in climate, population and housing costs. In the major Portland Metro area for the 3 counties that encompass and surround Portland, housing prices have been rising until the last 3 or 4 weeks. They seem to be flattening now, but no one really expects them to decrease. We are in a balanced market which is close to normal for us. For the last 85+ years our prices have "stairstepped", up then flat, up then flat, with the exception of late 1982 to some time in 1984 when interest rates were 14-18%. The inventory now is much larger than it has been for a few years, and some homes linger on the market, but those properly priced, clean and in good condition, in a good location still well and usually at or close to full price.

NE Portland is very hot right now. Multiple offers are still common.

If you move to the suburbs, the picture varies by community, but none seem to be strong buyer markets. Overall we have a good balanced market with a nice supply for buyers to choose from.

If you are looking for land, anything above an acre, prices are rising almost everywhere in the state. There is a logical reason for that. God still makes people, but He stopped making land a long time ago. So supply and demand have kicked in. As anywhere, land with good water sells high and land without water (how would you live there?) is pretty affordable.

Come see us in Spring or fall. I have traveled a lot and think this is the most beautiful part of the USA and the rain can even be beautiful once you know what to expect.

[CalculusE.]

Originally Posted by dachmom

It depends on where you are in Oregon. I read an article last week on MSN.com that said Salem, Oregon is one of the towns where the average price for a home went up, not down. It's supposed to be a buyer's market, but I don't see housing prices going down, I do see houses taking longer to sell.

Living in Salem, and from being in the market to buy, stuff under say, 250k still goes fairly fast I hear but many homes in the 255-350/400 area are taking 8 months minimum from all the chat I hear via agents/finance types. Sadly there are a few sellers that have not realized the market is slowing down and not dropped prices.

I know I'm better off having held out thru the summer with many homes dropping 5-20k in 1-2 months. Some sellers are clearly just testing the waters but man, some just make it hard to want to buy. I know some of the new developments are starting to drop prices up to 50k off too, but they're probably hit harder with the national mortgage issues so just want to sell asap.

I came across one place in west salem that was fairly trashed, needed at least new flooring, paint, and probably new fencing to avoid neighbor issues. They still wanted $315k or so for a 2000 sq ft home that easily needed 10-15k work and that was without a thorough inspection done.

Another in south salem... they want 310k for a odd layout, non fenced home with no AC and that needed new paint/floors. It was worth 285 tops.

[freedom]

Grants pass area, has seen a 10-15% correction in homes from 300-600k
Some homes that have builder finance issues have dropped 30% on the upper end homes.
Clearly taking all the profit out of it, and some even taking a loss.
There are some good land opportunities, due to developers selling lots, rather than building spec homes and keeping the lots for certain builders that have longstanding relations.
Here it is definitely a buyers market.

One home I know of was 799k a yr ago and now the builder will take 650k OUCH!!!
He is a friend of mine, and I suggested He rent it until the market turns. Fortunately he can afford to wait it out, but his profit will not be realized for awhile if ever.

freedom